Education, neighbourhood context and depression of elderly Chinese

Abstract

Research on depression among older adults has begun to take a contextual approach. This study advances scholarship by examining the relevance of education and neighbourhood context for individual depression in China. Using data from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011), a nationally representative survey of Chinese aged 45 years or older, results of multilevel linear models show that the negative association between education and depression goes beyond individuals and extends to the neighbourhood level, although great variations exist across neighbourhoods. The individual education–depression relationship is more pronounced in disadvantaged neighbourhoods characterised by low incomes. Older adults living in rural neighbourhoods fare much worse with more depressive symptoms than their urban counterparts. While larger proportions of adults with a high-school education or higher are related to better mental health among the elderly in rural villages, it is not the case in urban communities. Promoting education in the general population, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas, may prove mentally beneficial to the aging residents.