Widowhood and the Subjective Well-Being of Older People in China: the Mediating Effects of Lifestyle

Abstract

Previous research has illustrated that lifestyle is correlated with widowhood and subjective well-being amongst older people; however, few studies have examined the mediating effects of lifestyle behaviors on the relationship between widowhood and subjective well-being. As China has a large number of widowed older people, we sought to examine which lifestyle behaviors are associated with better (or worse) subjective well-being amongst widows. Using data from the 2013 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this study uses ordered logit model (OLM), propensity score matching, and mediation analyses to explore the relationship between widowhood and subjective well-being, particularly the mediating effects of the three lifestyle dimensions: recreational involvement frequency, media use frequency, and interaction frequency with relatives and friends. We found that the lifestyles of widowed older adults differed from those with spouses: the frequency of leisure time and frequency of media use by widowed older adults were lower than those with spouses. Widowhood demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the subjective well-being of older adults. The frequency of leisure time activity had a partial mediating effect between widowhood and subjective well-being. Our results reveal a direct positive relationship between the frequency of leisure time and subjective well-being amongst widowed older adults. These findings have important implications for improving the experience of widowhood through lifestyle interventions.