The Influence Of Empty-Nested On The Health Of The Aged

China has entered a rapid aging population development period,the health of the elderly has been the focus of social concern.In the process of aging,the problem of empty-nest elderly gradually highlights.Compared with the general elderly,the emptynest elderly,as a special group in the process of aging,face more life difficulties and health problems.It is not only related to the empty-nesters themselves,but also related to social stability and harmony to properly solve the difficulties of empty-nesters.Based on literature review and the activity theory,this paper analyzes and verifies the moderating effect of leisure activities on the elderly’s health in empty-nest families,which not only provides new ideas for protecting the elderly’s health in empty-nest families,but also provides decision basis for promoting the elderly’s health.In this study,the panel data of the survey on health and longevity of the elderly in China(CLHLS)from 2008 to 2011 were used to investigate the moderating effect of leisure activities participation on the influence of empty nest on the elderly’s health.In terms of the dependent variables of the elderly’s health,daily self-care ability(ADL),mental health and cognitive ability were selected as the objective measurement indicators,and self-evaluation health as the subjective measurement indicators.In terms of independent variable--empty nest,if the elderly live with their children,they are non-empty nesters;if the elderly live alone or only live with their spouse,they are defined as empty nesters.In terms of moderator variable(leisure activity participation),eight activities such as "participation in organized social activities" were selected,and the score of activity participation was added up to make statistics.In addition,control variables were selected at the demographic,socio-economic and individual behavior levels.Considering the causal relationship between empty nest status and the elderly’s health,this paper uses the instrumental variable method and adopts the two-stage least squares(2SLS)regression model for estimation,as well as further verifies the moderating effect of leisure activity participation on the health of the elderly in accordance with the moderating effect test of Wen zhonglin.Through empirical research and analysis,three conclusions are mainly drawn:First,empty nest has a significantly negative effect on the elderly’s health.Empty nest has a significantly negative predictive effect on the elderly’s self-care ability,mental health,cognitive ability and self-evaluation health in daily life;Second,the higher degree the elderly participate in leisure activities,the lower negative impact of empty nest on the elderly’s health is.The degree of leisure activities participation of the elderly has played a significant adjustment effects on the influence of empty nest on daily life self-care ability,mental health and cognitive ability,but the moderating effect of leisure activities on the influence of empty nest on self-reported health effects of adjustment is not significant;Third,social activities has a more significant effect on weakening the negative impact of empty nests on the elderly’s health than individual activities.Social activity,rather than personal activity,plays a stronger moderating effect on the influence of empty nest on daily life self-care ability,mental health and cognitive relationship among the elderly.Based on the above conclusions and the activity theory,this article discusses why leisure activity can inhibit the negative impact of empty nest on health of the elderly,and proposes corresponding suggestions on dealing with the empty nest problem of the elderly,as well as improving leisure activity participation in order to help the elderly have a sense of worthiness and happiness in their old life.