Social Contact and Health among Chinese Older Adults in China

Proceedings of ‏The 4th International Conference on Research in Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2021

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/4th.icrhs.2021.05.95

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Social Contact and Health among Chinese Older Adults in China

Andi Chen

ABSTRACT: 

Social contact is important for successful aging. Numerous studies have established that close connections to and participation in social groups and communities provide support, increase a sense of belonging and access to information that can be key for physical and mental health. Compared with numerous findings on social engagement and health in Western world, empiri-cal evidence in the research area from non-Western settings is limited. Using a nationwide rep-resentative sample of older adults in China, this study continues efforts along this line by study-ing how social contact influence mental and physical health among Chinese older adults. The findings suggest that increasing social contact has a positive relationship with physical and mental health among Chinese elders.

Keywords: social contact, health, older adults, aging.