Neighborhood-Based Social Capital and Depressive Symptoms among Adults: Evidence from Guangzhou, China

Individual-level community-based social capital and depressive symptoms among older adults in urban China: the moderating effects of socioeconomic status

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the moderating role of socioeconomic status in the association between community-based social capital-based on individual-level cognitive and structural social capital-and depressive symptoms among older adults in urban China.

METHODS

Data were collected in 2020 through a community survey of 800 respondents aged 60 years and older living in Shijiazhuang and Tianjin. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multiple-group analyses were conducted to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Measurement models of cognitive social capital and structural social capital were established. Measurement invariance was established across different socioeconomic groups. Additionally, socioeconomic status significantly moderated the association between social capital and depressive symptoms. The association between cognitive social capital and depressive symptoms was statistically significant among respondents with relatively low incomes and high levels of education, whereas the association between structural social capital and depressive symptoms was significant only among those with relatively high incomes.

CONCLUSION

Future social capital policies and interventions should adopt different strategies to provide services to older adults from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, educational programs should promote the effects of cognitive social capital on depressive symptoms later in life.

Social capital, depressive symptomatology, and frailty among older adults in the western areas of China

We aimed to explore the relationship between social capital (SC) and frailty, and the mediation role of depressive symptoms in this relationship. A cross-sectional study among 2,591 older adults aged ≥60 years old was conducted from September 2020 to May 2021. SC, depressive symptoms, and frailty were measured using the social capital scale, the 9-item patient health questionnaire, and the FRAIL scale, respectively. The mediation model was tested by Bootstrap PROCESS. After controlling for socio-demographical covariates, the SC was negatively correlated with frailty (r = -0.07, P = 0.001), and depressive symptomatology (r = -0.08, P<0.001); while the depressive symptomatology was positively correlated with frailty (r = 0.33, P<0.001). Logistic regression results showed that SC was associated with a lower risk of frailty (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.92-0.97; P<0.001). Depressive symptomatology partially mediated (explained 36.4% of the total variance) the association between SC and frailty. Those findings suggest that SC may protect older adults from frailty by reducing depressive symptoms. Prevention and intervention implications were also discussed.

Social capital and loneliness among older adults in community dwellings and nursing homes in Zhejiang Province of China

Background

Loneliness is an important problem afflicting the health of older adults, and has been proven to be associated with social capital. Previous research in China rarely investigated the differences of social capital and loneliness between older adults living in community dwellings and nursing homes. This study aims to examine the status of social capital and loneliness among older adults living in community dwellings and nursing homes, and analyze the relationship between them.

Methods

A total of 1,278 older adults were recruited for the study from the cities of Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Lishui in Zhejiang Province of China from July to October 2021 by using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, social capital, and loneliness. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between social capital and loneliness. The interaction of social capital and institutionalization on loneliness was also explored.

Results

Compared with community-dwelling older adults, institutionalized older adults had higher levels of loneliness and lower degrees of social support, social connection, trust, cohesion, and reciprocity. A further analysis of the social capital showed that low levels of social support, trust, and cohesion were related to high levels of loneliness among adults in both community dwellings and nursing homes. Social connection was negatively correlated with loneliness among older adults living in community dwellings. Institutionalization itself demonstrated a strong effect on loneliness.

Conclusion

Health-related policies should help older adults gain more social support, trust and cohesion to alleviate their loneliness. This is particularly crucial for older adults living in nursing homes, as they have higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of social capital than noninstitutionalized older adults.

Association between social capital and depression among older adults of different genders: Evidence from Hangzhou, China

In China, it is critical to help older adults cope with depression due to the emerging impacts of factors such as increased life expectancy and the "one-child" family planning policy. Meanwhile, differences in retirement age have different effects on health in older adults of different gender. The relationship of gender differences in social capital and depression across the elderly population was unclear. Focusing on this demographic, this study conducted a telephone survey to explore the relationship between social capital and depression. Referring to electronic medical records, we randomly selected 1,042 elderly respondents (426 men, 616 women) from four areas in Hangzhou. We used social capital measurements and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) to assess social capital and depression, respectively, then employed a multivariate logistic regression and structural equation modeling to examine the associations between factors, along with a consideration of gender. This study was discovered that differences in both income and morbidity contributed to differences in social capital and depression. In our sample of elderly respondents, we also found gender-based differences in cognitive and structural social capital. Compared to men, women were more likely to attain higher social capital and less likely to develop depression. At the same time, social networking and social engagement had negative impacts on depression in women, which was not the case for men. We found that lower reciprocity (men and women), social work (men), and trust (women) indicated higher risks of depression. Reciprocity and social networks were significantly and negatively correlated with depression among male respondents; in the male model, factors of trust, reciprocity, and social participation had positive effects on reducing the risk of depression, while social networks had a negative effect. For elderly persons, these findings suggest that mental health is affected by differences in social capital caused by policy differences and cultural differences caused by gender differences.