A new perspective of urban–rural differences: The impact of social support on the mental health of the older adults: A case from Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

With the increase in aging in China, the health problems of older adults, especially menhealth problems, have become a concern for the whole society. This article selected urban and rurolder adults and analyzed the impact of social support on their mental health using a binary logismodel. It was found that under the current urban–rural dichotomy, the effects of social suppoon the mental health of urban and rural older adults are significantly different. In social suppofirst, the fairness and satisfaction with the social security system only had a significant effect on tmental health of urban older adults and had no significant effect on the rural older adults. Seconthe closeness of contact with grassroots community workers had a significant impact on the menhealth of older adults in urban and rural areas. From informal social support, the mental health rural older adults was mainly influenced by the support of their children, reflecting the influenof the traditional culture of “filial piety”. Furthermore, the mental health of urban older aduwas mainly influenced by neighborhood support, reflecting the importance of “close neighbors abetter than distant relatives”. Based on the results of the empirical study, this article suggests that promote the mental health of older adults, we should start by strengthening the formal social supposystem, establishing high-quality community service facilities, and emphasizing the role of informsocial support.