Reconfiguring Social Disconnectedness and its link to Psychological Well-being among Older Adults in Rural China

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Using data from 2015 and 2018 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China, we investigated associations between different forms of social disconnectedness (social isolation, loneliness, living alone) and psychological well-being of older adults longitudinally. The results showed that social isolation and loneliness were independently associated with psychological well-being, whereas living alone was not. Different forms of social disconnectedness had additive and interactive effects on psychological well-being of older adults. Those who were exposed to all three forms of social disconnectedness suffered from the lowest level of psychological well-being. Moreover, the adverse effects of social disconnectedness on psychological well-being were found to be stronger for older women than for older men. The results underscore the necessity to consider multiple forms of social disconnectedness as well as their different combinations in  explaining psychological well-being in later life.

Feinian Chen is Professor of Sociology and faculty affiliate at the Hopkins Population Center at  Johns Hopkins University. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001 and was trained in social demography at the Carolina Population Center. She is actively engaged in research in family transitions, gender dynamics, and their health implications in the diverse contexts of China, India, the Philippines, and the U.S.

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Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies, California Center of Population Research