Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5): 1148-1155.DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230515

• Social,Personality & Organizational Psychology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health of Rural Adult Residents: The Roles of Hope and Subjective Well-Being

Meng Keqiang1, Li Fenglan2, Wang Li3, Chen Min1   

  1. 1School of Marxism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240;
    2College of Marxism, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070;
    3College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070
  • Online:2023-09-20 Published:2023-11-07

童年社会经济地位与农村成年居民心理健康:希望感和主观幸福感的作用 *

孟可强1, 李凤兰**2, 王丽3, 陈敏1   

  1. 1上海交通大学马克思主义学院,上海,200240;
    2华中农业大学马克思主义学院,武汉,430070;
    3华中农业大学经济管理学院,武汉,430070
  • 通讯作者: **李凤兰,E-mail: lifenglan1166@mail.hzau.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    *本研究得到国家社会科学基金项目(17BSH094)的资助

Abstract: According to the latest China Mental Health Survey (CMHS), the weighted 12-month prevalence of any mental disorder (excluding dementia) among adults in rural China was much higher than that in urban areas (13.4% vs. 5.5%). To solve this situation, it is important to pay attention to the mental health of rural adult residents and to investigate its potential causes. Prior studies on the impact of childhood socioeconomic status on adult mental health have shown that low childhood socioeconomic status had far-reaching negative effects on adult mental health. However, the existing studies were based on Western samples. The cultural background and social system of rural China are different from Western countries, so the cross-cultural validity of the existing studies need to be verified among Chinese rural residents. Meanwhile, the mechanism underlying the relation between childhood socioeconomic status and adult mental health is unknown. To address this research gap, the current study examined the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status and the mental health of rural adult residents. Drawing from the reserve capacity theory, the life history theory, and the “scarring effect” theory of poverty, this study constructed a chain mediation model that childhood socioeconomic status was related to the mental health of rural adult residents via hope and subjective well-being (SWB).
By convenience sampling, 568 rural adult residents (297 men, mean age = 48.00 years, SD = 11.78 years) from 19 villages in a county of Hubei Province were selected. With informed consent, all of them completed a pencil and paper questionnaire (including the revised Childhood Socioeconomic Status Scale, the Chinese version of 12-item General Health Questionnaire, Adult State Hope Scale, Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale) in privacy, and all information collected was self-reported. The measurement tools in this study had sound reliability. Before testing hypotheses, all variables were standardized. SPSS 23.0 was used to test the correlations among variables. The chain mediation model was tested by the PROCESS macro for SPSS.
After controlling for demographic variables, the results indicated that: (1) There were significant positive correlations among childhood socioeconomic status, hope, SWB, and mental health. The lower the childhood socioeconomic status, the more likely the rural adult residents would exhibit poor mental health. (2) Hope mediated the relation between childhood socioeconomic status and the mental health of rural adult residents (95% CI = [.016, .039]). (3) SWB mediated the relation between childhood socioeconomic status and the mental health of rural adult residents (95% CI = [.003, .026]). (4) Childhood socioeconomic status affected the mental health of rural adult residents through a chain mechanism of hope and SWB (95% CI = [.003, .011]).
This study confirmed the negative impact of low childhood socioeconomic on adult mental health in rural China, by realizing "diluting hope", "reducing SWB", and the combination of the two. These results may inform practice. The promotion of Chinese rural residents' mental health cannot ignore the "upstream" and "remote" factors that affect adult mental health and should focus on early intervention and prevention. The alleviation of rural poverty should pay special attention to the minor children of relatively poor families, and take psychological intervention, particularly to increase their hope and SWB.

Key words: childhood socioeconomic status, mental health, hope, subjective well-being, rural residents

摘要: 研究采用问卷法对568名农村成年居民进行调查,以探讨童年社会经济地位与农村成年居民心理健康的关系及其内在作用机制。结果表明:(1)童年社会经济地位与农村成年居民希望感、主观幸福感、心理健康水平两两显著正相关;(2)童年社会经济地位通过希望感和主观幸福感的单独中介作用以及两者的链式中介作用正向预测农村成年居民心理健康水平。这些研究结果可以为农村心理健康促进工作与帮扶工作提供参考价值。

关键词: 童年社会经济地位, 心理健康, 希望感, 主观幸福感, 农村居民