Neighborhood Environment, Residential Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in Residential Care Homes

Abstract

Burgeoning evidence has shown that neighborhood environments are related to depressive symptoms in the older population. Older adults living in residential care homes may be more vulnerable to environmental characteristics. The current study sought to understand how institutionalized older adults relate to environmental factors and residential satisfaction in terms of depressive symptoms. Data were collected from a cross-sectional national survey of 1,429 Chinese elders living in residential care homes. The findings reveal that 46.1% of the older Chinese residents living in residential care homes suffered from mild to severe depression. In addition, the current study finds that both environmental factors (e.g., geographic position, air quality, and transportation) and residential satisfaction are negatively associated with depressive symptoms. The findings support that residential satisfaction partially mediate the relationship between exterior environmental characteristics and depressive symptoms.

Association between poor sleep quality and depression symptoms among the elderly in nursing homes in Hunan province, China: a cross-sectional study

“…For example, epidemiological studies indicated that the prevalence of depression symptoms among the elderly in nursing homes was 90.2% in Iran, 16 81.8% in Taiwan, 17 29.6% in London 18 and 46.1% in the Mainland China. 19 The association between sleep quality and depression symptoms among the elderly is complex, bidirectional and not entirely understood. However, many studies have suggested that elderly people with some sleep disturbance are more likely to develop depression symptoms than younger people with some sleep disturbance.…”

“…For example, epidemiological studies indicated that the prevalence of depression symptoms among the elderly in nursing homes was 90.2% in Iran, 16 81.8% in Taiwan, 17 29.6% in London 18 and 46.1% in the Mainland China. 19 …”

Community Environment Perception on Depression: The Mediating Role of Subjective Social Class

“…Living in the community with higher satisfaction of its environment is more conducive to promoting the individual's mental health [29,56], which further shows that the subjective positive perception of community living environment can protect people from the negative psychological impact of social and economic inequality. Based on these findings, it is necessary for future research to pay more attention to the promotion of community environment on potential positive psychological effects.…”

Neoliberal urban sustainability in Old Kolkata, India: Case studies of contested developments

“…20 major parameters were constructed based on their way of living, satisfaction level at the current location to bring out their level of interactions with the surrounding community members. These parameters have been modified from the works of Hur and Morrow-Jones (2008), Shaw et al (2017), Liu, Ouyang, Chong, and Wang (2018) and others who have worked with the psychological impacts of urban dwellers and a detailed statistical analysis is still in progress by the authors. Respondents were primarily separated into neighbourhood communities which included families who owned their houses and lived through generations in the same area and those who have been tenants in the same locality for generations while the respondents of the gated communities included residents of the newly built middle income group (MIG) apartments and high income group building complexes (HIG).…”