Community Engagement and Life Satisfaction Amongst Older Adults in China: Moderated Mediation By Social Capital, Gender, and Age

Background and Objective: By 2050, it is anticipated that the elderly population in China will represent 29.80% of the nation’s total population, amounting to an estimated 437 million individuals. Traditionally, elder care has been a familial duty, undertaken by relatives with limited external assistance. Yet, urbanization and migration-related demographic shifts have increasingly fragmented these family units, leaving numerous elderly without their conventional supports. There's an escalating reliance on community-based services to promote active aging. Life satisfaction is regarded as a critical measure for assessing health and well-being among the elderly. This study aims to examine the interconnection between community engagement and life satisfaction in China, with a specific emphasis on the intermediating role of social capital.

Methods: We utilized survey data from 2022, collected from a convenience sample of older adults in Chengdu (N = 1,036). The dependent variable, life satisfaction, is measured by Neugarten and colleagues’ (1961) 20-item Life Satisfaction Index. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82.The independent variable, community engagement, is measured by using 8 items of the community engagement scale, which had Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.86. Social capital serves as the mediator of the study and is indicated by using the Personal Social Capital Scale.In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha for bonding social capital, bridging social capital, and overall social capital were 0.87, 0.90, and 0.91 respectively. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses were applied to test the mediation hypothesis that posits community engagement influences life satisfaction through social capital.

Results: The average age of the sample was 66, with a standard deviation of 9. The majority of participants were aged between 60 and 69 years (42.7%), followed by those aged 70 and above (31.5%). The SEM analysis yielded satisfactory model fit indices (Chi-squared > 0.05, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA < 0.08, and SRMR < 0.08). Community engagement was positively associated with social capital (β = 0.54, p < 0.001). Social capital had a direct and positive relationship with life satisfaction (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). The SEM results indicated that community engagement had an indirect effect on life satisfaction through social capital (β = 0.15, p < 0.001). Additionally, community engagement was more strongly associated with social capital among older adults who are male, or age 70 and above. Similarly, social capital had a greater impact on life satisfaction for older adults who are male or in the same age category (β = 0.40).

Conclusion: The study suggests that community engagement may serve as an effective tool for enhancing the social capital and life satisfaction of older adults. These findings underscore the significance of social and environmental elements, such as community engagement and social capital, in promoting active aging. Although the Chinese government has recently emphasized community participation among the senior population, there is a need for more initiatives to bolster community ties and overall well-being. Interventions aimed at cultivating community engagement are anticipated to significantly benefit the life satisfaction of older male adults, with a probable positive impact on older female adults as well.