Table 2. Association of low psychological health and low subjective well-being by childless ageing and other background characteristics, India.
| Background characteristics | Low psychological health | p-value | Low subjective well-being | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |||
| Having children | ||||||
| Yes | 21.2 | 25.1 | 0.001 | 23.6 | 28.7 | 0.001 |
| No | 20.7 | 34.1 | 0.001 | 28.6 | 40.4 | 0.010 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 60–69 | 18.4 | 21.0 | 0.001 | 20.8 | 25.2 | 0.001 |
| 70–79 | 23.1 | 30.6 | 0.001 | 25.7 | 33.7 | 0.001 |
| 80+ | 31.8 | 38.6 | 0.225 | 35.9 | 41.9 | 0.036 |
| Educational status | ||||||
| Not educated | 30.9 | 30.7 | 0.805 | 35.9 | 35.5 | 0.216 |
| Below 5 years | 23.4 | 21.1 | 0.040 | 26.6 | 20.9 | 0.002 |
| 6 to 10 Years | 13.2 | 10.0 | 0.129 | 13.6 | 13.7 | 0.656 |
| 11+ years | 8.3 | 8.0 | 0.785 | 9.3 | 12.3 | 0.155 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Not in union | 26.5 | 29.2 | 0.367 | 30.1 | 33.5 | 0.028 |
| Currently in union | 20.2 | 19.8 | 0.673 | 22.7 | 22.9 | 0.4061 |
| Working status | ||||||
| No | 29.4 | 26.0 | 0.001 | 34.3 | 28.6 | 0.001 |
| Yes | 17.9 | 24.5 | 0.001 | 19.1 | 37.4 | 0.001 |
| Retired | 6.4 | 4.8 | 0.725 | 6.3 | 11.0 | 0.045 |
| Community involvement | ||||||
| No | 32.9 | 35.7 | 0.249 | 39.4 | 40.6 | 0.364 |
| Yes | 19.0 | 22.2 | 0.001 | 20.9 | 25.6 | 0.001 |
| Trust over someone | ||||||
| No | 35.4 | 38.8 | 0.146 | 42.9 | 42.6 | 0.376 |
| Yes | 18.7 | 22.3 | 0.001 | 20.5 | 26.1 | 0.001 |
| Living arrangement | ||||||
| Alone | 39.5 | 31.7 | 0.538 | 33.3 | 39.8 | 0.314 |
| With spouse | 21.7 | 19.0 | 0.730 | 25.2 | 26.8 | 0.202 |
| With children | 20.3 | 25.3 | 0.001 | 22.8 | 27.7 | 0.001 |
| Others | 24.1 | 29.3 | 0.061 | 27.7 | 34.3 | 0.011 |
| Self-rated health | ||||||
| Good | 11.3 | 12.5 | 0.026 | 12.8 | 16.8 | 0.001 |
| Poor | 30.4 | 34.9 | 0.003 | 34.0 | 38.3 | 0.001 |
| Wealth quintile | ||||||
| Poorest | 35.9 | 38.0 | 0.159 | 43.8 | 49.8 | 0.026 |
| Poorer | 27.6 | 31.4 | 0.147 | 31.9 | 32.8 | 0.137 |
| Middle | 18.2 | 21.0 | 0.317 | 19.9 | 22.0 | 0.095 |
| Richer | 12.2 | 16.8 | 0.011 | 10.9 | 18.2 | 0.001 |
| Richest | 6.6 | 12.3 | 0.001 | 5.5 | 13.1 | 0.001 |
| Religion | ||||||
| Hindu | 23.5 | 27.7 | 0.001 | 25.8 | 30.7 | 0.001 |
| Muslim | 17.2 | 27.1 | 0.005 | 25.3 | 32.8 | 0.010 |
| Sikh | 8.2 | 7.7 | 0.506 | 9.2 | 15.3 | 0.010 |
| Others | 9.8 | 21.3 | 0.044 | 13.9 | 26.9 | 0.001 |
| Caste | ||||||
| Scheduled Caste | 25.1 | 30.9 | 0.005 | 31.6 | 36.1 | 0.010 |
| Scheduled Tribe | 31.9 | 33.1 | 0.355 | 32.1 | 37.5 | 0.0157 |
| Other Backward Class | 24.3 | 26.6 | 0.002 | 25.3 | 29.9 | 0.007 |
| Others | 14.2 | 20.4 | 0.001 | 16.6 | 23.7 | 0.001 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Rural | 22.9 | 27.2 | 0.006 | 25.5 | 30.7 | 0.001 |
| Urban | 16.0 | 21.0 | 0.001 | 18.6 | 25.4 | 0.001 |
| State | ||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | 13.0 | 20.9 | 0.002 | 13.0 | 16.6 | 0.003 |
| Punjab | 7.4 | 7.3 | 0.982 | 8.7 | 14.0 | 0.002 |
| West Bengal | 26.8 | 31.6 | 0.049 | 42.7 | 53.3 | 0.001 |
| Orissa | 35.1 | 39.8 | 0.011 | 33.9 | 36.5 | 0.212 |
| Maharashtra | 20.6 | 24.3 | 0.133 | 28.5 | 39.3 | 0.001 |
| Kerala | 8.7 | 17.3 | 0.001 | 11.4 | 16.9 | 0.004 |
| Tamil Nadu | 34.3 | 37.8 | 0.289 | 29.3 | 33.8 | 0.254 |
| Total | 21.2 | 25.5 | 0.001 | 23.8 | 29.3 | * |
Psychological health: General Health Scale (coded in binary form, i.e., low “scores five or less” and high “scores more than equal to six”)
Subjective well-being: Subjective Well-Being (coded in binary form, i.e., low “scores of five or less” and high “scores more than equal to six”)