Social capital among older Chinese adults: An exploratory study of quality of life and social capital in a Chinese urban community

Abstract

Older adults now constitute a fast-growing cohort of the Chinese population. They are also active participants in civic activities, even within the limited scope available to citizens. Social capital and its key elements, despite having a different connotation from the Western concept, still have strong implications for the quality of life (QoL) of older Chinese adults. The current study tries to explore how both individual and perceived community social capital affect the QoL of elders living in urban communities in China. This paper presents the findings of this study, and goes on to identify differences between groups of older adults whose age and health status differs in terms of the impact of social engagement. The study adopted a quantitative approach to explore social participation among elders in a typical urban community in Shanghai, focusing on the social participation processes that help to build up or maintain their social capital. The survey used a proportional sampling approach and gathered data using questionnaire-based, in-person interviews. More than 400 residents in the selected communities were interviewed.