Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:20:54.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychological vulnerability of widowhood: financial strain, social engagement and worry about having no care-giver as mediators and moderators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2017

JOOHONG MIN ,
YAWEN LI ,
LING XU  and
IRIS CHI
JOOHONG MIN
Affiliation:
Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
YAWEN LI
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, San Diego State University, California, USA.
LING XU
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, USA.
IRIS CHI*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Iris Chi, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined how financial strain, worry about having no care-giver and social engagement modify the association between widowhood and depressive symptoms among older adults in China. Using national representative data from older adults in China in 2006, we ran structural equation models and ordinary least square regressions to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of financial strain, worry about having no care-giver and social engagement on the association between widowhood and depressive symptoms. All three variables significantly mediated the association between widowhood and depressive symptoms. Compared to their married counterparts, widowed older adults showed more worry about having no care-giver, increased financial strain and lower social engagement, which were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Higher level of worry about having no care-giver and lower social engagement significantly exacerbated the adverse effects of widowhood on depressive symptoms in the moderation analyses. Our finding of mediating effects suggests that widowhood is negatively related to psychological wellbeing via financial strain, social engagement and care resources. The results regarding moderating effects suggest that alleviating worry about having no care-giver and increasing social engagement may buffer the deleterious effect of widowhood on psychological wellbeing in later life.

Keywords

widowhooddepressive symptomssocial engagementfinancial strainworrylater life
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 11 , November 2018 , pp. 2356 - 2375
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, K. B., Leibbrandt, S. and Moon, H. 2011. A critical review of the literature on social and leisure activity and wellbeing in later life. Ageing & Society, 31, 4, 683–712.Google Scholar
Bennett, K. M. 1998. Longitudinal changes in mental and physical health among elderly, recently widowed men. Mortality, 3, 3, 265–73.Google Scholar
Boey, K. W. 2000. The use of GDS-15 among the older adults in Beijing. Clinical Gerontologist, 21, 2, 49–60.Google Scholar
Bott, E. and Spillius, E. B. 2014. Family and Social Network: Roles, Norms and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families. Routledge, Abingdon, UK.Google Scholar
Carr, D. 2004. Gender, preloss marital dependence, and older adults’ adjustment to widowhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 1, 220–35.Google Scholar
Cheng, S.-T., Li, K.-K., Leung, E. M. F. and Chan, A. C. M. 2011. Social exchanges and subjective well-being: do sources of positive and negative exchanges matter? Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B, 6, 708–18.Google Scholar
China Research Center on Aging (CRCA) 2007. 2006 Sample Survey on Aged Population in Urban/Rural China: Technical Report. CRCA, Beijing.Google Scholar
Chou, K.-L. and Chi, I. 2001. Stressful life events and depressive symptoms: social support and sense of control as mediators or moderators? International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 52, 2, 155–71.Google Scholar
Donnelly, E. and Hinterlong, J. 2010. Changes in social participation and volunteer activity among recently widowed older adults. The Gerontologist, 50, 2, 158–69.Google Scholar
Dreze, J. and Srinivasan, P. V. 1997. Widowhood and poverty in rural India: some inferences from household survey data. Journal of Development Economics, 54, 2, 217–34.Google Scholar
Elwell, F. and Maltbie-Crannell, A. D. 1981. The impact of role loss upon coping resources and life satisfaction of the elderly. Journal of Gerontology, 36, 2, 223–32.Google Scholar
Ferraro, K. F. and Su, Y. P. 1999. Financial strain, social relations, and psychological distress among older people: a cross-cultural analysis. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54B, 1, S3–15.Google Scholar
Fried, E. I., Bockting, C., Arjadi, R., Borsboom, D., Amshoff, M., Cramer, A. O., Epskamp, S., Tuerlinckx, F., Carr, D. and Stroebe, M. 2015. From loss to loneliness: the relationship between bereavement and depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124, 2, 256–65.Google Scholar
Fry, P. S. 2001. The unique contribution of key existential factors to the prediction of psychological well-being of older adults following spousal loss. Gerontologist, 41, 1, 69–81.Google Scholar
Glass, T. A., De Leon, C. F. M., Bassuk, S. S. and Berkman, L. F. 2006. Social engagement and depressive symptoms in late life longitudinal findings. Journal of Aging and Health, 18, 4, 604–28.Google Scholar
Golden, J., Conroy, R. M., Bruce, I., Denihan, A., Greene, E., Kirby, M. and Lawlor, B. A. 2011. The spectrum of worry in the community-dwelling elderly. Aging & Mental Health, 15, 8, 985–94.Google Scholar
Ha, J. H. 2008. Changes in support from confidants, children, and friends following widowhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 2, 306–18.Google Scholar
Ha, J. H. and Ingersoll-Dayton, B. 2011. Moderators in the relationship between social contact and psychological distress among widowed adults. Aging & Mental Health, 15, 3, 354–63.Google Scholar
He, W., Sengupta, M., Zhang, K. and Guo, P. 2007. Health and Health Care of the Older Population in Urban and Rural China: 2000. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Heflin, C. M. and Iceland, J. 2009. Poverty, material hardship, and depression. Social Science Quarterly, 90, 5, 1051–71.Google Scholar
Hong, S. I., Hasche, L. and Bowland, S. 2009. Structural relationships between social activities and longitudinal trajectories of depression among older adults. Gerontologist, 49, 1, 1–11.Google Scholar
Hopko, D. R., Reas, D. L., Beck, J. G., Stanley, M. A., Wetherell, J. L., Novy, D. M. and Averill, P. M. 2003. Assessing worry in older adults: confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and psychometric properties of an abbreviated model. Psychological Assessment, 15, 2, 173–83.Google Scholar
Hungerford, T. L. 2001. The economic consequences of widowhood on elderly women in the United States and Germany. Gerontologist, 41, 1, 103–10.Google Scholar
Janke, M., Davey, A. and Kleiber, D. 2006. Modeling change in older adults’ leisure activities. Leisure Sciences, 28, 3, 285–303.Google Scholar
Janke, M. C., Nimrod, G. and Kleiber, D. A. 2008 a. Reduction in leisure activity and well-being during the transition to widowhood. Journal of Women & Aging, 20, 1/2, 83–98.Google Scholar
Janke, M. C., Nimrod, G. and Kleiber, D. A. 2008 b. Leisure activity and depressive symptoms of widowed and married women in later life. Journal of Leisure Research, 40, 2, 250–66.Google Scholar
Kahn, J. R. and Pearlin, L. I. 2006. Financial strain over the life course and health among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 1, 17–31.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C. 1997. The effects of stressful life events on depression. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 1, 191–214.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R. S. and Folkman, S. 1984. Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Lee, G. R., Willetts, M. C. and Seccombe, K. 1998. Widowhood and depression: gender differences. Research on Aging, 20, 5, 611–30.Google Scholar
Lee, I. and Dunkle, R. E. 2010. Worries, psychosocial resources, and depressive symptoms among the South Korean oldest old. Aging and Mental Health, 14, 1, 57–66.Google Scholar
Li, L., Liang, J., Toler, A. and Gu, S. 2005. Widowhood and depressive symptoms among older Chinese: do gender and source of support make a difference? Social Science & Medicine, 60, 3, 637–47.Google Scholar
Lindström, M. and Rosvall, M. 2012. Marital status, social capital, economic stress, and mental health: a population-based study. Social Science Journal, 49, 3, 339–42.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. 2006. The path to well-being among elderly Arab Israelis. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 21, 1/2, 25–40.Google Scholar
Liu, T. and Sun, L. 2016. Pension reform in China. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 28, 1, 15–28.Google Scholar
Lopata, H. Z. 1996. Current Widowhood: Myths and Realities. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Marks, N. F. 1996. Caregiving across the lifespan: national prevalence predictors. Family Relations, 45, 1, 27–36.Google Scholar
McGarry, K. and Schoeni, R. F. 2005. Widow(er) poverty and out-of-pocket medical expenditures near the end of life. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60B, 3, S160–8.Google Scholar
Miller, N. B., Smerglia, V. L. and Bouchet, N. 2004. Women's adjustment to widowhood: does social support matter? Journal of Women & Aging, 16, 3/4, 149–67.Google Scholar
Min, J., Ailshire, J. and Crimmins, E. M. 2016. Social engagement and depressive symptoms: do baseline depression status and type of social activities make a difference? Age and Ageing, 45, 6, 838–43.Google Scholar
Momtaz, Y. A., Ibrahim, R., Hamid, T. A. and Yahaya, N. 2010. Mediating effects of social and personal religiosity on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people. Omega, 61, 2, 145–62.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K. and Muthén, B. O. 2012. Mplus User's Guide. Sixth edition, Muthén & Muthén, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Phillips, D. R. and Feng, Z. 2015. Challenges for the aging family in the people's Republic of China. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 34, 3, 290–304.Google Scholar
Schut, M. S. H. 1999. The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description. Death Studies, 23, 3, 197–224.Google Scholar
Schaan, B. 2013. Widowhood and depression among older Europeans: the role of gender, caregiving, marital quality, and regional context. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68B, 3, 431–42.Google Scholar
Schut, M. S. H. 1999. The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description. Death Studies, 23, 3, 197–224.Google Scholar
Silverstein, M. and Bengtson, V. L. 1994. Does intergenerational social support influence the psychological well-being of older parents? The contingencies of declining health and widowhood. Social Science & Medicine, 38, 7, 943–57.Google Scholar
Skarborn, M. and Nicki, R. 1996. Worry among Canadian seniors. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 43, 2, 169–78.Google Scholar
Stroebe, M. S., Folkman, S., Hansson, R. O. and Schut, H. 2006. The prediction of bereavement outcome: development of an integrative risk factor framework. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 9, 2440–51.Google Scholar
Stroebe, M., Schut, H. and Stroebe, W. 2007. Health outcomes of bereavement. Lancet, 370, 9603, 1960–73.Google Scholar
Umberson, D., Wortman, C. B. and Kessler, R. C. 1992. Widowhood and depression: explaining long-term gender differences in vulnerability. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 1, 10–24.Google Scholar
Utz, R. L. 2006. Economic and practical adjustments to late life spousal loss. In Carr, D. S., Nesse, R. M. and Wortman, C. B. (eds), Spousal Bereavement in Late Life. Springer, New York, 167–92.Google Scholar
Utz, R. L., Carr, D., Nesse, R. and Wortman, C. B. 2002. The effect of widowhood on older adults’ social participation: an evaluation of activity, disengagement, and continuity theories. Gerontologist, 42, 4, 522–33.Google Scholar
Van der Houwen, K., Stroebe, M., Schut, H., Stroebe, W. and Van den Bout, J. 2010. Mediating processes in bereavement: the role of rumination, threatening grief interpretations, and deliberate grief avoidance. Social Science & Medicine, 71, 9, 1669–76.Google Scholar
Xu, L., Li, Y., Min, J. and Chi, I. 2017. Worry about not having a caregiver and depressive symptoms among widowed older adults in China: the role of family support. Aging & Mental Health, 21, 8, 879–88.Google Scholar
Yesavage, J. A., Brink, T. L., Rose, T. L., Lum, O., Huang, V., Adey, M. and Leirer, V. O. 1983. Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 1, 37–49.Google Scholar
Zhang, B. and Li, J. 2011. Gender and marital status differences in depressive symptoms among elderly adults: the roles of family support and friend support. Aging & Mental Health, 15, 7, 844–54.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y. and Goza, F. W. 2006. Who will care for the elderly in China? A review of the problems caused by China's one-child policy and their potential solutions. Journal of Aging Studies, 20, 2, 151–64.Google Scholar
Zick, C. D. and Smith, K. R. 1991. Patterns of economic change surrounding the death of a spouse. Journal of Gerontology, 46, 6, S310–20.Google Scholar