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Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study investigates the relationships between grandparenting status, social relations, and mortality among community-dwelling grandparents age 65 and older who are caring for their grandchildren. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 564). Latent class analysis was used to identify the social network structure based on six indicators of interpersonal relationships and activities. A series of hierarchical Weibull hazard models estimated the associations between grandparent caregiving, social relations, and mortality risk. Results of survival analyses indicate that co-parenting and custodial grandparents had higher all-cause mortality risk than grandparents who babysat occasionally; however, for custodial grandparents, the association was not significant once social relation variables were added to the model. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and improved relationship quality is integral to the well-being of older adults.

This study investigates the differential associations of activity engagement and perceived neighborhood characteristics (i.e., cohesion, disorder, sense of community) with cognitive measures. Using data of 2,713 Chinese older adults in Chicago, who completed two interviews between 2011 and 2015, we identified three activity domains: reading, social, and games. In general, engagement in more reading and social activities was associated with better baseline cognitive function, but the positive effects tapered off over time in some cases. Neighborhood cohesion had both direct and indirect effects on cognitive function. Engagement in social activities mediated the neighborhood cohesion effects, that is, living in a cohesive neighborhood promoted social activities and consequently benefited cognitive function. Findings speak to the importance of activity engagement and neighborhood cohesion for cognition among the U.S. Chinese older adults. Future research is needed to investigate the longitudinal relationships of activity engagement and environmental factors with cognitive change.

Using data from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) conducted from 2011 to 2013, this study aims to examine the role of acculturation in engagement in cognitive, social, and religious activities among older Chinese Americans. Activity engagement and acculturation levels were relatively low in the study sample. Multivariate regression analyses showed that high levels of acculturation in general, and particularly media use (e.g., TV and radio) and ethnic social relations (i.e., preferred ethnicity of those with whom one interacts) were associated with more engagement in cognitive and social activities, respectively. High levels of acculturation in general and ethnic social relation in particular increased the likelihood of engaging in religious activities. Language use was not related to engagement in any activity, probably because only 2% of the PINE participants preferred to speak English. Findings indicate that acculturation can promote activity engagement probably through media use and social relations, whereby older adults may acquire information about opportunities for various activities. Active participation with life may improve older adults' well-being and help address the widening health disparities among minority older populations in American society., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Among older Chinese adults in the United States, depression is a common health problem. Using data from the first population-based survey of older Chinese Americans ( N = 2,929) and applying negative binomial and ordinary least squares regression models, this study examines the relationship between social engagement (including cognitive activity and social activity) and sense of loneliness and hopelessness. Findings reveal that social engagement is significantly and negatively related to both loneliness and hopelessness after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health status. In addition, it is found that different aspects of social engagement present differential associations with sense of loneliness and hopelessness: Social activity is significantly associated with lower rate ratios of loneliness, whereas cognitive activity is significantly related to reduced levels of hopelessness. Our findings address the importance of engaging in cognitively stimulating and socially integrating activities in promoting psychological well-being for U.S. Chinese older adults., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This study examined the relationships of psychological sense of community (PSOC) with self-rated health and depressive symptoms among older Chinese Americans. The sample was taken from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), a population-based survey of 3,159 community-dwelling seniors. PSOC was measured through the Sense of Community Index (SCI). Factor analysis indicated a four-dimensional structure within the SCI; however, the SCI lacked dimensional consistency and items that composed four underlying factors were different than the proposed ones. After controlling for sociodemographics, binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that a higher level of PSOC was related to a lower likelihood of self-reporting poor or fair health and of developing more depressive symptoms. The identified factors of influence and emotional connection were also significantly related to self-rated health and depressive symptoms. Future research need aim at improving the conceptualization process of the PSOC and cultural relevance in minority populations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The population in China has been aging rapidly over the past two decades, raising concerns about how to meet the health and long-term care needs of the growing older adult population. The productive aging framework has been applied to promote the active roles that older adults can play in society and to improve physical and psychological well-being. Employment, as an essential form of productive aging, is central to personal control, self-identify, economic resources, and social connectedness. However, there is no clear role or accommodation for older workers in China due to the mandatory retirement policy and traditional culture of gender roles. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave 1 data, we examined the relationship between employment and life satisfaction in middle- and old-aged Chinese. Multiple regression analyses indicated that employment and certain work characteristics were positively related to life satisfaction in both the total and male samples. Overall, rural residents had higher levels of satisfaction than urban residents after equalizing socioeconomic resources and health. Policy and practice implications are discussed on how to improve life satisfaction through employment and how to address gender and residency gaps., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

This cross-sectional study aims to examine the associations between engagement in cognitive, social, and religious activity and cognitive function (i.e., global cognition, cognitive performance, episodic memory, working memory, and executive function) and to explore the moderation effect of acculturation on the associations. Data were drawn from the Population-Based Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE) Wave I. Multivariate regression analyses showed that participation in more cognitive and social activities were associated with better cognitive function indicated by all five measures. Also, more frequent attendance in religious services is related to better working memory only. Compared with those more acculturated peers, the less acculturated community-dwelling Chinese older adults benefited more from high levels of activity engagement, especially in global cognition, cognitive performance, and episodic memory. Findings illustrate the importance of increasing older adults' exposure to cognitively stimulating and socially integrated activities or environments, which may help to preserve the cognitive function of older adults., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.