Cognitive and Psychological Health Implications of Living Alone Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China

Ming Wen , University of Utah
Qiang Ren, Peking University

This study examines the associations between living alone and psychological and cognitive health and explores the moderating effects of age, gender, marital status, social engagement and family income among middle-aged and older adults in China. Data are from a longitudinal sample of 9,469 participants in the 2010 and 2014 waves of the China Family Panel Study. Cognitive health is captured by word and math test scores. Psychological health is measured by depressive symptoms. The results show that living alone has no health benefits in this sample of middle-aged and older Chinese and seems injurious for psychological health among the unmarried and detrimental to cognitive health for men. More research is needed to explore the mediating and moderating effects of the link between living alone and health.

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 Presented in Session 179. Aging Alone and Well-being