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Objectives: This study investigated the association between internet use and loneliness among older Chinese adults, and the mediating effects of family support, friend support, and social participation. These associations were evaluated in the context of urban and non-urban geographic settings., Methods: This study used data from the 2018 wave of the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (N = 10,126), examining samples of urban (n = 3,917) and non-urban (n = 6,209) older adults separately. Linear regression and path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework were employed., Results: Internet use was negatively associated with loneliness for both urban and non-urban residing older adults. Family support and social participation mediated the association between internet use and loneliness for both urban and non-urban residing older Chinese adults, but friend support mediated this association only for urban older residents., Discussion: This study shed light on our understanding of the relationship between internet use and loneliness among older adults in the Chinese context. Also, these findings suggested that digital interventions for loneliness should pay special attention to the different characteristics of urban and non-urban dwelling older Chinese adults., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: Guided by the social convoy model, this study investigated the association between friendship and cognitive functioning among older Chinese adults, as well as the moderating effect of marital status (married vs widowed). We also explored whether depression might account for the link between friendship and cognitive functioning., Methods: We used data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey in 2014 (N = 8,482). Cognitive functioning was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination instrument and friendship was assessed with a 3-item Lubben Social Network Scale. Linear regression and path analyses within a structural equation modeling framework were performed to examine the hypotheses., Results: Results indicated that friendship was significantly related to better cognitive functioning among older Chinese adults (β = 0.083, p < .001) and marital status moderated this association (β = -0.058, p < .01). In addition, depression partially mediated the relationship between friendship and cognitive functioning (β = 0.015, p < .001)., Discussion: The results implied that friendship is important for maintaining cognitive functioning in later life and widowed older Chinese adults may benefit more from friendship in its relationship to cognitive functioning than married older Chinese adults. Further, one potential pathway linking friendship to cognitive functioning may be through depression; however, more research is needed to support this finding. Intervention programs aimed at building friendship opportunities may be one way to achieve better cognitive aging., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between three helping behaviors and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD; heart attack, stroke; fatal and nonfatal), with an exploration of gender differences. The study is framed within the caregiving system model. Helping others is argued to be an evolved characteristic of humans that yields beneficial health effects., Methods: Data were taken from the 2004-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. The three forms of helping others considered were formal volunteering, informal helping, and caregiving for a parent or spouse. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated for gender-stratified samples., Results: Women who volunteered showed a lower risk of incident CVD compared to women who did not volunteer. Men who informally helped others in the community exhibited a lower risk of incident CVD compared to men who did not provide this form of help. Caregiving status was generally not associated with incident CVD for women or men., Discussion: The results demonstrated that specific types of prosocial behavior may be beneficial for women and men. However, tests for effect differences showed that gender did not moderate the relationships between these helping behaviors and CVD risk., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: This study investigated race differences in the relationship between formal volunteering and hypertension prevalence among middle-aged and older adults., Method: Using data from the 2004 and 2006 Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,666; 677 African Americans and 4,989 whites), we examined regression models stratified by race to estimate relationships among hypertension prevalence, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and volunteer status and hours spent volunteering among persons aged 51 years old and older., Results: White volunteers had a lower risk of hypertension than white nonvolunteers. A threshold effect was also present; compared with nonvolunteers, volunteering a moderate number of hours was associated with lowest risk of hypertension for whites. Results for hypertension were consistent with results from alternative models of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We found no statistically significant relationship between volunteering activity and hypertension/blood pressure for African Americans., Discussion: There may be unmeasured cultural differences related to the meaning of volunteering and contextual differences in volunteering that account for the race differences we observed. Research is needed to determine the pathways through which volunteering is related to hypertension risk and that may help explain race differences identified here.

Objective: We describe patterns of residential crowding among older Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. We also examine hypotheses about the relationship of residential crowding with assimilation (language and duration of residence) and housing market characteristics., Methods: We employ a multilevel research design, using data from the 2000 U.S. Census of Population. Hierarchical linear models are utilized to estimate the association between residential crowding and both individual and housing market factors., Results: Approximately one third of older Hispanics in metropolitan areas live in crowded housing compared with only one tenth of older non-Hispanic Whites. Foreign-born older persons report higher levels of crowding than U.S.-born older persons. Residential crowding differences between older Hispanics and non-Hispanics are not eliminated after controls are included. Older Hispanics who report better English language skills and a longer duration of residence in the United States live in less crowded housing. We do not find evidence for a relationship between crowding and residential segregation, but we find consistent evidence for an association between residential crowding and relative size of the Hispanic population., Discussion: The forces that shape household composition and access to housing among older Hispanics appear to result in higher levels of residential crowding for this population.

Objective: This study investigated the latent structure of productive activity among middle-aged and older adults. Whereas most researchers have examined forms of productive activity as discrete behaviors, our approach captured the reality that many persons engage in more than one activity and commit varying degrees of time to these activities., Methods: We took the data for this study from the Americans' Changing Lives survey. The activities examined include formal volunteer work, informal help to others, unpaid domestic work, caregiving, and paid work. We describe the complex clusters of activities and time commitment to those activities using latent class cluster analysis., Result: Our results demonstrated that a four-cluster model fit the data well. Specifically, the findings showed that middle-aged and older adults fell into four clusters: helpers, home maintainers, worker/volunteers, and super helpers. We also show how individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, race) are associated with the likelihood of being in one of these four groups., Discussion: This measurement strategy provides a foundation for future research into how experts can employ productive activity clusters to understand better well-being across the life course. This is important because our results show that many activities do not occur independently but rather are linked in patterned ways.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between two forms of helping behavior among older adults--informal caregiving and formal volunteer activity., Methods: To evaluate our hypotheses, we employed Tobit regression models to analyze panel data from the first two waves of the Americans' Changing Lives survey., Results: We found that older adult caregivers were more likely to be volunteers than noncaregivers. Caregivers who provided a relatively high number of caregiving hours annually reported a greater number of volunteer hours than did noncaregivers. Caregivers who provided care to nonrelatives were more likely than noncaregivers to be a volunteer and to volunteer more hours. Finally, caregivers were more likely than noncaregivers to be asked to volunteer., Discussion: Our results provide support for the hypothesis that caregivers are embedded in networks that provide them with more opportunities for volunteering. Additional research on the motivations for volunteering and greater attention to the context and hierarchy of caregiving and volunteering are needed.

Objectives: The authors examine the living arrangements of older Mexican immigrants to demonstrate how the formation of complex households is related to English language proficiency. Specifically, they examine whether the ability to use the English language is a determinant of an older Mexican immigrant persons' capacity to maintain residential independence. They also examine how living in communities with a relatively high proportion of Hispanic persons impacts household structure., Methods: Data from the 1990 U.S. Census of Population are used to evaluate multilevel multinomial logistic regression models of living arrangements among older Mexican immigrants., Results: The authors found that strong English language skills increase the likelihood of living independently and increase the likelihood of being the head of a household. They also found that living in an area with a relatively high proportion of Hispanic persons increases the likelihood that older Mexican immigrants will live independently as compared with living with others without headship. Finally, interaction models were examined, demonstrating that living in a community with a relatively high proportion of Hispanics reduces the strength of the relationship between English language proficiency and living arrangement outcomes for older Mexican immigrants., Discussion: The authors discuss the implications of their findings and point out possible avenues for further research.