Physical health problems, views on ageing, and emotional distress among older Chinese population: a moderated mediation model

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the mediation effect of negative views on ageing (VoA) between physical health problems and emotional distress, and the moderation effect of urban/rural residence ('hukou').

Methods: We adopted a sample of 936 older Chinese people aged 60 and above from the China General Social Survey (CGSS). A structural equation model (SEM) approach was adopted to test the measurement model of latent variables and the structural model examining the hypothesized pathway. The bootstrapping bias-corrected approach (5000 bootstrap samples) was adopted.

Results: The SEM shows that negative VoA mediates physical health problems and emotional distress (β = 0.041, B = 0.063, 95% CI [0.029, 0.102], p = 0.001). The relationship between negative VoA and emotional distress is more pronounced among urban than rural older residents (β = 0.181, B = 0.168, 95% CI [0.004, 0.377], p = 0.076), which may suggest that being dependent on others is less desirable among urban older people.

Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of having positive VoA, especially for urban older residents. More studies on the formation and impacts of older people's expectations of their own ageing are warranted.