Department of Sociology, School of Philosophy and Sociology, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov;30(6):e5314-e5325. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13950. Epub 2022 Aug 1.
This study aimed to examine whether older adults' financial status moderated the association between neighbourhood environment (i.e. physical and social environment) and loneliness among older adults in urban China. A cross-sectional survey was collected from urban communities of Shanghai in mid-2020. The final analytic sample was 459 older adults (age range = 60-91 years; proportion of women: 55.8%). Multiple group analysis was applied to test the hypothesised model. A measurement model of community social capital (i.e. cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital), a crucial indicator of neighbourhood social environment, was first established in both high-income and low-income groups. Factor loading invariance was established in these two groups. The results show that structural social capital (i.e. organisation memberships, volunteering, social participation and citizenship activities) was negatively associated with loneliness among older respondents from the high-income group only, whereas better community security was significantly associated with lower levels of loneliness among low-income older respondents only. The findings imply that both structural social capital and household income should be considered as important indicators in needs assessment among lonely older adults. Future social policies and interventions should pay attention to enhancing the role of both social and physical neighbourhood environment among older adults.
本研究旨在探讨中国城市老年人的财务状况是否调节了邻里环境（即物质环境和社会环境）与老年人孤独感之间的关系。本研究于 2020 年中期在上海的城市社区中进行了横断面调查。最终的分析样本为 459 名老年人（年龄范围为 60-91 岁；女性比例：55.8%）。采用多组分析来检验假设模型。首先在高收入组和低收入组中建立了社区社会资本（即社会资本的认知和结构维度）的测量模型，这是邻里社会环境的一个重要指标。在这两个组中建立了因子负荷不变性。结果表明，结构社会资本（即组织成员资格、志愿服务、社会参与和公民活动）仅与高收入组老年人的孤独感呈负相关，而更好的社区安全仅与低收入组老年人的孤独感呈显著负相关。研究结果表明，结构社会资本和家庭收入都应该被视为评估孤独老年人需求的重要指标。未来的社会政策和干预措施应重视增强老年人社会和物质邻里环境的作用。
