The Impact of Multidimensional Poverty on Rural Households’ Health: From a Perspective of Social Capital and Family Care

Hui Xiao, Xian Liang, Chen Chen and Fangting Xie ()
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Hui Xiao: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Xian Liang: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Chen Chen: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Fangting Xie: School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-27

Abstract: Although absolute poverty has been eliminated in rural China, multidimensional poverty has an unstoppable impact on the self-rated health of rural households through multiple dimensions. This study constructed a moderated mediation model with multidimensional poverty as the independent variable to explore the impact on rural households’ self-rated health, social capital as a mediating variable, and family care as a moderating variable. We used the survey data of 382 sample out-of-poverty rural households in Jiangxi, China, in 2020. Our results indicated that multidimensional poverty had a detrimental impact on the self-rated health and social capital of rural households, both of which were significant at the 1% level (β = −0.751, t = −4.775, and β = −0.197, t = −7.08). A test of the mediating effect of social capital using the mediation model found the mediating effect accounting for 84.95% of the entire effect of multidimensional poverty on rural households’ self-rated health. Further, the interaction term between family care and multidimensional poverty and its beneficial effect on social capital as well as the interaction term between family care and social capital and its negative effect on rural household’ self-rated health are both statistically significant at the 1% level (β = 0.558, t = −5.221 and β = −2.100, t = −3.304). It is revealed that multidimensional poverty affects rural households’ self-rated health through social capital and that family care moderates the mediating pathway. Family care exacerbates the negative effect of multidimensional poverty on rural households’ self-rated health and weakens the beneficial effect of social capital on rural households’ self-rated health. The lower (higher) the level of family care, the more significant the positive (negative) effect of social capital on rural households’ health. Therefore, rural households should prioritize building social capital and shifting the responsibility for family care. First, through enhancing housing infrastructure and establishing cultural and educational initiatives, households can improve their viability. Second, increasing engagement in group activities will enhance social networks and boost interpersonal connections. Finally, to lessen the stress on family caregivers, building socialized care services can cover the gap in family care.

Keywords: multidimensional poverty; health; moderated mediation model; Jiangxi province (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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