Subjective Wellbeing in Rural China: Exploring the Relationship with Social Environments, Ageing, and Health

Abstract

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) plays a critical role in promoting quality of life. Although SWB research has been emerging from Western societies and urban China, there is limited evidence from rural China. Using a unique longitudinal dataset (2006, 2009 and 2014 waves) and Day Reconstruction Method (DRM), this thesis examined three important research topics on SWB of rural Chinese. Topic 1, using baseline data from 2006, examined the influence of social environments (activity type and the quality of social interaction) on the diurnal rhythms of positive affect (PoA), negative affect (NeA), and net affect (NA) by multilevel models. Results showed that social environments have a significant effect on diurnal rhythms of affect. Improving some social environmental factors, such as organizing pleasant activities and creating a friendly interactive environment, could contribute to the increase in PoA and decline in NeA. Topic 2, using longitudinal data and multilevel growth curve models, examined how affective SWB (individual net affect) and evaluative SWB (life satisfaction) changed over survey waves (ageing effects) and across cohorts (cohort effects). For cohort effects, although affective SWB was U-shaped across different ages with nadirs in mid-life (age 44 and 39), evaluative SWB was J-shaped with nadirs at a much earlier age (age 24 and 22) compared to urban Chinese and Western contexts. For ageing effects, affective SWB showed accelerated increases over time across cohorts. For life satisfaction, cohorts aged 18-24 at baseline experienced decreases in magnitude at a decreasing rate, whereas those aged above 24 experienced accelerated increases over time. After full adjustment, life satisfaction declined at a decreasing rate over time across cohorts. The oldest cohort had the highest SWB, and they also experienced the greatest increases (or the least declines) in SWB over time. These findings provide concrete evidence for the need to improve evaluative SWB among the young and affective SWB among the middle-aged in rural China. Topic 3, using longitudinal data, examined the effects of the diurnal timing of NeA (both bedtime NeA and non-bedtime NeA) on subjective health, and the mediating role of sleep quality in the NeA-health relationship by fixed effect models. Results showed that bedtime NeA is a stronger predictor of poorer health than non-bedtime NeA, and the deleterious influence of bedtime NeA on health seems to operate through poor sleep quality. Interventions to reduce bedtime NeA could potentially improve subsequent sleep quality, thereby protecting people to some extent from impaired health status. The three research topics together contributed to improving SWB not only throughout a single day (Topic 1 and Topic 3), but also across different ages (Topic 2). The improved SWB, particularly reduced bedtime NeA, contributed to improving sleep quality, thereby protecting people from impaired health status (Topic 3). This thesis could provide policy-makers with more specific evidence to design interventions to improve SWB, enhance quality of life, and promote healthy longevity among rural Chinese, thereby lifting them to the higher ground of optimal wellbeing in the future.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Jacqueline Carter (Supervisor) & Nan Zhang (Supervisor)