Background: Depression has become a challenging public health problem, and the loss of a spouse is one of the main causes of depression in older adults. Social participation and psychological resilience are protective factors that reduce depressive symptoms in adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of social participation and psychological resilience on the depression of Chinese widowed older adults. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study on 790 community-dwelling widowed older adults in Shaanxi, China, in 2019. A structured face-to-face interview was used to collect data. We used the ordinary least squares model (OLS), the generalized propensity score matching (GPSM) and the mediation model to test the relationship between social participation, psychological resilience and depression. Results: We find a U-shaped relationship between social participation and depression, with the increase in social participation scores, the average depression level decreased and then increased. The psychological resilience of the widowed older adults was negatively associated with depression. The higher their psychological resilience, the lower their depression level. Among the four factors of psychological resilience, factor 2 (optimism and positive acceptance of change) and factor 3 (secure relationships and tolerance of negative affect) of psychological resilience were protective factors for depression after adjusting for demographic variables and physical health conditions. Psychological resilience plays a mediating role, as evident in factor 2 and factor 3 mediating the relationship between social participation and depression. Conclusion: An appropriate level of social participation will relieve the depression of widowed older adults. Social participation can reduce the depression level of widowed older adults by improving their psychological resilience. Community and family could reduce depression by intervening in the social participation of widowed older adults. Active social participation is crucial because it has a protective and resilient impact, which can help people recover from the stress of losing a spouse.

China’s middle-aged and older women suffer from poorer health than men. Using national baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a survey conducted from 2011 to 2012, this article applies logistic models to investigate the association between female fertility history (parity, early childbearing, late childbearing) and middle-aged and late-life health. We find that parity is related to the mid-late-life health of women. Women with four children or more are more likely to suffer from activities of daily living (ADL) impairment and poorer self-rated health than those with one to three children. Early childbearing is associated with ADL impairment; however, the correlation is mediated by socioeconomic status. Early childbearing is related to self-rated health in later life by an indirect-only mediation effect via educational attainment and personal income.

Marriage has a positive effect on health. After the dissolution of a marriage, the health of divorcees worsens. This study focuses on whether remarriage can help a person regain the health benefits that comes with marriage. Using national baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), which conducted from 2011 to 2012, this article applies instrumental variables (IV) method to investigate the association between remarriage after divorce and late-life health. We found that, compared with divorcees who had not remarried, those who remarried suffered less from depression and had better self-rated health. There were gender differences in the relationship between remarriage after divorce and mental health. Remarriage can improve the mental health of men, but there is no significant correlation between remarriage and the mental health of women.

Sexual harassment is a serious problem, and with a growing population of college students in China, the phenomenon is becoming prevalent. Using the 2010 data from the Third Survey on Chinese Women’s Social Status, we examined relationships between understanding of sexual harassment and experience/response among Chinese college students. The results show that college students understand physical sexual harassment better (88%; unwanted sexual requests: 92%) than verbal and visual sexual harassment (54% and 70%, respectively). Understanding is higher among females than males, with a margin between eight to 21%. At a prevalence of 30%, the experience of verbal sexual harassment is the highest compared to other forms of harassment. Males were more likely to experience verbal and visual sexual harassment, while females were more likely to experience physical sexual harassment. In any event of sexual harassment, expressing dissatisfaction and stopping it is the response strategy that most resonates with respondents. It varied between 62% and 70% across forms of sexual harassment. Reporting to teachers or school authorities resonates least, varying between 0.30% and 2.28%. Understanding sexual harassment was strongly associated with a reduced likelihood of harassment. The equivalent odds ratios varied between 0.41 and 0.33 ( p < .001), or 59–67% reduced likelihood across the forms of sexual harassment. Understanding sexual harassment was also strongly associated with an increased likelihood of not reacting passively or staying silent. Odds ratio varied between 1.99 and 3.86 ( p < .001), about a minimum of twofold increased likelihood. Parents should strive to involve in their children’s sex and sexual rights education, particularly during adolescence, to help them inculcate values against sexual harassment. Also, colleges and universities can bolster their curriculum with elective courses on sex education and regularly organize symposiums on sexual harassment to create a better understanding and awareness among students.

As population ageing accelerates in China, the number of elderly widowed individuals are expected to increase. Using 2010 census data we estimate widowhood indices for rural and urban areas, and for men and women in China. The indices show that the probability of elderly widowhood to be higher for females (0.68) than males (0.32)—with no rural and urban difference. An average marriage in China lasts about 47 years. After the death of a spouse, the average duration of widowhood is about 11 years for males and about 15 years for females. Spousal age difference has a significant impact on widowhood indices. Rural populations have the shortest marriage duration and the youngest widowhood age, and longer widowhood duration.

Background : Marriage has a positive effect on health. After the dissolution of a marriage, the health of divorcees worsens. The focus of this paper is on whether remarriage can help a person regain the health benefits that comes with marriage. Methods: This study used the national baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a survey conducted from 2011 to 2012, this article applies instrumental variables to deal with the endogenous problems and to investigate the association between remarriage after divorce and late-life health. Result: According to descriptive statistics, among the 235 middle-aged and elderly respondents with a history of divorce, 46% remarried, 75% of them thought their SRH was fair or bad, 15% of them suffered from ADL impairment and the scale score for depression averaged 9.33 ( SD =7.1). According to the regression results, compared with divorcees who have not remarried, those who remarry suffer less from depression and have better self-rated health. There are gender differences reflected in the relationship between remarriage after divorce and mental health. Remarriage can promote the mental health of men, but there is no significant correlation between remarriage and the mental health of women. Conclusion: Marriage has a protective effect on health, and remarriage can help people regain the health benefits. Key words: ADL ; Depression; Self-rated health ; Instrumental variable; Remarriage after divorce