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Highlights • This paper explores the effects of four dimensions of social exclusion on self-rated health and depression among older people in China. • Lower level of exclusion from social relationships was associated with less likely to report fair or poor SRH. • Lower level of subjective feelings of exclusion was associated with less likely to report fair or poor SRH. • Lower level of subjective feeling of exclusion was associated with less likely to report depression. • Lower level of exclusion from financial products was associated with less likely to report depression. Abstract Background It is well established that social exclusion is a key social determinant of health; however, such association between social exclusion and health outcomes among older people remain a relatively under-researched area. This paper explores the effects of four dimensions of social exclusion on self-rated health and depression among older people in China. Methods This paper includes 8038 individuals aged 60 and over from the first wave national multi-stage probability sample (2014) from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). Descriptive univariate information for individual variables and four dimensions of social exclusion are presented. Multinomial and binary logistic regression models are used to examine the associations between social exclusion and self-rated health and depression. Results Older people who were in the lower level of exclusion from social relationships or subjective feelings of exclusion were significantly less likely to report fair or poor self-rated health than people in the higher level of exclusion (lower level of exclusion from social activities was significantly associated with being less likely to report poor SRH only). Older people who were in the lower level of subjective feeling of exclusion or exclusion from financial products were significantly less likely to report depression. Conclusions Different dimensions of social exclusion have different effects on self-rated health and depression. Social policies need to reflect this and efforts of services could usefully be oriented to prevent multi-dimensions of social exclusion. Ultimately, such policies should have the potential to enhance the health of older people in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars who study how social networks affect older adults' health are often concerned with the prospect of declining social connectedness in late life. This paper shifts the focus to older adults' tendencies to cultivate new social ties. This process of network growth can improve access to social resources, boost self-esteem, reduce loneliness, and increase physical activity. We therefore examine the link between tie cultivation and health using new longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), which recorded changes in older adults' confidant network rosters over a period of about five years. Most respondents (81.8%) added at least one new network member during the study period, and most (59.4%) cultivated multiple new confidant relationships. Longitudinal analyses suggest that the addition of new confidants is associated with improvements in functional, self-rated, and psychological health, net of baseline connectedness as well as any network losses that occurred during the same period. Network losses were associated with physical but not psychological well-being. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between concurrent processes that underlie social network change in later life, and highlight the need for additional research on the mechanisms by which network change may improve health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]