The Impact Of Social Capital On The Health Of The Elderly

With the deepening of the aging population,China’s elderly population has become the world’s largest number,the aging rate has also jumped to one of the fastest in the world,and the health problems faced by the elderly are widely concerned by the society.The theory of social capital was introduced into the field of health in the 1980 s,,and a few scholars conducted empirical analysis of social capital and the health of the elderly.However,due to the controversy over the concept of social capital,there are large differences in the measurement dimensions and index selection,and the impact of social capital on the elderly health need to be further studied and discussed.This study uses data from the 2016-2020 China Household Tracking Survey(CFPS)to analyze the effect of social capital on the overall health,mental health and behavioral ability level of the elderly,and further enrich the empirical research on the impact of social capital on the health of the elderly.In this study,we try to divide social capital into three levels: micro social capital,meso social capital and macro social capital,and use random effect model as panel regression and multi-layer linear regression to analyze the impact of different levels of social capital on the overall health,mental health and behavioral ability of elderly.A heterogeneity analysis was then conducted to explore whether this effect differed significantly between different sexes and places of residence.The study found that:(1)the relationship between people in micro social capital has a positive impact on the overall health and mental health of the elderly;the child relationship has a significant positive impact on the overall health,mental health and behavioral ability of the elderly.The impact of human relations on the overall health and mental health of the elderly in rural communities is greater than that of the elderly in urban communities,and the degree of influence on the mental health of female elderly people is greater than that of male elderly people.In meso social capital,trade union membership has a significant positive impact on the overall health level and behavioral ability of the elderly,while the members of individual workers’ associations have a significant negative impact on the overall health and mental health of the elderly.(2)Reciprocity in macro social capital has a significant effect on improving the overall health and mental health level of the elderly;endowment insurance has an inhibitory effect on the mental health level of elderly;medical insurance has no significant impact on the health of elderly people in various dimensions.Reciprocity plays a greater role in the mental health of the elderly and female elderly in rural communities than in the elderly and male elderly in urban communities.General trust is conducive to the overall health of men,mental health and women’s mental health;the impact on men’s mental health level is greater than that of women.Endowment insurance has an inhibitory effect on the elderly mental health in rural communities and on the overall health and mental health of the male elderly;medical insurance has a stimulating effect on the overall health and behavioral ability of the female elderly.(3)The local income level has a significant positive impact on the overall health,mental health and behavioral ability of the elderly.In terms of overall health and mental health,the impact on older persons in rural communities is greater than in urban communities and on men is greater than that of women;In terms of behavioral capacity,there is an impact only on women.The higher the level of education,the higher the overall health and mental health level,.The higher the overall health and mental health level of the urban and rural elderly in the state of marriage and cohabitation,the lower the level of behavioral ability;the marital status has a greater impact on the overall health level and mental health level of the elderly and male elderly in urban communities than on the elderly and female elderly in rural communities.The higher the mental health level of the urban and rural elderly who do not smoke;the older the elderly,the worse the overall health and behavioral ability level,and there is no significant change in the level of mental health.Combined with the conclusions of empirical analysis,this study makes suggestions from the following aspects:(1)Increase policy inclination to improve the health level of rural areas and female elderly people.(2)create a social atmosphere of reciprocity and trust.(3)Establish a harmonious relationship network for the elderly.(4)Attach importance to family pension and give family pension policy support.(5)Vigorously develop the economy and improve the income level of the elderly.(6)Continue to increase investment in education.