Social Capital and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults Living in Urban China: A Mediation Model

Nan Lu,Jingyue Zhang

doi:10.3390/su11205566

Abstract

Social capital and healthy aging are both crucial for social sustainability in China. The present study tested the role of structural social capital in self-rated health among older urban Chinese adults and the influence of cognitive social capital on this relationship. A sample of 456 older adults aged 60 or older in Suzhou, China, were recruited and completed the survey in 2015. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Cognitive social capital had larger effects on self-rated health than structural social capital. The relationship between structural social capital and self-rated health was fully mediated by cognitive social capital, when sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, physical health conditions, and living arrangements were controlled. The culturally sensitive latent construct of community-based social capital proved to be a valid instrument in urban Chinese contexts. Structural social capital likely indirectly affects self-rated health through cognitive social capital. Policy and intervention implications are discussed.

Highlights

China has experienced rapid population aging in the past few decades
High levels of cognitive social capital are associated with better social trust, reciprocity, and feelings of belonging, whereas high levels of structural social capital are associated with more organization memberships, higher levels of volunteering, and more frequent participation in community activities and citizenship activities [32,33]
Mixed findings of the relationship between structural social capital and Self-rated health (SRH) were noted in the previous literature [7,21,22,24,25], the findings of the present study indicate that high levels of structural social capital is associated with good SRH

Summary

Introduction

China has experienced rapid population aging in the past few decades. The Chinese population aged 65 or older reached 158.31 million people in 2017, more than half of whom live in urban regions [1]. Traditional family-based aging care systems in China have encountered great challenges. The decline in average family size and extensive internal migration, for example, have weakened Chinese families’ capacities to care for their older members [1]. National long-term care systems are still developing [2]. Under such circumstances, knowledge of social determinants of healthy aging are crucial for the development of evidence-based policies and interventions and the sustainable development of Chinese society

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Discussion

Conclusion