Abstract
Background
Depression is one of the most common mental health problems in older adults. Community social capital and depressive symptoms in older adults have been discussed in previous studies but remain limited. This study aims to explore the association between community social capital and depressive symptoms among older adults relocated for poverty alleviation in China.
Methods
Through the multi-stage stratified sampling, 1882 relocated older adults (≥ 60) were surveyed in 24 resettlement sites in Shanxi Province, China. Community social capital was measured in civic participation, social cohesion, and reciprocity. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 10-item CES-D scale.
Results
There were 49.5% of relocated older adults reported significant depressive symptoms. We found that the relocated older adults who did not participate in leisure-time activities showed higher odds of reporting significant depressive symptoms compared to those who participated [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.360, 95% CI: 1.060 ~ 1.745], the relocated older adults who gave negative responses in community trust were more likely to report significant depressive symptoms compared to those who gave positive responses (AOR: 1.461, 95% CI: 1.126 ~ 1.896), and those who did not receive emotional support in their community showed 33.6% higher odds of reporting significant depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.336, 95% CI: 1.015 ~ 1.757) after controlling for all potential confounders.
Conclusions
Leisure-time activity participation, community trust, and receiving emotional support were associated with depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation in Shanxi, China. Targeted interventions on community social capital for relocated older adults are needed for mental health promotion.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-21483-3.
Keywords: Community social capital, Depressive symptoms, Older adults, Relocation for poverty alleviation, China
Background
With the continuous increase in the number of older adults with depressive symptoms, research related to depression has gradually become the focus of global concern [1, 2]. Research has pointed out that depression is an important disease leading to poor health, increased economic burden, increased risk of suicide, and decreased quality of life in older adults [3, 4].
In research on influencing factors of depression in older adults, many studies have focused on social capital and found a significant relationship between social capital and depression in older adults [5–7]. Social capital refers to the available resources (actual or hypothetical) that the individual or the group accesses from their networks and relationships [8, 9], which can be measured from the individual level or the collective level (e.g. the community level). Since the community is an important context in the daily lives of older adults, there has been growing interest in the impact of community social capital on older adults’ health. The studies [10–13], mainly in Japan, South Korea, and China, have shown that community social capital is significantly associated with the physical and psychological health of older adults.
Previous studies regarding the association of community social capital, measured in different dimensions and indicators, with depression among older people reported generally consistent results. A study in Japan found that individual-level scores of each dimension of community social capital (i.e. civic participation, social cohesion and reciprocity) were significantly associated with lower risks for depressive symptoms [13]. Another study in Korea suggested older adults with a low level of community social capital, measured in social cohesion, community social tie, and neighborhood safety, showed heightened vulnerability to depression when faced with stress [14]. However, the association between community social capital and depression can be contextual. To the best of our knowledge, there is little research on the association between community social capital and depressive symptoms among relocated older adults, especially for rural older adults relocated for poverty alleviation in China.
Relocation for poverty alleviation is an important measure in the Targeted Poverty Alleviation strategy in China, more than 9.6 million poverty-stricken people have been relocated from inhospitable areas [15]. A study conducted by the Survey Office of the National Bureau of Statistics in Shaanxi showed that there were 17.8% older adults (≥ 60 year-old) relocated for poverty alleviation in Shaanxi province [16]. Relocation for poverty alleviation provides registered poverty-stricken people a new life (e.g. better living conditions, better medical care service, better educational environment, etc.) by relocating them from their hometown where inhabitants cannot live a good life given the poor natural conditions and transportation. The government respected these people’s wishes, and only relocated those who were eligible and agreed to move. Though the policy of relocation for poverty alleviation is aimed at providing a better living environment for the people experiencing poverty, most studies consider migration as a negative life event or a stressor because it causes people to leave their homes and transplants them to an unfamiliar environment that requires challenging social, economic, and psychological adjustments [17, 18]. Many studies have pointed out that migration and relocation may impact individual health [19, 20]. However, the meaning and health effect of relocation may be more crucial for the rural older adults lifted out of poverty through relocation in the Chinese context, they are emotionally fragile and have poor economic, social and physical abilities.
Strong bonding ties, reciprocity, trust, and norms comprising a connection between members are often stronger among rural older adults, resulting in community strength and collective efficiency in China [21]. This also makes them more reliant on the original rural communication patterns and interpersonal relationships in the village living for a long time. After relocation, rural older adults from different villages resettled in a new and strange community, which may lead to a series of changes in their social capital, especially community social capital, thus, more efforts need to be put into building new community connections and supports may be insufficient due to less interaction and contacts with strange neighbors or other community members, with a higher risk for depression [22, 23]. Whether community social capital and which part of community social capital is associated with depression of relocated older adults need to be clarified. Therefore, understanding the association between community social capital and the depression of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation is of great significance for improving their mental health status, preventing mental health problems, and improving their quality of life.
Based on the above, this study aims to explore the association between community social capital and depressive symptoms of relocated older adults, to expand the understanding of the association, and to provide a reference for the prevention of depression in relocated older adults.
Methods
Study design and participants
A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Shanxi, an important province of the policy of relocation for poverty alleviation in Central China, through a face-to-face interview. Participants were enrolled from 24 resettlement sites in Shanxi Province. A three-step process was conducted to identify the resettlement sites under a multi-stage stratified sampling. First, in addition to Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, the rest 10 prefecture-level cities of Shanxi were classified into three levels considering the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and geographical location, 1 city was selected from each level. In each prefecture-level city, 2 counties were randomly selected. In each county, 4 resettlement sites were randomly selected (for some counties having less than 4 resettlement sites, all were selected) [24]. Finally, 24 resettlement sites were randomly selected.
The sample size was calculated according to the formula 
(P: estimated population proportion), δ is the permissible error, which was set in 0.02, α = 0.05, Z2α/2=1.96 [25, 26]. Given the study design, the sample size was calculated based on the prevalence of cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults, which was about 22% [27], so we assumed P=0.22, n=1648. We have increased the sample size by 25% (n=2060) considering the possible sample loss and refusal. According to the calculated sample size (n = 2060) and the relocated older adults’ population of size in the 24 resettlement sites (N=5421), the relocated older adults were randomly selected with a proportion of about 38% [28, 29].
All investigators were well-trained and understood the standards and procedures of the investigation before the questionnaire survey started. After written informed consent was obtained, the trained investigators interviewed the participants. A total of 2060 questionnaires were distributed and 1882 older adults were surveyed from June to August 2023.
Instruments
Community social capital: Considering previous studies and the culturally sensitive characteristics (e.g. under the Confucian values, the Chinese emphasize and have an expectation of trust, reciprocity, and collectivism, such as feelings of belonging to a big family/particular community) [13, 30–33], nine items of community social capital in individual perceptions were assessed, among them, three in the civic participation dimension, three in the social cohesion dimension, and three in the reciprocity dimension (Table S1). Civic participation was assessed by “Do you have memberships in the following organizations/groups in the last year: political organizations; citizen groups; charitable organizations; sports, recreation, hobby, or cultural groups; neighborhood committees and community associations, etc.?”. Response options were binary (yes or no). “How often do you participate in community activities?” and “How often do you participate in leisure-time activities?”. Response options were presented by a five-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = always). Responses “always or often” were coded as 1 = yes, and other options were coded as 0 = no. Social cohesion was assessed by three questions, “Generally speaking, would you say that most people in your community can be trusted?”, “People living in this community will help each other.”, and “You have an attachment to your community.”. Responses options were presented as a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Respondents who chose “strongly agree or agree” were coded as 1 = yes, and other options were coded as 0 = no. Reciprocity was assessed by questions as follows: “You have someone in this community to listen to your concerns and complaints.” “You listen to someone’s concerns and complaints in this community.”, and “You have someone in this community who can look after you when you are sick or in need.” Responses options were presented as a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Respondents who chose “strongly agree or agree” were coded as 1 = yes, and other options were coded as 0 = no.
Depressive symptoms: The depressive symptoms of relocated older adults were assessed by the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D) [34]. Each item has four answers, as follows: “Rarely or none of the time (0 points)” “Some or a little of the time (1 point)” “Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (2 points)” and “Most or all of the time (3 points)”. Items 5 and 8 scored reversely. The CES-D scores ranged from 0 to 30, and older adults who scored ≥ 12 points were identified as having significant depressive symptoms [35, 36]. The Cronbach’s alpha of CES-D was 0.775 in the current study. The outcome variable of this study was depressive symptoms measured using a binary version of the 10-item CES-D.
Covariates
In line with previous studies and the characteristics of relocated older adults, the current study took the following confounder groupings as the control variables. The first grouping was sociodemographic factors and relocation characteristics, including gender (male, female), age (60–79, ≥ 80 years), educational background (primary school and below, junior high school, senior high school and above), marital status (married, other marital status, i.e. divorced, widowed, unmarried), monthly individual income (≤ 500, 501 ~ 1000, ≥ 1000 CNY), type of relocation (relocation in a concentrated way/in a scattered way), and relocation duration (length after relocation). The second grouping was lifestyle factors, including current smoking (yes/no), current alcohol drinking (yes/no), physical activity (yes/no), and sleep quality. The third grouping was health status, including body mass index (BMI), non-communicable diseases (NCD, yes/no), activities of daily living (ADL), and cognitive function. BMI category was calculated using the standard weight status categories from WHO reference, a BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 was classified as underweight, a BMI of 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 as normal weight and a BMI of 25–29.9 kg/m2 as overweight, and obesity was classified as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 [37]. ADL was assessed by Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living in six basic functions (0 = dependent, 1 = independent), with scores ranging from 0 to 6, a score of 6 indicates complete independence [38]. The Chinese version of Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE) was used to measure the cognitive function of older adults [39].
Statistical analysis
This study conducted this analysis to explore the association between community social capital and self-reported depressive symptoms in older adults relocated for poverty alleviation. The continuous variables were described using mean and standard deviation (SD), and the categorical variables were presented using number and proportion (%).
To examine the effects of all the components of community social capital on depressive symptoms of relocated older adults, we followed a stepwise approach to adjust for different sets of covariates (Table S2). Binary logistic regression analysis was unadjusted (Model 1); and adjusted for potential confounders: sociodemographic factors and relocation characteristics (Model 2); additionally for lifestyle factors (Model 3); and finally for all the confounders (Model 4). Results were presented as odds ratios (ORs), 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI), and corresponding P values. All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS ver. 24.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results
Among the 1882 questionnaires collected, 8 were invalid, 26 were incomplete, and 1848 participants were finally included in this study. As shown in Table 1, there were 51.2% males and 48.8% females, with an average age of 71.09 ± 7.28 years old, 49.5% of the participants reported significant depressive symptoms. The proportions of females, in primary school and below, in other marital status, and low monthly individual income (≤ 500 CNY) were relatively higher among those who reported significant depressive symptoms (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in depressive symptoms by smoking, drinking, physical exercise, and sleep quality (P < 0.001). However, the results of binary logistic regression analysis (Model 4) showed that the association between smoking, drinking, physical exercises, and depressive symptoms was not statistically significant. Sleep quality was found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms, older adults relocated for poverty alleviation with better sleep quality were less likely to experience depressive symptoms. Among older adults having NCD, 55.4% were depressed, and those who were underweight or obese showed higher rates of depressive symptoms. The mean score of CMMSE and Katz ADL was relatively higher among those who showed depressive symptoms (P < 0.001).
Table 1.
Sample characteristics (n = 1848)
| Depressed | Non-depressed | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/Mean | %/SD | n/Mean | %/SD | ||
| Gender | < 0.001 | ||||
| Male | 398 | 42.1 | 548 | 57.9 | |
| Female | 517 | 57.3 | 385 | 42.7 | |
| Age (P) | 0.529 | ||||
| 60–79 | 790 | 49.8 | 796 | 50.2 | |
| ≥ 80 | 125 | 47.7 | 137 | 52.3 | |
| Educational background | 0.007 | ||||
| Primary school and below | 676 | 51.6 | 635 | 48.4 | |
| Junior high school | 194 | 46.3 | 225 | 53.7 | |
| Senior high school and above | 45 | 38.1 | 73 | 61.9 | |
| Marital status | 0.016 | ||||
| Married | 643 | 47.8 | 702 | 52.2 | |
| Other marital status | 272 | 54.1 | 231 | 45.9 | |
| Average monthly individual income | 0.030 | ||||
| ≤ CNY 500 | 702 | 51.3 | 667 | 48.7 | |
| CNY 501 ~ 1000 | 133 | 45.7 | 158 | 54.3 | |
| ≥ CNY 1000 | 80 | 42.6 | 108 | 57.4 | |
| Relocation duration | 0.177 | ||||
| < 5 years | 781 | 50.2 | 775 | 49.8 | |
| ≥ 5 years | 134 | 45.9 | 158 | 54.1 | |
| Type of relocation | 0.164 | ||||
| Centralized resettlement | 869 | 49.9 | 872 | 50.1 | |
| Scattered resettlement | 46 | 43.0 | 61 | 57.0 | |
| Current smoking | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 261 | 43.5 | 339 | 56.5 | |
| No | 654 | 52.4 | 594 | 47.6 | |
| Current drinking | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 68 | 35.4 | 124 | 64.6 | |
| No | 847 | 51.1 | 809 | 48.9 | |
| Physical exercise | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 696 | 47.3 | 777 | 52.7 | |
| No | 219 | 58.4 | 156 | 41.6 | |
| Sleep quality | < 0.001 | ||||
| Very good | 103 | 33.0 | 209 | 67.0 | |
| Good | 273 | 42.4 | 371 | 57.6 | |
| Fair | 159 | 48.9 | 166 | 51.1 | |
| Bad | 278 | 64.2 | 155 | 35.8 | |
| Very bad | 102 | 76.1 | 32 | 23.9 | |
| NCD | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 719 | 55.4 | 580 | 44.6 | |
| No | 196 | 35.7 | 353 | 64.3 | |
| BMI | < 0.001 | ||||
| Underweight | 154 | 60.9 | 99 | 39.1 | |
| Normal weight | 482 | 47.7 | 529 | 52.3 | |
| Overweight | 204 | 45.1 | 248 | 54.9 | |
| Obesity | 75 | 56.8 | 57 | 43.2 | |
| CMMSE score | 23.61 | 5.959 | 25.18 | 5.606 | < 0.001 |
| Katz ADL score | 5.63 | 1.188 | 5.87 | 0.684 | < 0.001 |
SD: Standard deviation; %: Percentage
Meanwhile, for community social capital, the participants reported a low level of civic participation, but a high level of social cohesion and reciprocity (Table 2). The rates of depressive symptoms of relocated older adults were significantly different in leisure-time activities participation, community trust, mutual help, community attachment, and providing/receiving emotional/instrumental support (P < 0.001).
Table 2.
Community social capital (civic participation, social cohesion, and reciprocity) and depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation (n = 1848)
| Depressed | Non-depressed | p-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | |||
| Civic participation | Do you have memberships in the following organizations in the last year: political organizations, citizen groups, charitable organizations, sports, recreation, hobby, or cultural groups, neighborhood committees and community associations? | 0.080 | ||||
| Yes | 109 | 44.3 | 137 | 55.7 | ||
| No | 806 | 50.3 | 796 | 49.7 | ||
| Do you always participate in community activities? | 0.071 | |||||
| Yes | 43 | 41.0 | 62 | 59.0 | ||
| No | 872 | 50.0 | 871 | 50.0 | ||
| Do you always participate in leisure-time activities? | < 0.001 | |||||
| Yes | 161 | 39.9 | 243 | 60.1 | ||
| No | 754 | 52.2 | 690 | 47.8 | ||
| Social cohesion | Generally speaking, would you say that most people in your community can be trusted? | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 598 | 45.2 | 725 | 54.8 | ||
| No | 317 | 60.4 | 208 | 39.6 | ||
| People living in this community will help each other | < 0.001 | |||||
| Yes | 625 | 45.9 | 738 | 54.1 | ||
| No | 290 | 59.8 | 195 | 40.2 | ||
| You have an attachment to your community | 0.001 | |||||
| Yes | 632 | 47.1 | 709 | 52.9 | ||
| No | 283 | 55.8 | 224 | 44.2 | ||
| Reciprocity | Do you have someone in this community to listen to your concerns and complaints? | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 547 | 44.9 | 672 | 55.1 | ||
| No | 368 | 58.5 | 261 | 41.5 | ||
| Do you listen to someone’s concerns and complaints in this community? | < 0.001 | |||||
| Yes | 565 | 45.1 | 688 | 54.9 | ||
| No | 350 | 58.8 | 245 | 41.2 | ||
| Do you have someone in this community who can look after you when you are sick or in need? | < 0.001 | |||||
| Yes | 562 | 45.7 | 667 | 54.3 | ||
| No | 353 | 57.0 | 266 | 43.0 | ||
Binary logistic regressions on depressive symptoms as a dependent variable were carried out (Table 3). In civic participation, across all models, a significant association was found between leisure-time activity participation and depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation. The relocated older adults who did not participate in leisure-time activities had greater odds of showing significant depressive symptoms in Model 1 [OR: 1.531, 95% CI: 1.214 ~ 1.929]. After adjusting for confounders (age, gender, marital status, average monthly income, educational background, relocation duration, type of relocation, current smoking, drinking, physical exercise, sleep quality, NCD, BMI, cognitive function, and functional ability), the association was attenuated in Model 4 [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.360, 95% CI 1.060 ~ 1.745].
Table 3.
COR and AOR with 95% CI between community social capital and depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation
| Dimension | Variable | model1 | p-value | model2a | p-value | model3b | p-value | model4c | p-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COR | 95%CI | AOR | 95%CI | AOR | 95%CI | AOR | 95%CI | ||||||
| Civic participation | Do you have memberships in the following organizations/groups in the last year: political organizations, citizen groups, charitable organizations, sports, recreation, hobby, or cultural groups, neighborhood committees and community associations? (ref.: yes) | 1.317 | 0.982 ~ 1.765 | 0.066 | 1.191 | 0.882 ~ 1.608 | 0.255 | 1.266 | 0.928 ~ 1.729 | 0.137 | 1.294 | 0.943 ~ 1.777 | 0.111 |
| Do you always participate in community activities (ref.: yes) | 1.007 | 0.649 ~ 1.564 | 0.974 | 0.963 | 0.615 ~ 1.507 | 0.869 | 0.799 | 0.502 ~ 1.271 | 0.343 | 0.792 | 0.496 ~ 1.267 | 0.331 | |
| Do you always participate in leisure-time activities? (ref.: yes) | 1.531*** | 1.214 ~ 1.929 | < 0.001 | 1.483** | 1.172 ~ 1.876 | 0.001 | 1.407** | 1.102 ~ 1.797 | 0.006 | 1.360* | 1.060 ~ 1.745 | 0.016 | |
| Social cohesion | Generally speaking, would you say that most people in your community can be trusted? (ref.: yes) | 1.446** | 1.133 ~ 1.844 | 0.003 | 1.438** | 1.123 ~ 1.843 | 0.004 | 1.463** | 1.133 ~ 1.889 | 0.004 | 1.461** | 1.126 ~ 1.896 | 0.004 |
| People living in this community will help each other. (ref.: yes) | 1.203 | 0.915 ~ 1.580 | 0.186 | 1.203 | 0.911 ~ 1.588 | 0.193 | 1.185 | 0.890 ~ 1.578 | 0.246 | 1.129 | 0.843 ~ 1.512 | 0.415 | |
| You have an attachment to your community. (ref.: yes) | 0.976 | 0.766 ~ 1.242 | 0.841 | 0.977 | 0.765 ~ 1.248 | 0.852 | 0.943 | 0.733 ~ 1.214 | 0.650 | 0.983 | 0.761 ~ 1.270 | 0.895 | |
| Reciprocity | Do you have someone in this community to listen to your concerns and complaints? (ref.: yes) | 1.280 | 0.992 ~ 1.653 | 0.058 | 1.315* | 1.013 ~ 1.707 | 0.040 | 1.344* | 1.026 ~ 1.761 | 0.032 | 1.336* | 1.015 ~ 1.757 | 0.039 |
| Do you listen to someone’s concerns and complaints in this community? (ref.: yes) | 1.222 | 0.945 ~ 1.579 | 0.126 | 1.211 | 0.932 ~ 1.574 | 0.153 | 1.205 | 0.919 ~ 1.580 | 0.177 | 1.202 | 0.912 ~ 1.584 | 0.192 | |
| Do you have someone in this community who can look after you when you are sick or in need? (ref.: yes) | 1.023 | 0.794 ~ 1.318 | 0.859 | 1.030 | 0.795 ~ 1.333 | 0.825 | 1.044 | 0.800 ~ 1.362 | 0.750 | 1.050 | 0.801 ~ 1.376 | 0.723 | |
*p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. COR: crude odds ratio; AOR: adjusted odds ratio
a Adjusted for age, gender, marital status, average monthly income, educational background, relocation duration, and type of relocation
b Adjusted for age, gender, marital status, average monthly income, educational background, current smoking, drinking, physical exercise, and sleep quality
c Adjusted for age, gender, marital status, average monthly income, educational background, relocation duration, type of relocation, current smoking, drinking, physical exercise, sleep quality, NCD, BMI, cognitive function, and functional ability
Among the indicators of social cohesion, the relocated older adults who gave negative responses in community trust (OR: 1.446, 95% CI: 1.133 ~ 1.844) were more likely to report significant depressive symptoms compared to those who gave positive responses in Model 1, and this association was further enlarged (AOR: 1.461, 95% CI: 1.126 ~ 1.896) when all confounders were added in Model 4.
And in the dimension of reciprocity, receiving emotional support was not found to be associated with depressive symptoms in Model 1, but was found to be significantly associated with that in the adjusted models. The group who did not have someone in this community to listen to their concerns and complaints showed 33.6% higher odds of reporting significant depressive symptoms in Model 4 (AOR: 1.336, 95% CI: 1.015 ~ 1.757) after controlling for all potential confounders.
Discussion
The association between community social capital and depressive symptoms was analysed based on a cross-sectional study in Shanxi, China. The results suggest that some indicators in the three dimensions of community social capital have a significant association with the depression of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation. To our knowledge, the findings reported in the present study are the first to investigate associations between community social capital and depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation in China.
Civic participation and depressive symptoms
In this study, older adults reported low levels in all the indicators of civic participation. However, there is an interesting finding in this study. Compared with more formal participation (memberships of organizations and participation in community activities), informal participation (leisure-time activity participation) is found to be associated with depressive symptoms in relocated older adults. Among the three indicators, we find evidence that participation in leisure-time activities is a protective factor against depression in relocated older adults. The finding is somewhat consistent with the findings of previous studies [40, 41]. For relocated older adults, participation in inexpensive or free leisure-time activities, such as guangchangwu [41], playing cards/mahjong [42], and participation in social activities [43], is beneficial for mood improvement, stress-reducing, and preventing feelings of loneliness, which is associated with reduced depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, after leaving home and moving to a new community, the relocated older adults may find it difficult to adapt to the new life. Participation in leisure-time activities can increase their social interaction and social identity [44] and make them better adapt to new life and new environments, reducing the risk of depression. Therefore, older adults relocated for poverty alleviation are more likely to improve their mood and mental health better by participating in leisure-time activities.
Social cohesion and depressive symptoms
The study found the protective effect of community trust on depression among relocated older adults. The finding indicates that a higher level of community trust could decrease the possibility of developing depressive symptoms in the relocated older adults. Older adults may face many difficulties and negative emotions caused by relocation, such as loss of social relationships, adaptation to new environments, and changes in lifestyles. A high level of community trust could provide an individual with a sense of belonging within the community [45], less social exclusion experience and more emotional support against negative emotions [46], and a greater willingness and greater opportunity to establish new relationships [47], which play important roles in alleviating depressive symptoms. In addition, with a higher level of community trust, people could seek support from people around them when they need it, which is claimed to attenuate the adverse effects of stress, thereby reducing depressive symptoms [48].
Reciprocity and depressive symptoms
In all the indicators of reciprocity, only receiving emotional support was found to be associated with depressive symptoms of relocated older adults, those who did not receive emotional support showed a higher likelihood of depression. Our findings were consistent with many previous studies that low emotional support was associated with depressive symptoms [49–51]. In general, older adults’ social networks would be smaller, and social contact rates would be lower with age [52], which may increase their need and dependence on emotional social support. And in the time of relocation and adapting to the new environments, emotional support could be more important than ever. Emotional support can provide people with psychological resiliency against difficulties and negative emotions, and promote their positive feelings [53]. Meanwhile, emotional support may reduce stress and social isolation, which are closely related to depressive symptoms in older adults [54, 55].
Strengths and limitations
This study explores the association between community social capital and depressive symptoms in older adults under the policy context of Relocation for Poverty Alleviation. This study reveals the protective effect of leisure-time activity participation, community trust, and receiving emotional support on depressive symptoms of relocated older adults. In light of this, we believe that strengthening community social capital could be an important strategy in reducing the risk of depression of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation, which provides some new insights into the etiology and prevention of depression among older adults who have experienced relocation or migration.
However, this study has some limitations that need to be improved in future research: Firstly, our participants were all selected from Shanxi Province, so they might not represent the older population relocated for poverty alleviation in China adequately. Secondly, this study is a cross-sectional study, longitudinal tracking may be used in the future to more effectively explain the effects of community social capital on depression. Thirdly, the core variables, such as community social capital and depressive symptoms were assessed based on a questionnaire, so common method biases may exist that the older adults with depressive symptoms may show lower perceived community social capital than their actual community social capital. In the future, we will explore the multiple mechanisms of the influence of community social capital on depression and other mental health problems of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation.
Conclusions
Community social capital is associated with the depressive symptoms of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation. The findings of this study provide some references for optimizing the mental health promotion practice among relocated older adults. For the prevention of depression, three aspects may prove important: (1) to advocate participating in leisure-time activities, (2) to enhance community trust level and (3) to improve emotional support.
Electronic supplementary material
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Acknowledgements
The author greatly appreciates the support and advice from the reviewers and the editors.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: Le Yang. Methodology: Le Yang. Formal analysis: Le Yang, Yang Yang. Data collection: Le Yang, Yang Yang, Yuting Guo, Zeyuan Li. Validation: Yuting Guo, Zeyuan Li. Writing - original draft preparation: Le Yang. Writing - review and editing: Qi Yu. Funding acquisition: Le Yang, Qi Yu. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Funding
This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72204152), the Project of Promoting Postgraduates Science Popularization Ability of China Association for Science and Technology in 2024 (KXYJS2024021), the Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation Teams of Shanxi Province (202304051001017), PhD research startup foundation of Shanxi Medical University (XD2042), and PhD research startup foundation of Shanxi Province (SD2029). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation.
Data availability
No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This study is in compliance with the guidelines for human studies which was conducted ethically in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanxi Medical University (No. 2022GLL012). Written informed consent was obtained from each participant before enrollment and data collection.
Consent for publication
Not Applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Footnotes
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Data Availability Statement
No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.