A study on the impact of Internet use on depression among Chinese older people under the perspective of social participation.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the role of social participation in the relationship between internet use and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults and investigate how the internet use interact with social participation to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms. METHODS: Based on the survey from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018, we identified 4645 subjects and used the Ordinary Least Square method (OLS) and Propensity Score Matching method (PSM) to identify the association between Internet use and depression of older people, and further test how social participation played a role in the relationship. RESULTS: The level of depression of older people was significantly reduced in those who using internet in China, and the effect was still robust under different identification methods. The mental health was improved when using internet because of the increase of social participation and social capital. Further, The positive effect was stronger especially in those who were female, living in rural areas, has low education attainments and were 70-79 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The popularity of internet use has a positive effect on the depressive symptoms of Chinese older adults. Effective measures were encouraged to improve the friendliness of internet for older people and promote the popularization of the Internet and older group, achieving the spiritual well-being of them in the Internet society.

Number of Births and Risk of Diabetes in China's Older Women.

As an important life event in individuals' life, childbirth will affect the health of women to different degrees. More and more attention has been paid to whether the number of births will affect the incident diabetes in elderly women, but there are few related studies. Based on the data of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey in 2018, 6,159 older women are selected as the study population. Logistic regression analyses are used to estimate the relationship between the number of births and diabetes risk. For each additional birth, the odds ratio of maternal diabetes will decrease by 6.9% and the result is significant at the 1% level, especially among mothers having four children or less. The conclusion is equally applicable in the sample of fathers and urban mothers, but the increase in the number of births will increase the risk of diabetes in rural mothers, although this result is not statistically significant. Later age at first birth, later age at last birth, the longer childbearing period, and birth interval will significantly reduce the risk of diabetes.

Impact of fertility on the longevity of older rural Chinese women: an analysis of a longitudinal survey.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the impact of fertility during the childbearing period on the longevity of older rural Chinese women and verifies whether any trade-off exists between women's longevity and their number of children to provide empirical evidence for improving health intervention policies and formulating active fertility policies in low-fertility countries. METHODS: Based on the data of the deaths of 1623 older adults aged 65 and above during 2014-2018 in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study explores the relationship between the number of children born and older rural women's longevity using the ordinary least squares method. Furthermore, the impact of fertility on the longevity of men and women in rural and urban areas, along with other reproductive behaviours on older rural women's longevity, were analysed. RESULTS: There was a significant negative correlation between the number of children born and women's longevity (ß = - 0.555, p < 0.05). Additionally, their longevity exhibited a decreasing trend with having birthed more sons and an increasing trend with more daughters. Age at first and last births had a significant positive relationship with rural women's longevity; however, the effect of fertility on the longevity of older rural and urban men and older urban women was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: It is confirmed that there is a trade-off between fertility and longevity for rural women in China. Future research should focus on compensating for the decline in female longevity caused by the number of children born and promote the concept of a healthy pregnancy, scientific nurture, and gender equality in fertility.

Volunteer Service and Well-Being of Older People in China.

Purpose: The social support theory suggested that involving older people in social activities could increase their level of social participation and interaction, which in turn improved their well-being. However, there has been a heated controversy about whether participating in volunteer services could enhance the well-being of older people, especially for the Chinese sample. Method: Based on the data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2013, this paper used an ordered probit model to examine the impact of older people's participation in volunteer services on their well-being, as well as the differences in the impact across groups and the specific transmission mechanism. Result: The empirical study found that Chinese older people's participation in volunteerism significantly enhanced their well-being, which remained robust after eliminating the possible effects of self-selection. Further heterogeneity analysis revealed that for female, non-party members and older adults with good economic status, participation in volunteerism has a higher increase in well-being. The mediating effect test indicated that older people's participation in volunteerism affected well-being mainly through enhancing positive emotions. Conclusion: It is necessary to promote the participation of older people in volunteer services and to clarify the role of government support and advocacy. Proper guidance is given to change the role of older people as care recipients to that of service providers and caregivers, and to continuously enrich the programmes and content of volunteer service to safeguard the well-being of older people.

Internet Use and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in China.

This study investigated the effect of using the Internet on depression symptoms of older Chinese, based on 7,801 adults aged over 60 years from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies. Results showed that the elderly who used the Internet reported lower depression scores, and the more frequent they use Internet, the lower their depression scores. Moreover, using the Internet for social contact and entertainment decreased the depression scores of the older adults, but when using Internet for learn, work, and commercial activity, the relief of depressive symptoms disappeared. Therelief of depression symptoms through Internet use were heterogeneous among different groups: the elderly aged 60-70, women, rural residents, and those with lower education attainment. Moreover, Internet use decreased the depression scores by increasing the frequency of contact with their children and increasing the importance of their enjoyment of life. According to the relief of depression by using Internet reasonably, policies should be designed to ensure that all ages could have easy access to the Internet.

Share Rose, Get Fun: The Influence of Donation on Happiness.

There is little literature on the impact of donation on individual wellbeing in China. This study examines individual donations in China to answer the question of whether helping others makes us happier and to provide policy implications for in Chinese context. Based on the 2012 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data and using ordered logit and OLS as benchmark models, this study finds that donation can significantly increase individual happiness. After using propensity score matching (PSM) to eliminate the possible impact of self-selection, the above conclusion remains robust. After a sub-sample discussion, it is found that this effect is more pronounced under completely voluntary donation behavior, and is not affected by economic factors, indicating that the happiness effect of donation does not vary significantly depending on the individual's economic status. This study contributes to the literature on donation behavior by examining the impact of donation behavior on donors' subjective happiness in China, and further identifies subjective happiness differences, as between voluntary and involuntary donations, thereby providing theoretical and empirical support for the formulation of policies for the development of donation institutions in China.

Effect of Working After Retirement on the Mental Health of Older People: Evidence From China.

There is little empirical research on the effect of working after retirement on the mental health of the older adults in China. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines the effects of working after retirement on the mental health of the older adults using data from the China Family Panel Studies. We employed the methods of ordinary least squares, ordered logit, and propensity score matching-difference in differences (PSM-DID). Results show that working after retirement is negatively related to mental health of the older adults in China. The deterioration effect of post-retirement work mainly impacts those aged over 60 years, women, and those with lower education background, urban household registration, higher pension, and higher social status. Working after retirement is negatively related to mental health through the mediating effects of deteriorating interpersonal relationships and lower positive attitude. It is necessary to consider mental health effects and their population differences to evaluate the impact and improve the quality of policies of active aging.