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Understanding Well-Being in Daily Life: Informal Social Support, Depression Risk, and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese
Xinzhe Wang1, Chenrui Zhang1, Wenhu Xu1
1Institute of Population Research, Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Informal social support enhances life satisfaction for older adults with disabilities by reducing depression risk. This highlights the importance of social connections for well-being in later life.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Social Sciences
- Public Health
Background:
- Population aging necessitates research into the well-being of older adults with disabilities.
- Understanding the factors influencing daily life satisfaction for this demographic is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationships between informal social support, depression risk, and life satisfaction in older adults with disabilities.
- To identify the mediating role of depression risk in the association between social support and life satisfaction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).
- Analyzed 509 individuals aged 60 and above with disabilities.
- Employed ordered Logit, binary Logit, and KHB decomposition models.
Main Results:
- Informal social support positively correlates with life satisfaction.
- Informal social support negatively correlates with depression risk.
- Depression risk mediates the relationship between social support and life satisfaction, explaining 23.25% of the effect.
Conclusions:
- Informal social support is vital for the well-being of older adults with disabilities.
- Social interactions and relational networks significantly contribute to subjective well-being, beyond institutional support.
- Findings deepen the understanding of everyday and relational dimensions of well-being in later life.
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