Contributory and developmental social participation and depressive symptoms among older adults in China: urban-rural and gender disparities.

BACKGROUND: Existing research on social participation and later-life mental health often relies on fragmented classifications, pays insufficient attention to family-oriented contributory activities, and gives limited consideration to subgroup heterogeneity. To address these gaps, this study develops a contributory-developmental framework of social participation and examines the differential associations between various types of social participation and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults.

METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2020 wave of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS, N = 7,443 retired older adults). OLS regression models were used to estimate the associations between different participation types and depressive symptoms. Moderation models further examined whether these associations varied by urban-rural residence and gender. Sensitivity analyses included full-model estimation, inverse probability weighting, province fixed effects with clustered standard errors, and lagged dependent variable models using depressive symptoms measured in 2018.

RESULTS: Different participation types showed distinct associations with depressive symptoms. Learning participation, active leisure, internet use, intergenerational childcare, and reemployment after retirement were associated with lower depressive symptoms, whereas intergenerational domestic support was associated with higher depressive symptoms. An urban-rural paradox emerged: rural older adults were more involved in some contributory activities, yet some of these activities showed weaker or less favorable associations with depressive symptoms than among urban respondents; by contrast, active leisure and internet use were more strongly associated with lower depressive symptoms among rural respondents despite their lower participation levels. Gender differences were more limited: they were mainly observed for learning participation and reemployment after retirement.

DISCUSSION: Social participation is associated with depressive symptoms in later life in heterogeneous ways, depending on the type of activity and the social context in which participation occurs. Recognizing heterogeneity across participation types, urban-rural residence, and gender is essential for designing inclusive participation opportunities that support older adults' mental health.