Study on the Mechanism of Age Discrimination Perception on Self-Rated Health of the Elderly: Mediating Effect Based on Aging Attitude and Moderating Effect of Community Welfare

BackgroundIn practice, the construction of the old-age security system in China is not sufficient, and the mental health protection for the elderly is still lacking, which cannot effectively solve the health losses suffered by the elderly due to age discrimination. Although age discrimination is an external evaluation of the elderly, this evaluation will also potentially affect the elderlys views on themselves and others aging, and then affect their health. In addition, building an elderly-friendly community is a trend in many places in recent years, which is expected to play an important regulatory role in the process of age discrimination perception affecting the health of the elderly. ObjectiveThis paper focuses on the influence of age discrimination perception on the self-rated health of the elderly and the intermediary role of aging attitude in this process, as well as the regulatory role played by community welfare in the first half of the intermediary effect. MethodsStructural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) 2020 (N=6,066). Latent variables for age discrimination perception were constructed, and moderated mediation analysis was performed. ResultsAge discrimination has a negative impact on the self-rated health of the elderly. The perception of age discrimination has a negative impact on the self-rated health of the elderly by affecting their aging attitude. Community welfare moderates the influence path of age discrimination perception on aging attitude. Specifically, higher community welfare buffers the negative impact of age discrimination perception on aging attitude. ConclusionsThe validated model effectively identifies the mechanism of age discrimination perception on elderly health. This tool can aid policymakers in developing personalized strategies for aging populations. Community welfare interventions are crucial for mitigating the adverse effects of age discrimination.