Relative Deprivation and Health Among Chinese Adults: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being

Relative deprivation has been associated with adverse health outcomes, yet the psychological pathways linking perceived socioeconomic disadvantage to health remain insufficiently understood, particularly in the Chinese context. This study therefore examines whether subjective well-being mediates the relationship between relative deprivation and health among Chinese adults. This cross-sectional study analyzed 5604 adults aged ≥ 18 using data from the 2023 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) conducted in China. After computing descriptive statistics and correlations, stepwise regression models tested whether subjective well-being mediated the relationship between relative deprivation and health. Indirect effects were estimated using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures (5000 replications). Urban-rural stratification examined geographic heterogeneity in mediation pathways, while robustness checks included ordered logit models and a sensitivity analysis that dichotomized subjective well-being into low and high categories. STATA 18.0 was used throughout. The results indicated that relative deprivation demonstrated a significant negative association with Chinese adults' health. Furthermore, subjective well-being was independently associated with better health outcomes. Mediation analysis revealed that subjective well-being significantly mediated 20.5% of the total effect between relative deprivation and health. Regional stratification showed that the indirect pathway through subjective well-being did not differ significantly between urban and rural residents, whereas the direct effect of relative deprivation on health was significantly stronger among rural residents. These findings highlight the potential role of subjective well-being as a psychological mechanism linking perceived relative deprivation to health. While this pathway appears comparable across urban and rural contexts, the association between relative deprivation and health is stronger among rural residents. Addressing health disparities therefore requires attention to both psychosocial processes and the broader structural conditions that shape socioeconomic inequality.