Abstract
This research was conducted to test the direct effect of cultural capital and indirect effect of meaning making on depression among Chinese older adults in bereavement living in rural area. A sample of 352 older adults participated in this research. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to secure the construct validity of cultural capital, and path analysis with multiple mediators was run to investigate the mediation model including cultural capital, depression, meaning making, and meaning making squared. Meaning making and it squared form (a high level of meaning making) were mediators in the direct relationship cultural capital and depression. The results revealed a significantly positive indirect effect of cultural capital on depression through meaning making and a significantly negative indirect effect through the square of meaning making. The direct effect of cultural capital on depression did not reach statistical significance. These findings suggested a full mediating role of high quality of meaning making. Enhancing the levels of cultural capital and meaning making by means of education programs was recommended, since Chinese traditional culture has features in helping the widowed older adults adapt to the death of their partners.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Add, G. D., & Psych, C. (2014). Bereavement theory: Recent developments in our understanding of grief and bereavement. Bereavement Care, 33(1), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/02682621.2014.902610.
Allen, J. Y., Haley, W. E., Small, B. J., Schonwetter, R. S., & McMillan, S. C. (2013). Bereavement among hospice caregivers of cancer patients one year following loss: Predictors of grief, complicated grief, and symptoms of depression. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 16(7), 745–751. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2012.0450.
Appiagyei, D. J. (2019). Perception of Depression among Young Ghanaian Adults (publication no. 13425768) [doctoral dissertation, the Chicago School of Professional Psychology].ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global a&I: The sciences and engineering collection.
Bennett, K. M., & Soulsby, L. K. (2012). Wellbeing in bereavement and widowhood. Illness, Crisis & Loss, 20(4), 321–337. https://doi.org/10.2190/IL.20.4.b.
Bonanno, G. A., Boerner, K., & Wortman, C. B. (2008). Trajectories of grieving. In M. S. Stroebe, W. Stroebe, & R. O. Hansson (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention (pp.287–308). Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Bygren, L. O., Weissglas, G., Wikström, B.-M., Konlaan, B. B., Grjibovski, A., Karlsson, A. B., Andersson, S. O., & Sjöström, M. (2009). Cultural participation and health: A randomized controlled trial among medical care staff. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(4), 469–473. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31819e47d4.
Chan, W. C. H., & Chan, C. L. W. (2011). Acceptance of spousal death: The factor of time in bereaved older adults' search for meaning. Death Studies, 35(2), 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2010.535387.
Chan, C., & Mak, J. (2000). Benefits and drawbacks of Chinese rituals surrounding care for the dying. In R. Fielding & C. Chan (Eds.), Psychosocial oncology and palliative care in Hong Kong: The first decade (pp. 255–270). Hong Kong University Press.
Chan, C. L., Chow, A. Y., Ho, S. M., Tsui, Y. K., Tin, A. F., Koo, B. W., & Koo, E. W. (2005). The experience of Chinese bereaved persons: A preliminary study of meaning making and continuing bonds. Death Studies, 29(10), 923–947. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180500299287.
Chan, W. C. H., Tse, H. S., & Chan, T. H. Y. (2006). What is good death: Bridging the gap between research and intervention. In C. L. W. Chan, & A. Y. M. Chow (Eds.) Death, dying and bereavement: The Chinese experience (pp127–135). Hong Kong University Press.
Chen, F. F., Sousa, K. H., & West, S. G. (2005). Teacher's corner: Testing measurement invariance of second-order factor models. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 12(3), 471–492. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1203_7.
Chen, L., Chen, G., & Zheng, X. (2008). An analysis on depressive symptom and relevant predictors among Beijing urban widowed older adults (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Gerontology, 28(7), 696–698.
Cheung, C. K., & Leung, K. K. (2008). Ways by which comparable income affects life satisfaction in Hong Kong. Social Indicators Research, 87(1), 169–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9166-7.
Coleman, R. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2010). Measuring meaning: Searching for and making sense of spousal loss in later life. Death Studies, 34(9), 804–834. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481181003761625.
Currier, J., Holland, J., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Sense-making, grief, and the experience of violent loss: Toward a mediational model. Death Studies, 30(5), 403–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180600614351.
Guthrie, G. (2010). Basic research methods: An entry to social science research. SAGE India.
He, L., Tang, S.Q., Yu, W., Xu, W., Xie, Q.Y., & Wang, J.P. (2014). The prevalence, comorbidity and risks of prolonged grief disorder among bereaved Chinese adults. Psychiatry Research, 219(2), 347–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2014.05.022.
Ho, S. W., & Brotherson, S. E. (2007). Cultural influences on parental bereavement in Chinese families. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 55(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2190/4293-202L-5475-2161.
Hooyman, N. R., & Kramer, B. J. (2006). Living through loss: Interventions across the life span. Columbia University Press.
Hui, C. H., Cheung, S. H., Lau, E. Y. Y., Mok, D. S. Y., Cheung, S. F., & Kwan, Y. W. (2016). Bereavement hits harder on those who believe in fate. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 35(8), 609–628. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2016.35.8.609.
Iversen, M. M., Espehaug, B., Rokne, B., Haugstvedt, & Graue, M. (2013). Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the audit of diabetes-dependent quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 22, 2809–2812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0413-x.
Jiang, Y. L. (2009). Social and cultural capital across contexts: Mandarin-Speaking English: Language learning children’s first and second language literacy learning at home, in the community, and in multiple classrooms (Publication No. 3362929) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I.
Kamphuis, C. B. M., Jansen, T., Mackenbach, J. P., & van Lenthe, F. J. (2015). Bourdieu’s cultural capital in relation to food choices: A systematic review of cultural capital indicators and an empirical proof of concept. PLoS One, 10(8), e0130695. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130695.
Kristiansen, C. B., Kjær, J. N., Hjorth, P., Andersen, K., & Prina, A. M. (2019). The association of time since spousal loss and depression in widowhood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54, 781–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01680-3.
Lamont, & Annette, L. (1988). Cultural capital: Allusions, gaps and glissandos in recent theoretical developments. Sociological Theory, 6(2), 153–168.
Lei, X. Y., Sun, X. T., Strauss, J., Zhang, P., & Zhao, Y. H. (2014). Depressive symptoms and SES among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study national baseline. Social Science & Medicine, 120, 224–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.028.
Li, L. W., Long, Y., Esses, E. L., Sui, Y., & Gao, L. (2012). Elderly Chinese and their family caregivers’ perceptions of good care: A qualitative study in Shandong, China. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 55(7), 609–625. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2012.703165.
Liddle, J. L. M., Parkinson, L., & Sibbritt, D. W. (2012). Painting pictures and playing musical instruments: Change in participation and relationship to health in older women. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 31(4), 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6612.2011.00574.x.
Lillo, P., Mioshi, E., & Hodges, J. R. (2012). Caregiver burden in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is more dependent on patients' behavioral changes than physical disability: A comparative study. BMC Neurology, 12, 156–162. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2377-12-156.
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales. Psychology Foundation.
Lu, N., Lum, T. Y., & Lou, V. W. Q. (2016). The impacts of community social capital on the life satisfaction of older adults in Hong Kong: The moderator role of intergenerational family capital. Aging and Mental Health, 20(11), 1213–1122. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1072799.
Mash, H. B. H., Fullerton, C. S., Shear, M. K., & Ursano, R. J. (2014). Complicated grief and depression in young adults personality and relationship quality. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202(7), 539–543. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000155.
Miech, R. A., & Shanahan, M. J. (2000). Socioeconomic status and depression over the life course. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(2), 162-176. 10.1.1.528.3374.
Milic, J., Saavedra Perez, H., Zuurbier, L. A., Boelen, P. A., Rietjens, J. A., Hofman, A., & Tiemeier, H. (2019). The longitudinal and cross-sectional associations of grief and complicated grief with sleep quality in older adults. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 17(1), 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2016.1276016.
Mui, M. H. (2010). Cognitive determinants of physical activity and their inter-relationships with mental distress and diabetes self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 73(2-B), 919.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998-2012). Mplus user’s guide: Statistical analysis with latent variables (7th ed.). Muthén & Muthén.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. (2009). Mplus short courses. http://www.statmodel.com/course_materials.shtml.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2011). The national population aged over 60 by gender, marital status, and health status (In Chinese). http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm
Neimeyer, R. A. (2002). Lessons of loss: A guide to coping. Centre for the Study of Loss and Transition.
Neimeyer, R. A., & Hogan, N. (2001). Quantitative or qualitative? Measurement issues in the study of grief, In M. S. Stroebe, R. O. Hansson, W. Stroebe, & H. Schut (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care (pp. 614–646). American Psychological Association.
Neimeyer, R. A., Prigerson, H. G., & Davies, B. (2002). Mourning and meaning. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/000276402236676.
Neimeyer, R. A., Burke, L. A., Mackay, M. M., & van Dyke Stringer, J. G. (2010). Grief therapy and the reconstruction of meaning: From principles to practice. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 40(2), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-009-9135-3.
Ogungbamila, B., & Adeyanju, A. B. (2010). Health and psychosocial complaints of elderly Ijaw widows in Yenagoa, Nigeria. Gerontology, 56(2), 200–207. https://doi.org/10.1159/000251713.
Oyserman, D. (2011). Culture as situated cognition: Cultural mindsets, cultural fluency, and meaning making. European Review of Social Psychology, 22(1), 164–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2011.627187.
Pan, H. (2019). Response to spousal death according to faith in traditional Chinese culture among older Chinese: Moderation by occupation. Health and Social Care in the Community, 27, 1224–1231. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12763.
Pan, H., Cheung, C. K., & Hu, J. (2018). Intimacy and complicated grief among Chinese elders having lost their spouses: Mediating role of meaning making. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 23(3), 244–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2018.1435367.
Papadopoulos, C., Foster, J., & Caldwell, K. (2013). 'Individualism-Collectivism' as an explanatory device for mental illness stigma. Community Mental Health Journal, 49(3), 270–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9534-x.
Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257–301. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018301.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 36(4), 717–731. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553.
Shear, M. K. (2015). Complicated grief. The New England Journal of Medicine, 372(2), 153–160.
Symeou, L. (2007). Cultural capital and family involvement in children's education: Tales from two primary schools in Cyprus. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2S(4), 473–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690701369525.
Ten Kate, J., de Koster, W., & van der Waal, J. (2017). Why are depressive symptoms more prevalent among the less educated? The relevance of low cultural capital and cultural entitlement. Sociological Spectrum, 37(2), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2016.1274248.
Tian, T., Chen, Y., Zhu, J., & Liu, P. (2015). Effect of air pollution and rural-urban difference on mental health of the elderly in China. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 44, 1084–1094. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2443.1996.d01-231.x.
Wang, Y., Gan, Y., Miao, M., Ke, Q., Li, W., Zhang, Z., & Cheng, G. (2016). High-level construal benefits, meaning making, and posttraumatic growth in cancer patients. Palliative & Supportive Care, 14(5), 510–518. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478951515001224.
Wu, X., Lei, L., Zhou, F., & Li, C. (2013). An analysis on depressive status and its relevant predictors among 342 widowed older adults in rural areas (in Chinese). Journal of Xiangnan University (Medical Science), 15(4), 40–43.
Yoo, B., & Donthu, N. (2001). Developing a scale to measure the perceived quality of an internet shopping site (sitequal) Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce, 2(1), 31-47. 978-3-319-11884-0.
Zhang, L., Xu, Y., Nie, H., Zhang, Y., & Wu, Y. (2012). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among the older in China: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 900–906. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2821.
Zhao, F., Martin, P., & Lee, G. (2019). Depression and cognitive decline of older adults in the transition to widowhood. Innovation in Aging, 3(Suppl 1), S976. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igz038.3538.
Zhou, Q., & Bi, H. (2015). Depression status and relevant predictors among older widows of different genders in rural areas of Beijing (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Gerontology, 4, 1058–1059.
Zhu, W., Liu, X., Jia, H., & Mi, N. (2012). A study on the relationship between depression and marital status among retired older adults (in Chinese). Science & Technology Information, 10, 440–440.
Zhu, X. Y., Qiu, C. X., Zeng, Y., & Li, J. (2017). Leisure activities, education, and cognitive impairment in Chinese older adults: A population-based longitudinal study. International Psychogeriatrics, 29(5), 727–739. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610216001769.
Data Availability Statements
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Statement
Consents were informed by the participations before the onset of the interviews.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pan, H., Chen, Z. Cultural capital and mediatory role of meaning-making in post-bereavement depression among older adults in rural China. Curr Psychol 42, 4696–4704 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01819-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01819-z