A geographical multivariable multilevel analysis of social exclusion among older people in China: Evidence from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey ageing study

Abstract

Social exclusion is increasingly considered to be a multi‐faceted concept involving more than simply material disadvantage among older people. The process of social exclusion may be driven by various factors and at different levels, including individual, household, group, community, country and global levels. Using data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey focusing on respondents aged over 60, we employed multivariate multilevel models to simultaneously estimate four dimensions of social exclusion among older people. The results show that the social exclusion of older people varies not only among individuals but also among provinces. From an individual perspective, older people with lower educational attainment (often illiterate), in the lowest quintile of personal income and in poor health were the most likely to be excluded. From a geographical perspective, although there are no province‐level characteristics (social, economic and social security development) significantly related to the four dimensions of social exclusion, there is nevertheless significant unexplained variation for all dimensions of social exclusion at the province level. The negative relationships between exclusion from social relationships and exclusion from financial products, between subjective feeling of exclusion and social activities, and between subjective feeling of exclusion and exclusion from financial products at the provincial level indicate that a province may do well on one dimension of social exclusion but it will not automatically do well on the other dimensions.

Relationship between neighbourhood social participation and depression among older adults: A longitudinal study in China

“…Older adults are also more likely to get emotional support from neighbours when living in neighbourhoods with higher neighbourhood social participation (Luo et al, 2012;Yang & Victor, 2008). Older adults are at high risk of suffering from loneliness and subjective feeling of exclusion (Feng, Phillips, & Jones, 2018), but neighbourhood social participation may encourage them to communicate with and comfort each other, increasing their emotional support (Luo et al, 2012;Yang & Victor, 2008).…”

The Intersection of Ageing and Social Exclusion

“…It is also worth noting that while not presenting formal conceptualisations, important edited volumes on social exclusion of older people (e.g. Scharf and Keating 2012;Börsch-Supan et al 2015), seminal works on related concepts (such as cumulative advantage/disadvantage - Dannefer (2003); precarity - Grenier et al (2020)), and recent empirical/measurement papers (Dahlberg and McKee 2018;Feng et al 2018;Van Regenmortel et al 2018;Prattley et al 2020;Keogh et al 2021) have significantly expanded our conceptual understanding of multifaceted forms of disadvantage in later life.…”

Understanding the Wellbeing of the Oldest-Old in China: A Study of Socio-Economic and Geographical Variations Based on CLHLS Data

“…Factors such as advanced age, lower health status, greater number of chronic conditions, lower education, not being married and smoking are also associated with the probability of institutionalization and the determinants of health of people living in the community [11]. The health of older populations is apparently not only affected by individual factors, but political economy factors such as disparities in economic development and allocation of health care resources, create health inequities among the older population [12,13,14].…”

“…Results showed that uneven economic development, varied social security provision as well as different family support at regional levels all contributed to the geographical variations in health outcomes of the older population [22]. Recently, Feng et al have explored regional and social differences in social exclusion of older persons in China based on the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) data and the relations with health and well-being [12]. The results showed that older people with lower educational attainment, in the lowest quintile of personal income and in poor health were the most likely to be excluded.…”