Research On The Poverty Situation Of Rural Elderly Women And Social Support

With the development of aging society,the phenomenon of “feminization of the elderly” and “feminization of poverty” has become increasingly prominent in China.The elderly population is a vulnerable group with a high incidence of poverty.Due to social system,older women are more vulnerable to poverty than older men.In contrast to older women in urban areas,rural elderly women are at greater risk of poverty.The causes of poverty for rural elderly women are complex,and their manifestations are multidimensional.Social support is an important factor affecting the quality of life of the elderly population,and it has become an important way to solve the problem of poverty in the elderly.Therefore,the research on the poverty and social support of the rural elderly women is conducive to actively responding to the problem of aging population and poverty in old age.This paper uses data from the“China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey”(2014).First,the analysis of the poverty situation of rural elderly women found that:(1)The poverty types of rural elderly women are diverse,including economic poverty,health poverty,care poverty,and mental poverty;(2)Rural elderly women are vulnerable in terms of geography,gender and age and are more likely to face poverty;(3)There is a close relationship between the four types of poverty.Secondly,analysis of the Social Support Status of rural older women found that:(1)Rural elderly women have low levels of support,while rural community support needs to be increased;(2)Elderly women in rural areas are overly dependent on family support,and the cost of friends' support is too high.Third,the analysis of the relationship between poverty and social support found that: With the support of different societies,there is a difference in the incidence of poverty among rural elderly women.From the perspective of social support,we analyzed the causes of poverty among rural elderly women and found that the causes of poverty included individual factors,formal social support,and informal social support factors.Finally,this article argues that the formulation of policies on ageing should promote gender equality,and we should accurately identify and manage different types of poverty and improve the social support system for rural elderly women.This is very important for solving poverty problems in rural elderly women and promoting social equity.