Community Restructuring and Depressive Symptoms of Rural Mature and Elderly Adults: A Multilevel Analysis Based on a National Dataset in China
Community restructuring is an important predictor for residents' mental health. However, few studies have investigated how it affects the depressive symptoms of rural ageing population. Using cross sectional data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) this study examined how community restructuring was associated with depressive symptoms of Chinese rural mature and older adults and what community level factors mediated the association. We found that people in restructuring communities reported .75 unit lower depression score (p .01) community restructuring is associated with more infrastructure, recreational amenities, and grassroots organization (p .001) in the community; and the availability of infrastructure (p .01) and grassroots organization (p .05) had significant indirect effect on the association between community restructuring and depressive symptoms. World countries' urbanization policy shall not only focus on community physical environment, but also on the development of grassroots organizations that involve and connect local people.
Community Mental Health Journal