Mental health and well-being in older women in China: implications from the Andersen model

Mental health and well-being among older women is an important topic due to the feminization of later life as women tend to have longer life expectancy resulting in elderly women being more advanced in age and outnumbering men. Older women generally play a key role in their families lifelong and mostly depend on social support from their family and close friends in older age to cope with any limitations they face as a result of age-related changes in their health and functional ability.

We examine which factors predict mental health and well-being in older women using the Third Wave of the 2010 Female Social Status Survey conducted by the All-China Women's Federation (n = 3527). Applying the Andersen Model, regression analysis exploring predisposing, enabling and health need variables were tested using SPSS version 22 predicting a mental health scale.

Results showed that living with a spouse was not a significant predictor of mental health for women, while it was for men (b = - 1.2, p < .01), ownership of property is significant only for men (b = -.96, p < .05), whereas women's mental health is more strongly predicted by current exercise (b = -.89, p < .01) and participation in leisure activities (b = -.69, p < .001). Close relationships with neighbors, qualifying for old-age benefit programs and being in better overall health supports positive mental health for both men and women. Reporting delayed medical treatment is associated with a negative impact on mental health for men, but oddly women who report the same actually report better mental health, perhaps suggesting older women take pride in their self-sacrifice.

The findings of this study suggest that gender differences in wealth, living alone, and social participation are interpreted differently by women, who have longer lives with generally fewer material resources. Enabling factors tend to be more associated with financial factors for men, while women rely on a social convoy to thrive longer than their male counterparts.