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Per the person-environment fit approach, stress occurs from the discrepancies between the characteristic of the person and the environment. The impact of built environment, such as housing circumstances and neighborhood infrastructures, is notable for older adults as they are often confined within their houses or neighborhood. Sparse social networks and interactions and limitations in their physical functioning are found to contribute to the isolation, more so for older adults living alone. Additionally, built environment is known to impact older adults' health and mental health. Studies have indicated that adverse built environments are associated with depression, especially for older adults. Conversely, a community environment such as social capital is recognized as an essential resource and a known protectant against mental health needs for older adults. However, the relationships between a built environment, mental health, and social capital have not been explored in detail. This study aims to test the role of social capital in a built environment, specifically substandard housing environments and depression for older adults.
Methods
The study sample of 1,557 older adults (65 and older) living alone was drawn from the 16th wave (2021) of the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KoWePs) conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and Seoul National University. The outcome variables include depressive symptoms (CESD-11), built environment (substandard housing environment), and social capital (social trust, ties, social participation, and personal network with family). Control variables included sociodemographics (age, sex, and education), region, and self-rated health. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to test the interaction between social capital, substandard housing environments, and depression. All analyses were conducted via Mplus.
Results
The study sample, on average, was 78.5 years old (65-98), 82.7% were women, and about half received at least a middle school education. Results of the SEM indicated that social capital and built environment significantly impacted depression (χ2 (df = 277) = 1192.45, < .001; RMSEA = .046 (.043, .049); CFI = .913; and SRMR = .049); substandard housing environment was positively related to depression (ß = .26. p < .001) and social capital was negatively associated with depression (ß = -.39, p < .001). Furthermore, when the sample was divided by the level of social capital, older adults living alone were more vulnerable to their substandard housing environment and experienced more depressive symptoms when they had low social capital.
Conclusion and Implications
Examination of the relationships between the three latent variables, substandard housing environments, social capital, and depression, indicated that social capital reduced depression and attenuated the adverse effects of substandard housing environments on depression. The magnitude of the impact of substandard housing environments on depression is dependent on levels of social cohesion. Policy and practice measures may focus on fostering social capital for older adults. Further, exploration of the impact of different types of built environment, such as housing type and regional-level environments, is needed.