Changes in the Mental Health Status of Older Adults in China and the Impact of Social Factors: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis, 1993 to 2017

Abstract

This study aimed to uncover the trend of mental health in China over the years and the influence of related social factors. This study employed a cross-temporal meta-analysis (CTMA). The study analyzed 182 studies from 1993 to 2017. A total of 83,603 participants were included in 182 studies. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) Scale. From 1993 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2017, the scores for each dimension for mental health of older adults were relatively stable, and the absolute value of the effect size was between 0.02 and 0.62. From 2001 to 2003 and from 2003 to 2004, the scores of each dimension of older adults changed greatly. From 2001 to 2003, the total mean score of SCL-90 and the scores of different dimensions in older adults showed a rapidly decreasing trend, with the d ranging from −0.40 to −0.93. From 2003 to 2004, the scores of all dimensions in SCL-90 showed a trend of sharp increase, and the d of each dimension was 0.40 to 0.89. The mental health status of the older adults is declining as a whole and has a large fluctuation from 2001 to 2004 various social development indicators, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita, divorce rate, unemployment rate, and Engel’s coefficient, demonstrated a significant correlation with mental health status