Exploring Depression in Older Adults Amid Crises: A Moderated Mediation Analysis Through the Lens of Conservation of Resources Theory

Jingfang Liu, Zijing Liu and Peng Ding

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2026, vol. 72, issue 4, 809-821

Abstract: Objectives: This study aims to investigate how emergency prevention expenditure, types of pension insurance and making ends meet affect depression levels of older adults in the context of public health emergencies. Method: Using cross-sectional analysis based on the 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study data, we selected 12,964 respondents and constructed a moderated mediation model. We employed multiple linear regression method to assess the mediating effect of “making ends meet†and the moderating influence of urban GDP per capita. Additionally, we tested the U-shaped relationship between emergency prevention expenditures and depression levels. Results: Advanced type of pension insurance reduces depression levels (β = −.405, p  

Keywords: depression; epidemiology; older adults; conservation of resources theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:4:p:809-821

DOI: 10.1177/00207640251382719

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