Problem StatementLiterature Jianjun Ji, Justine Cornelius & Kathryn Meinholz  Sociology  University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire  China’s elderly population continues to rise  The number of Chinese elderly over 60 is at about 10% of the population  Research on the psychological well-being of the Chinese elderly is very rare, and relatively recent  Psychological well-being can be explained by how we feel about ourselves and our lives in terms of happiness, wellness, and prosperity. This varies from one individual to another because it is a personal perception (Ryff, 1995).  Dependent Variables  Health, Relationships, Life Satisfaction, and Loneliness.  The data we used comes from a survey collected by the China Research Center of Aging in December 1992  Children and the Chinese Elderly  Childless women and men are more likely to feel lonely/depressed, and receive less support (Chou & Chi, 2004, 2000).  Gender and the Chinese Elderly  Older women living alone reported higher depressive symptoms than men (Chou et al., 2006)  Men and women had different predictors for life satisfaction (finances, age, education, etc.) (Chou & Chi, 1999).  Family Income, State Help, and the Chinese Elderly  Those who received governmental income reported higher levels of depression than those who depended on their families (Lam & Boey, 2004).  Financial strain and loneliness are correlates of depression (Chou & Chi, 2004). Links to Psychological Well-being of the Urban Chinese Elderly Theory  Activity Theory  One must be socially active in terms of one’s social roles in order to be satisfied as an older person  Corresponds with the dependent variable perceived health  Disengagement Theory  One must disengage from society in terms of one’s social roles in order to be satisfied as an older person  Withdraw older people from society to make room for younger people  Corresponds with the dependent variables loneliness and relationships  Modernization Theory  Transformation from an underdeveloped society to a developed society  Older people feel stripped from their functional roles and may feel lost  Corresponds with the dependent variable life satisfaction Hypotheses 1.Demographic characteristics (# of children and gender) of the Chinese elderly have an impact on their psychological well-being. 2.Socioeconomic statuses (family income and state help) of the Chinese elderly have an impact on their psychological well-being. Research Methods Chi-square  significance of nominal variables Cramer’s V  strength of nominal variables Tau-c  significance & strength of ordinal variables Discussion  The demographic characteristics and socioeconomic statuses have a significant influence on the Chinese elderly.  The results support our hypotheses. (shown above) Descriptive Statistics of Psychological Well-Being FrequencyPercentCumulative Percent ___________________________________________________________ Health Not good So so Good __________________________________________________________ Relationships Not good Don’t know Good ___________________________________________________________ Loneliness Not lonely Lonely ___________________________________________________________ Life Satisfaction Unsatisfied Don’t know Satisfied ___________________________________________________________ Results  Gender has an effect on Health, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction. (p-value <.001)  Cramer’s V =.037 to.322  Number of children has an effect on Relationships, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction. (p-value <.001)  Tau-c =.033 to.054 (Life Satisfaction and Relationships)  Cramer’s V =.072 (Loneliness)  Family Income has an effect on Health, Loneliness, Relationships, and Life Satisfaction. (p-value <.001)  Tau-c =.063 to.177  State Help has an effect on Loneliness and Life Satisfaction. (p-value <.001)  Cramer’s V =.071 to.165 *Funds to support the project came from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, 2010