Exploring Relationships of Psychological Sense of Community With Self-Rated Health and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Chinese Americans

Tang, Fengyan; Chi, Iris; Xu, Ling; Dong, XinQi

doi:10.1177/2333721418778183

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, sense of community was positively associated with self-rated health, suggesting that social factors, particularly the relationship between the individual and the social structure, are also pertinent to health and well-being of older people. This finding is consistent with previous studies showing positive relationships of sense of community with health and wellbeing [10][11][12][13][14]38]. There are a number of possible explanations for the relationships found.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment, Sense of Community, and Self-Rated Health: an Age-Friendly City Project in Hong Kong

Wong

Woo

2018

J Urban Health

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To examine the relationships between perceptions of neighborhood environment, sense of community, and self-rated heath, we recruited 1798 people aged 60 years and older living in Hong Kong. With reference to the checklist of the essential features of age-friendly cities developed by the World Health Organization, perceptions of neighborhood environment were assessed using a questionnaire covering physical and social environmental domains, which mapped onto Boutdoor spaces and buildings,^Btransportation,B housing,^Bsocial participation,^Brespect and social inclusion,^Bcivic participation and employment,B communication and information,^and Bcommunity support and health services.^Sense of community was measured by the Brief Sense of Community Scale. Selfrated health was assessed by a single question. The relationships between these measures were analyzed using partial correlations, multivariate regression models, and path analyses. The mean age of the participants was 71.7 years; of which 54.3% were women. In multivariate regression models, perceived neighborhood environments were positively associated with sense of community and self-rated health. Among the domains o f p e r c e i v e d n e i g h b o r h o o d e n v i r o n m e n t , Btransportation^and Brespect and social inclusionŵ ere the physical and the social environmental domains most strongly associated with sense of community, respectively. In addition, sense of community accounted for part of the relationship between perceived neighborhood environments and self-rated health. The results of this study support the importance of perceived neighborhood environments for the sense that older person has of one's community, and self-rated health of older people which may be enhanced through the improvement of neighborhood environments. Keywords Age-friendly environment. Perceptions of neighborhood environment. Sense of community. Selfrated health. Respect and social inclusion

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment, Sense of Community, and Self-Rated Health: an Age-Friendly City Project in Hong Kong

Wong

Woo

2018

J Urban Health

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“…Sense of community is also positively related to more engagement in social activities, which is consistent with previous studies . Tang and associates used the same data set as this study and found that sense of community is related to a lower likelihood of reporting depressive symptoms . The present study has probably illustrated the potential mechanism for this association because social activities are evidently effective in reducing depression.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The Cronbach's α was .86. Sense of community was measured by the commonly used and validated Sense of Community Index, which has been used in previous research . The total score for this scale ranged from 12 to 60, with higher scores indicating a stronger sense of community.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Factors Associated with Chinese Older Immigrants' Social Engagement

Lai

Lee

et al. 2019

J American Geriatrics Society

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BACKGROUND/ OBJECTIVES Prior research has shown that social engagement is beneficial to older adults' health and well‐being. This study examined the association between environmental factors and social engagement of older Chinese immigrants in the United States. SAMPLE A cross‐sectional data set of Chinese immigrants in the greater Chicago, IL, area (Population Study of Chinese Elderly; n = 3159), was used in this study. DESIGN Multiple regression models were used to test the associations between older adults' engagement in cognitive and social activities and environmental factors, including financial difficulties, social support, neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood disorder, and sense of community. MEASUREMENT Eight questions measuring participants' engagement in cognitive and social activities, a single‐item question measuring financial difficulties, a 12‐item social support measurement, an eight‐item neighborhood cohesion measurement, and a six‐item neighborhood disorder and sense of community scale. RESULTS Having fewer financial difficulties and a cohesive neighborhood is related to a higher level of engagement in both cognitive and social activities. More social support from family and friends and a sense of community are associated with higher levels of social activities engagement, but not cognitive activity engagement. Neighborhood cohesion has a stronger association with social engagement than other environmental factors and most individual‐level factors. Surprisingly, neighborhood disorder is positively related to social activity engagement, which needs further examination. The associations between environmental factors and social engagement showed no significant difference between healthy and unhealthy older adults. CONCLUSION This study highlights the need for policies and programs to promote an active lifestyle among older immigrants by creating facilitative social and physical environments. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S571–S576, 2019.

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“…SOC was associated with the social environmental characteristics of place, indicating the extent to which one feels part of a readily available, supportive, and dependable environment (Pretty et al, 2003). A strong SOC was related to better self-rated health and fewer depressive symptoms in older Chinese Americans (Tang, Chi, Xu, & Dong, 2018). These studies indicate that the person-environment fit may contribute to differences in social activity engagement, which further affects cognitive function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Importance of Activity Engagement and Neighborhood to Cognitive Function Among Older Chinese Americans

et al. 2020

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This study investigates the differential associations of activity engagement and perceived neighborhood characteristics (i.e., cohesion, disorder, sense of community) with cognitive measures. Using data of 2,713 Chinese older adults in Chicago, who completed two interviews between 2011 and 2015, we identified three activity domains: reading, social, and games. In general, engagement in more reading and social activities was associated with better baseline cognitive function, but the positive effects tapered off over time in some cases. Neighborhood cohesion had both direct and indirect effects on cognitive function. Engagement in social activities mediated the neighborhood cohesion effects, that is, living in a cohesive neighborhood promoted social activities and consequently benefited cognitive function. Findings speak to the importance of activity engagement and neighborhood cohesion for cognition among the U.S. Chinese older adults. Future research is needed to investigate the longitudinal relationships of activity engagement and environmental factors with cognitive change.

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Exploring Relationships of Psychological Sense of Community With Self-Rated Health and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Chinese Americans

Cited by 20 publications

References 19 publications

Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment, Sense of Community, and Self-Rated Health: an Age-Friendly City Project in Hong Kong

Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment, Sense of Community, and Self-Rated Health: an Age-Friendly City Project in Hong Kong

Environmental Factors Associated with Chinese Older Immigrants' Social Engagement

Importance of Activity Engagement and Neighborhood to Cognitive Function Among Older Chinese Americans

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