This study empirically examines whether child characteristics mitigate the negative impact of widowhood on the elderly’s mental health using follow-up survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Stu...This study empirically examines whether child characteristics mitigate the negative impact of widowhood on the elderly’s mental health using follow-up survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS).A total of 5,326 older adults aged 60 years and older are selected from three waves of panel data(2013,2015,and 2018).Thefindings suggest that respondents who experienced widowhood exhibit an increase in depressive symptoms.However,the higher income of children and frequent face-to-face emotional interactions improve the mental health of the widowed elderly.Moreover,heterogeneity analyses show that the buffering effect of higher child income is more significant among men and the Midwestern widowed elderly,and frequent face-to-face emotional interactions are more effective in improving the psychological status of women and the Midwes-tern widowed elderly.In the special social and cultural background of China,family members remain the main support for the elderly,and the current social pension system is still imperfect.Therefore,children should strengthen emotional communication with their parents while increasing their economic income.In that way,widowhood can achieve both material and spiritual prosperity.The government should identify the vulnerable groups among the elderly widows and introduce policies aimed at improving their mental health and reducing the disparity in mental health status.展开更多
Aging and widowhood signal a real and symbolic landmark of change toward new vital experiences of elderly people. In the aging experience of women, there are three social age markers that participate directly in the c...Aging and widowhood signal a real and symbolic landmark of change toward new vital experiences of elderly people. In the aging experience of women, there are three social age markers that participate directly in the construction of their identity as women during old age: menopause, work and widowhood. The present paper reports the results of a research on widowhood in old age and the experience of aging in elderly women in Chile. Through a qualitative methodological strategy, in depth biographic interviews were held with elderly people who were widowed after reaching 60 years of age, centering the analysis on its meanings on the body, health and death in old age, highlighting sociocultural aspects of the aging and widowing processes. Approaching widowhood in old age shows us not only a person who has lost a husband, but also what it means to be an elderly woman in a life experience continuum that also brings about key changes to understand the aging process of people, because marital relations can get to be determining factors for the construction of the identity of women and their experience of the aging process.展开更多
目的:农村丧偶独居老年女性可能比普通老年群体面临更高的抑郁和孤独感风险,且会影响其生活质量。本研究旨在探讨农村丧偶独居老年女性抑郁、孤独感与生活质量的相关性。方法:采用二阶段整群抽样法,在湖南省湘西自治州龙山县选取234例...目的:农村丧偶独居老年女性可能比普通老年群体面临更高的抑郁和孤独感风险,且会影响其生活质量。本研究旨在探讨农村丧偶独居老年女性抑郁、孤独感与生活质量的相关性。方法:采用二阶段整群抽样法,在湖南省湘西自治州龙山县选取234例农村丧偶独居老年女性,使用一般情况调查表、老年抑郁量表-15(Geriatric Depression Scale-15,GDS-15)、加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表中文简化版[The University of California,LosAngeles(UCLA)Loneliness Scale-8,ULS-8]和简明健康状况量表(36-Item Short Form Health Survey,SF-36)对其进行问卷调查。结果:234例农村丧偶独居老年女性年龄为(73.29±7.36)岁,其中检出抑郁103例(44.0%);无孤独或轻度孤独者114例(48.7%),中度孤独者111例(47.4%),重度孤独者9例(3.9%);生活质量总分为63.39±19.70。抑郁、孤独感与生活质量呈负相关(均P<0.001)。校正混杂因素后,多元线性回归分析显示:农村丧偶独居老年女性的年龄、急慢性病数量、个人月收入、抑郁和孤独感是生活质量的独立影响因素(均P<0.05)。结论:抑郁和孤独感可影响农村丧偶独居老年女性的生活质量,在健康老龄化工作中,可从加强基础疾病管理、增加收入、缓解抑郁、孤独感等方面改善该群体的生活质量。展开更多
基金supported by the National Social Science Fund of China under Grant No.17BJL044。
文摘This study empirically examines whether child characteristics mitigate the negative impact of widowhood on the elderly’s mental health using follow-up survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS).A total of 5,326 older adults aged 60 years and older are selected from three waves of panel data(2013,2015,and 2018).Thefindings suggest that respondents who experienced widowhood exhibit an increase in depressive symptoms.However,the higher income of children and frequent face-to-face emotional interactions improve the mental health of the widowed elderly.Moreover,heterogeneity analyses show that the buffering effect of higher child income is more significant among men and the Midwestern widowed elderly,and frequent face-to-face emotional interactions are more effective in improving the psychological status of women and the Midwes-tern widowed elderly.In the special social and cultural background of China,family members remain the main support for the elderly,and the current social pension system is still imperfect.Therefore,children should strengthen emotional communication with their parents while increasing their economic income.In that way,widowhood can achieve both material and spiritual prosperity.The government should identify the vulnerable groups among the elderly widows and introduce policies aimed at improving their mental health and reducing the disparity in mental health status.
文摘Aging and widowhood signal a real and symbolic landmark of change toward new vital experiences of elderly people. In the aging experience of women, there are three social age markers that participate directly in the construction of their identity as women during old age: menopause, work and widowhood. The present paper reports the results of a research on widowhood in old age and the experience of aging in elderly women in Chile. Through a qualitative methodological strategy, in depth biographic interviews were held with elderly people who were widowed after reaching 60 years of age, centering the analysis on its meanings on the body, health and death in old age, highlighting sociocultural aspects of the aging and widowing processes. Approaching widowhood in old age shows us not only a person who has lost a husband, but also what it means to be an elderly woman in a life experience continuum that also brings about key changes to understand the aging process of people, because marital relations can get to be determining factors for the construction of the identity of women and their experience of the aging process.
文摘目的:农村丧偶独居老年女性可能比普通老年群体面临更高的抑郁和孤独感风险,且会影响其生活质量。本研究旨在探讨农村丧偶独居老年女性抑郁、孤独感与生活质量的相关性。方法:采用二阶段整群抽样法,在湖南省湘西自治州龙山县选取234例农村丧偶独居老年女性,使用一般情况调查表、老年抑郁量表-15(Geriatric Depression Scale-15,GDS-15)、加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表中文简化版[The University of California,LosAngeles(UCLA)Loneliness Scale-8,ULS-8]和简明健康状况量表(36-Item Short Form Health Survey,SF-36)对其进行问卷调查。结果:234例农村丧偶独居老年女性年龄为(73.29±7.36)岁,其中检出抑郁103例(44.0%);无孤独或轻度孤独者114例(48.7%),中度孤独者111例(47.4%),重度孤独者9例(3.9%);生活质量总分为63.39±19.70。抑郁、孤独感与生活质量呈负相关(均P<0.001)。校正混杂因素后,多元线性回归分析显示:农村丧偶独居老年女性的年龄、急慢性病数量、个人月收入、抑郁和孤独感是生活质量的独立影响因素(均P<0.05)。结论:抑郁和孤独感可影响农村丧偶独居老年女性的生活质量,在健康老龄化工作中,可从加强基础疾病管理、增加收入、缓解抑郁、孤独感等方面改善该群体的生活质量。
