Population Division, United Nations, New York.
Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2019 Oct 4;74(8):1441-1452. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gby140.
Solo-living has far-reaching implications for older adults' well-being. The causal impacts and the pathways of solo-living on health and well-being of older adults are still unclear. This study examines the correlates of solo-living and subsequent health outcomes of solo-living among older adults in mainland China.
We draw data from four waves of a nationwide survey with a total of 9,714 older adults aged 65 or older who had at least three interviews in 2005-2014. A generalized structural equation modeling approach was applied to examine what factors are associated with solo-living status and whether and how the antecedent of solo-living status subsequently affects well-being and health.
Owning a home, having no living child, and a preference to live independently are positively correlated with living alone, whereas living in a city, having economic independence, being educated, and having poor physical and cognitive functions are associated with lower odds of solo-living. Older Chinese adults who live alone are more likely to feel lonely and have a lower life satisfaction, yet they are more likely to be involved in social/leisure activities, and have fewer physical disabilities and a lower mortality risk.
There is a bi-directional relationship between solo-living and well-being/health among the Chinese older adults. Solo-living is a conditioned choice of a set of critical factors among older Chinese. The greater involvement in social/leisure activities is likely a key for Chinese solo-living older adults to mitigate the negative impact of their lower psychological well-being on subsequent mortality.
独居对老年人的幸福感有深远的影响。独居对老年人健康和幸福感的因果影响和途径仍不清楚。本研究考察了中国大陆老年人独居的相关因素以及独居对其健康结果的后续影响。
我们从一项全国性调查的四个波次中提取数据，共有 9714 名年龄在 65 岁及以上的老年人，他们在 2005 年至 2014 年期间至少接受了三次访谈。采用广义结构方程模型方法来检验哪些因素与独居状态相关，以及独居状态的前因是否以及如何随后影响幸福感和健康。
拥有住房、没有在世子女以及偏好独立生活与独居呈正相关，而居住在城市、经济独立、受过教育以及身体和认知功能较差则与独居的可能性较低相关。独居的中国老年人更有可能感到孤独和生活满意度较低，但他们更有可能参与社交/休闲活动，身体残疾较少，死亡率较低。
在中国老年人中，独居和幸福感/健康之间存在双向关系。独居是中国老年人一系列关键因素的有条件选择。更多地参与社交/休闲活动可能是中国独居老年人减轻较低心理幸福感对随后死亡率的负面影响的关键。
