Influencing Factors And Policy Suggestions Of Mental Health Of Chinese Elderly

Population aging is the overall trend of population development in the world today.Compared with the progressive aging of Western developed countries,China’s aging population has a large number of bases and rapid development,and the matching pension and medical service security systems have lagged behind.At the same time,the family structure in China has also undergone tremendous changes with the development of the socio-economic environment.Large-scale population movement leads to the miniaturization of family size and the trend of family discretization,which weakened supportive capacity among different generations to a large extent.This means that at present,the elderly in our country are dealing with the dual physiological and psychological pressures brought about by their own ageing.At the same time,they also face the dilemma of inadequate family and social support,which not only reduces the quality of life of the elderly,but also makes the elderly People are more prone to depression,anxiety and other negative psychological states.How to improve the mental health of the elderly has become one of the most pressing social issues in our country.In this study,the data of 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study was used to empirically analyze the mental health status and influencing factors of the elderly over the age of 60 from the two dimensions of cognitive ability and depression,focusing on the following issues:What is the current state of mental health of the elderly in China?What factors will have an impact on the cognitive and depressive levels of older people in China?How is the impact?How can we improve the mental health of the elderly in China by improving existing public policies?The main conclusions include:Firstly,the cognitive ability of the elderly in China is generally poor,and only 15%of the respondents have normal cognitive function,especially in terms of memory ability.The decline with age is extremely obvious.From the results of multiple regression,the education level and age are the most important factors affecting the cognitive ability of the elderly.Whether they participate in social activities,physical functions,urban and rural areas,and overall life satisfaction also have a significant impact on the cognitive ability of the elderly.Secondly,in terms of depression,the performance of elderly people in our country is not optimistic.34%of the respondents have different degrees of depressive symptoms.Among them,the lowest expectations for the future,depressed mood,and poor sleep are the most outstanding symptoms of depression in the elderly.Analysis of variance and regression results show that physiologically healthy levels have the biggest impact on depression in the elderly.From the perspective of demographic variables,there is a significant difference in gender,urban and rural areas,and the level of education among the elderly.In addition,a harmonious family environment and active social participation can effectively alleviate the psychological depression of the elderly.Thirdly,improving the mental health of the elderly in China needs to rely on the participation of individuals,families,markets,society,and the government’s multiple entities.This can be achieved through the improvement of the ageing policy and regulations system;the improvement of the social pension and medical security system;and the construction of individuals,families,Community-assisted mental health assistance system for the elderly;vigorously develop the culture and education of the elderly,encourage the elderly to participate in social development;focus on the mental health status of disadvantaged older groups;strengthen publicity and education,and create a good social atmosphere and living environment.