Gerontology & Geriatric Research

Abstract

Social Participation and Life Satisfaction Among Widowed Older Adults in China

Yawen Li, Ling Xu*, Joohong Min, Iris Chi and Bin Xi

Aim: Little is known about how widowed older adults in China adjust during widowhood. This paper examines the relationship between their changes in social participation following spousal loss and their reported life satisfaction.

Methods: Using two-wave (2000 and 2006) national representative data from China, we regressed measures of widowhood status, changes of social participation, health function, financial strain as well as living arrangement on life satisfaction after adjusting for baseline life satisfaction and other sociodemographic variables.

Results: Increased social participation was related to higher levels of life satisfaction. This study did not find evidence that individuals who experienced widowhood would benefit more compared to those remained married from increasing social participation after spousal loss.

Conclusions: Social participation is one way older adults can potentially improve life satisfaction. In addition to focusing on family support during widowhood, practitioners could consider developing appropriate social activities to engage older adults with particular consideration of those remained widowed for long.