Interpersonal ageism and its impact on older adults health and care engagement in China.
As global populations age, interpersonal age discrimination has emerged as a critical barrier to mental health and well-being in older adults. The team examined the adverse effects of interpersonal age discrimination on older adults' psychological well-being, including self-rated health, mental health, social adaptability, and life satisfaction.
Using nationally representative data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS), the analysis quantified the impact of ageism on multidimensional health outcomes.
Results indicated that age discrimination significantly worsened mental health and subjective well-being, partly by fostering negative ageing attitudes and limiting social engagement. Mechanism analyses further revealed that discrimination hindered older adults' access to smart ageing technologies, thereby impeding health management and social connectivity. Heterogeneity analyses showed that rural residents, pension recipients, and employed older adults experienced relatively attenuated effects, while gender and education level had no significant moderating influence. Moreover, age discrimination was associated with increased medical expenditures and decreased spending on cultural and recreational activities.
The findings highlighted the importance of enhancing intergenerational interactions to mitigate the psychological harms of age discrimination. These results suggested that nursing professionals play a vital role in addressing interpersonal ageism, particularly by facilitating digital inclusion and identifying ageism-related distress to support older adults' comprehensive well-being.
Using nationally representative data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS), the analysis quantified the impact of ageism on multidimensional health outcomes.
Results indicated that age discrimination significantly worsened mental health and subjective well-being, partly by fostering negative ageing attitudes and limiting social engagement. Mechanism analyses further revealed that discrimination hindered older adults' access to smart ageing technologies, thereby impeding health management and social connectivity. Heterogeneity analyses showed that rural residents, pension recipients, and employed older adults experienced relatively attenuated effects, while gender and education level had no significant moderating influence. Moreover, age discrimination was associated with increased medical expenditures and decreased spending on cultural and recreational activities.
The findings highlighted the importance of enhancing intergenerational interactions to mitigate the psychological harms of age discrimination. These results suggested that nursing professionals play a vital role in addressing interpersonal ageism, particularly by facilitating digital inclusion and identifying ageism-related distress to support older adults' comprehensive well-being.