Abstract
A rising rate of suicide among the elderly in rural China has been recognized to be triggered by mental health-associated factors. This study uses 3,397 sampled rural elderly adults from China Labor-force Dynamic Survey in 2016 to explore the response mechanism through which non-agricultural employment participation by the elderly adults in rural China can influence their mental health. Utilizing the Multivariate Regression, Instrumental Variable and Propensity Score Matching methods, we find that, the rural elderly adults who participate in local non-agricultural employment significantly improve their mental health. Self-employment tends to have a greater positive contribution to the mental health of the elderly population than waged employment. Further, work income, need for belongingness and respect, and human capital development significantly mediates the influence of participation in local non-agricultural employment on the mental health of the elderly adults. Finally, we put forward relevant policy suggestions to improving the mental health of the elderly in the countryside.
Highlights
In the context of the increasing situation of rural aging in China, the pension and health problems of rural elderly adults need to be concerned
Since this study mainly focuses on the impact of rural elderly adults’ participation in local non-agricultural employment on their mental health, the following exclusion and inclusion activities were undertaken in the sample selection procedure: (a) All the urban samples were deleted while retaining only the rural samples. (b) The respondents’ household registration was limited to rural areas, and the age ranges from 50 to 80 years were considered. (c) The samples without jobs were excluded, and the working place of the respondents was limited to the county area where they currently lived, including villages, towns in the counties. (d) The samples with serious missing data were deleted
The results show that 20.16% of the respondents participate in non-agricultural employment, while 79.84% are engaged in farming
Summary
In the context of the increasing situation of rural aging in China, the pension and health problems of rural elderly adults need to be concerned. In the process of China’s industrialization and urbanization, a considerable number of young people from rural areas move to the cities [1, 2], while the elderly adults over 50 years old are left behind due to age and educational barriers [3]. From the perspective of this reality, the outflow of young people from rural areas may harm the health of the left-behind elderly adults [4]. Young people going out for employment opportunities will bring intergenerational residential separation. Making it difficult to meet the daily care and inner comfort of the left-behind elderly adults in rural areas [5]. The health conditions of the rural left-behind elderly adults are difficult to be guaranteed
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