Whose migration matters? The role of migration in social networks and mental health among rural older adults in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Dan Tang ◽  
Lili Xie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Older Migrants ◽  
Left Behind

Abstract The dual demographic changes in massive rural-to-urban labour migration and population ageing have significantly impacted the lives of older adults, who have either been left behind in rural regions or migrated to urban areas. While many extant studies on migration and wellbeing of older adults have focused on either migrating or left-behind older adults, a very limited number of studies have directly compared these two groups. Utilising data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey, this study examines the impacts of different migration patterns (i.e. migrating older adults, left-behind older adults and non-migrating older adults) on the social networks and mental health of older adults in rural China. Structural equation modelling results showed that older adults who have been left behind reported weaker family ties and poorer mental health than the other older adults. Moreover, weakened family ties increased older adults’ risk of developing mental health problems. Older migrants reported the lowest level of depressive symptoms among the three groups of older adults. However, migration may be associated with poorer mental health among the older migrants due to the shrinking/weakening of family/friendship ties.

scholarly journals SEPARATED KIN: RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES OF OLDER ADULTS LEFT BEHIND IN RURAL CHINA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S880-S880
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
The Impact

Abstract As the processes of urbanization and globalization have intensified across the world, a burgeoning literature has documented the impact of emigration on the health of family members left behind in emigrant communities. Although the association between children’s migration and parental well-being is well documented, few have examined the health implications of children’s migration in the milieu of multiple children and further differentiated between children’s short-term and long-term migration. Therefore, I argue that it is not the geographic locality of a single child but the composition of all children’s location that matters. I further suggest that the impact of children’s migration on parental wellbeing is conditioned on the duration of children’s migration. Using a six waves longitudinal data (2001-2015) collected in rural China, this paper compares mental health (measured as depressive symptoms) trajectories of old adults (aged 60 and older) across different compositions of local and migrant children over a 14-year span. Results from growth curve models show that parents having more migrant children relative to local children experience a more rapid increase in depressive symptoms. In addition, older adults who have their most children migrate away for three or more waves of data have experienced the steepest rate of increase in depressive symptoms. These findings provide new evidence to support the life course processes of mental health disparities among older adults from the perspective of intergenerational proximity.

scholarly journals Mental health and its influencing factors among left-behind children in South China: a cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiu Zhang ◽  
Mengjie Li ◽  
Li Guo ◽  
Yanna Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Communication Frequency

Abstract Background With rapid development of China’s economy, there were over 68.7 million left-behind children (LBC) in China whose mental health has become a problem of public concern. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the status of mental health and its associated factors of LBC aged 3–16 years old in both rural and urban areas. Methods A total of 4187 children (aged 3–16), including 1471 LBC and 2716 non-left-behind children (NLBC), were recruited from 50 communities (22 in urban areas and 28 in rural areas) in Guangdong, China in August, 2014. The mental health problems were assessed using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results No statistically significant difference of SDQ subscales scores about difficulties were found between LBC and NLBC on the whole participants as well as in rural areas or in urban areas within the same age group after adjustments were made (all p > 0.05). However, compared with NLBC in the same areas, urban LBC tended to have higher prosocial behaviours scores, while rural LBC had the lowest prosocial behaviours scores not only in the whole age group but also in different age subgroups (p < 0.05). Besides, compared with urban LBC, rural LBC were not worse in SDQ subscales scores except for prosocial behaviour at 7–9 age group (p = 0.003). Furthermore, higher paternal educational level and longer duration of parental absence, were associated with less difficulties in both rural and urban LBC. Besides, shorter duration of talk per-time but higher communication frequency were associated with less difficulties in rural LBC. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that in general, no difference of mental health problems were found between LBC and NLBC. Besides, longer duration of parental absence, shorter duration of talk per time but more communication frequency, and higher paternal educational level tend to have better development of mental health. The findings reinforce the importance of the stability of caregivers and the effective parent-child communication for Chinese rural LBC.

Reminiscence functions scale: factorial structure and its relation with mental health in a sample of Spanish older adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1521-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ros ◽  
J. C. Meléndez ◽  
J. D. Webster ◽  
T. Mayordomo ◽  
A. Sales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Factorial Structure

ABSTRACTBackground:The reminiscence functions scale (RFS) is a 43-item self-report instrument designed to assess the use of reminiscence for different functions. This study aims, on one hand, to analyze the factorial structure and the psychometric properties of the RFS and, on the other, to examine the relationship between the functions of reminiscence and mental health.Methods:RFS scale and measures of depressive symptomology, despair, and life satisfaction were administered to a sample of persons over the age of sixty (n = 364).Results:After eliminating three conflictive items from the original scale, the confirmatory factor analysis results present a factorial structure comprising eight traditional factors and adequate reliability scores (from 0.73 to 0.87). Using structural equation modeling, we find that these reminiscence factors are organized in three second-order factors (self-positive, self-negative, and prosocial). Results show that the self-positive factor relates negatively and the self-negative factor relates positively with symptoms of mental health problems.Conclusions:These results, on one hand, confirm that the RFS scale is a useful instrument to assess reminiscence functions in a sample of Spanish older adults and, on the other, that the three-factor model of reminiscence is a better predictor of mental health than the alternative four-factor model.

scholarly journals Mental health and its influencing factors among left-behind children in China: a cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiu Zhang ◽  
Mengjie Li ◽  
Li Guo ◽  
Yanna Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Prosocial Behaviours

Abstract Background With rapid development of China’s economy, there were over 68.7 million left-behind children (LBC) in China whose mental health has become a problem of public concern. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the status of mental health and its associated factors of LBC aged 3-16 years old in both rural and urban areas. Methods A total of 4187 children (aged 3-16), including 1471 LBC and 2716 non-left-behind children (NLBC), were recruited from 50 communities (22 in urban areas and 28 in rural areas) in Guangdong, China in August, 2014. The mental health problems were assessed using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results No statistically significant difference of SDQ subscales scores about difficulties were found between LBC and NLBC on the whole participants as well as in rural areas or in urban areas within the same age group after adjustments were made (all p>0.05). However, compared with NLBC in the same areas, urban LBC tended to have higher prosocial behaviours scores, while rural LBC had the lowest prosocial behaviours scores not only in the whole age group but also in different age subgroups (p<0.05). Besides, compared with urban LBC, rural LBC were not worse in SDQ subscales scores except for prosocial behaviour at 7-9 age group (p=0.003). Furthermore, longer duration of parental absence (β=-0.184 to -0.103) and lower communication frequency (β=0.085 to 0.121) were associated with less difficulties in both rural and urban LBC. Higher paternal educational level (β=-2.736 to -0.085) and longer duration of talk per-time (β=-0.183 to -0.113) were associated with less difficulties in rural LBC. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that in general, no difference of mental health problems were found between LBC and NLBC. The finding reinforce the importance of the stability of caregivers and the effective parent-child communication for Chinese rural LBC.

Comparing the social networks of service users with long term mental health needs living in community with those in a general adult in-patient unit

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110175
Author(s):  
Roberto Rusca ◽  
Ike-Foster Onwuchekwa ◽  
Catherine Kinane ◽  
Douglas MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Patient Group ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
The Social

Background: Relationships are vital to recovery however, there is uncertainty whether users have different types of social networks in different mental health settings and how these networks may impact on users’ wellbeing. Aims: To compare the social networks of people with long-term mental illness in the community with those of people in a general adult in-patient unit. Method: A sample of general adult in-patients with enduring mental health problems, aged between 18 and 65, was compared with a similar sample attending a general adult psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic data and information about participants’ social networks. Participants also completed the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to examine well-being and the Significant Others Scale to explore their social network support. Results: The study recruited 53 participants (25 living in the community and 28 current in-patients) with 339 named as important members of their social networks. Both groups recorded low numbers in their social networks though the community sample had a significantly greater number of social contacts (7.4 vs. 5.4), more monthly contacts with members of their network and significantly higher levels of social media use. The in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Conclusions: People with serious and enduring mental health problems living in the community had a significantly greater number of people in their social network than those who were in-patients while the in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Recommendations for future work have been made.

scholarly journals Association of Child Mental Health with Child and Family Characteristics in Rural China: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5107
Author(s):  
Huan Wang ◽  
Cody Abbey ◽  
Xinshu She ◽  
Scott Rozelle ◽  
Xiaochen Ma
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Family Characteristics ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional

Assessing the mental health problems encountered by school children and understanding the contributing factors are crucial to inform strategies aimed at improving mental health in low-resource contexts. However, few studies have investigated the mental health problems among disadvantaged children in poorer countries. This study examines the prevalence of mental health problems in rural China and their association with child and family characteristics. The study uses survey data from 9696 children in 120 rural primary schools and measures child mental health using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Overall, 17.9% of the sample children were found to be in the abnormal range of the SDQ total difficulties scores. The mean score was 12.93 (SD = 4.94). Abnormal scores were associated with child and family characteristics, including older child age (Odds Ratio, OR = 0.704, 95% CI: 0.611, 0.810; p < 0.001), gender (OR = 1.235, 95% CI: 1.112, 1.371; p < 0.001), and academic performance (OR = 0.421, 95% CI: 0.369, 0.480; p < 0.001). Reading time was found to be protective for mental health. Risk factors include excessive screen time (OR = 1.685, 95% CI: 1.409, 2.016; p < 0.001) and being bullied (OR = 3.695, 95% CI: 3.301, 4.136; p < 0.001). Our study suggests that future mental health illness prevention programs in rural China should consider targeting different aspects of children’s social contexts.

scholarly journals Perceived need for treatment and non-utilization of outpatient psychotherapy in old age: two cohorts of a nationwide survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Gellert ◽  
Sonia Lech ◽  
Eva-Marie Kessler ◽  
Wolfram Herrmann ◽  
Susanne Döpfmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
General Health Status ◽  
Outpatient Psychotherapy ◽  
Need For Treatment ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Rural Residency ◽  
Perceived Need For Treatment

Abstract Beackground Older adults with mental health problems may benefit from psychotherapy; however, their perceived need for treatment in relation to rates of non-utilization of outpatient psychotherapy as well as the predisposing, enabling, and need factors proposed by Andersen’s Model of Health Care Utilization that account for these differences warrant further investigation. Methods We used two separate cohorts (2014 and 2019) of a weighted nationwide telephone survey in Germany of German-speaking adults with N = 12,197 participants. Across the two cohorts, 12.9% (weighted) reported a perceived need for treatment for mental health problems and were selected for further analyses. Logistic Generalized Estimation Equations (GEE) was applied to model the associations between disposing (age, gender, single habiting, rural residency, general health status), enabling (education, general practitioner visit) non-utilization of psychotherapy (outcome) across cohorts in those with a need for treatment (need factor). Results In 2014, 11.8% of 6087 participants reported a perceived need for treatment due to mental health problems. In 2016, the prevalence increased significantly to 14.0% of 6110 participants. Of those who reported a perceived need for treatment, 36.4% in 2014 and 36.9%in 2019 did not see a psychotherapist – where rates of non-utilization of psychotherapy were vastly higher in the oldest age category (59.3/52.5%; 75+) than in the youngest (29.1/10.7%; aged 18–25). Concerning factors associated with non-utilization, multivariate findings indicated participation in the cohort of 2014 (OR 0.94), older age (55–64 OR 1.02, 65–74 OR 1.47, 75+ OR 4.76), male gender (OR 0.83), lower educational status (OR 0.84), rural residency (OR 1.38), single habiting (OR 1.37), and seeing a GP (OR 1.39) to be related with non-utilization of psychotherapy; general health status was not significantly associated with non-utilization when GP contact was included in the model. Conclusion There is a strong age effect in terms of non-utilization of outpatient psychotherapy. Individual characteristics of both healthcare professionals and patients and structural barriers may add to this picture. Effective strategies to increase psychotherapy rates in those older adults with unmet treatment needs are required.

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