Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
Department of Social Work & Social Administration, Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
Aging Ment Health. 2023 Mar;27(3):595-603. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2022.2053500. Epub 2022 Mar 18.
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of social capital in the association between perceived physical neighborhood environment and loneliness among older adults in urban China.
Data were derived from face-to-face interviews with people ( = 472) aged 60 or older in urban communities of Shanghai, China, in 2020. Loneliness was measured by the 6-item De Jong Gierveld Scale. A multiple mediator model was adopted to examine the research hypotheses.
Cognitive social capital played a full mediation role in the association between perceived community health care (β = -.061, < .05), safety (β = -.168, < .001), recreational services (β = -.058, < .05), and loneliness. Structural social capital was associated with loneliness (β = -.102, < .05), whereas its mediator effect was not significant. Perceived transportation convenience had neither a direct nor an indirect effect on loneliness among older adults.
Findings indicate that older adults' perceptions of healthcare services, safety, and recreational resources could help alleviate their loneliness via fostering cognitive social capital. Interventions improving older adults' perceptions of community health care, safety, and recreation, and their social capital level could help reduce the prevalence of loneliness.
本研究旨在探讨社会资本在感知邻里物理环境与中国城市老年人孤独感之间的关系中的中介作用。
数据来自于 2020 年在中国上海城市社区中对 60 岁及以上人群进行的面对面访谈（n=472）。孤独感采用 6 项 Jong Gierveld 量表进行测量。采用多重中介模型检验研究假设。
认知社会资本在感知社区医疗保健（β=-.061，<.05）、安全（β=-.168，<.001）、娱乐服务（β=-.058，<.05）与孤独感之间发挥了完全中介作用。结构社会资本与孤独感相关（β=-.102，<.05），但其中介作用不显著。感知交通便利性对老年人的孤独感既没有直接影响，也没有间接影响。
研究结果表明，老年人对医疗服务、安全和娱乐资源的感知有助于通过培养认知社会资本来缓解他们的孤独感。改善老年人对社区医疗保健、安全和娱乐的感知以及社会资本水平的干预措施，可能有助于降低孤独感的发生率。
