Wellbeing Status and Demographic Socioeconomic Characteristics of The Chinese Elderly

Abstract

Using a national survey data, this study is intended to examine the wellbeing status of the Chinese elderly and to investigate the links between the wellbeing and its social economic and demographic characteristics. Based on Theory of Social Resources, Theory of Stratification, Theory of the Third Age and the frameworks about Third Age, this study tests the hypothesis that wellbeing of the Chinese elderly is associated with their demographic characteristics in terms of gender, age, marital status, fertility, and socioeconomic statuses in terms of education, career position, economic status, and region. Pearson’s correlation and Chi-square significant test were used for statistical analysis along with related indicators such as Cramer’s V and Pearson’s Contingency Coefficient C. With a larger sample size of over one million, the results shed new light on the overall wellbeing status of the Chinese elderly population as well as the insight of the links with their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics in contemporary Chinese society. The findings support our hypotheses: Measures of the concept of the wellbeing of the Chinese elderly are internally consistent and reliable, measures of the concept of the wellbeing of the Chinese elderly are multi-dimensional, the wellbeing of the Chinese Elderly is associated with their demographic characteristics and socioeconomic characteristics.