Attitude towards aging and anxiety in the relationship between social alienation and depression in Chinese rural empty-nest older adults: a chained mediation modeling analysis

Apr 16, 2025BMC public health

How feelings about aging and anxiety link social isolation to depression in older adults living alone in rural China

AI simplified

Longevity & Aging on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

A sample of 1025 rural empty-nest older adults in China shows that is linked to increased depression levels.

Social alienation positively predicts attitudes towards aging, anxiety symptoms, and depression.
Attitudes towards aging are associated with increased anxiety symptoms and depression.
Anxiety symptoms are strongly linked to higher levels of depression.
Social alienation influences depression through three indirect pathways: via attitudes towards aging, anxiety symptoms, and a combination of both.

AI simplified

BACKGROUND: Depression among rural empty-nest older adults has emerged as a significant global and Chinese concern in recent years. Studies have identified associations between depression in rural empty-nest older adults and factors such as , attitudes towards aging, and mental health. However, the intricate mechanisms underlying these relationships remain incompletely understood. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the intricate connections between social alienation and depression among Chinese rural empty-nest older adults, aiming to shed light on the underlying mechanisms contributing to depression in this demographic.

METHODS: The study data were gathered from a sample of rural empty-nest older adults (N = 1025) residing in the cities of Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, China. Depression served as the primary outcome variable, with social alienation as the predictor variable. Attitude towards aging and anxiety symptoms were examined as potential mediators in the relationship between social alienation and depression. Mediation and chained mediation modeling analyses were conducted to analyze the data and explore the proposed relationships.

RESULTS: (1) Social alienation positively predicted attitude towards aging (β = 0.109, P < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.076, P < 0.001), and depression (β = 0.021, P < 0.001). Attitude towards aging positively predicted anxiety symptoms (β = 0.390, P < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.006, P < 0.001). Anxiety symptoms also positively predicted depression (β = 1.207, P < 0.001). (2) Social alienation mainly affects depression through three indirect effects: (1) Social alienation → attitude towards aging → depression; (2) Social alienation → anxiety symptoms → depression; (3) Social alienation → attitude towards aging → anxiety symptoms → depression.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that social alienation impacts depression among Chinese rural empty-nest older adults through the pathways of attitude towards aging and anxiety symptoms. Consequently, efforts aimed at preventing depression rooted in social alienation among this demographic should address both attitudes towards aging and mental health concerns.

Key numbers

35.0%

Prevalence of Depression

Percentage of rural empty-nest older adults experiencing depression.

1025

Sample Size

Total number of rural empty-nest older adults surveyed.

Full Text

We can’t show the full text here under this license. Use the link below to read it at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text (HTML) ↗

Attitude towards aging and anxiety in the relationship between social alienation and depression in Chinese rural empty-nest older adults: a chained mediation modeling analysis

Abstract

Key numbers

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief

Abstract

Key numbers

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief