title: Individual educational attainment, neighborhood-socioeconomic contexts, and self-rated health of middle-aged and elderly Chinese: Exploring the mediating role of social engagement.
abstract: Analyzing the 2011-2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study with 14,507 respondents from 393 neighborhoods, and applying generalized linear mixed-effects model, this study examines how individual-level education and neighborhood-socioeconomic contexts affect health through social engagement. Findings reveal that measures of social engagement-social activity and productive activity-are significantly related to self-rated health and partially mediate the effects of individual-level education. Neighborhood-socioeconomic contexts have independent effects on self-rated health beyond individual socio-demographics, and social activity mediates the effects of neighborhood recreational facilities. This study is among the first to simultaneously explore the health effects of individual and neighborhood-level socioeconomic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, 2424 Maile Way, Saunders Hall 239, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: weizhang@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States. Electronic address: yyw@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Yan Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Education; Elderly Chinese; Neighborhood-socioeconomic contexts; Self-rated health; Social engagement