Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sense of community and subjective well-being among older adults in China, and to further explore the potential mediating role of prosocial behavior and meaning in life in this association. Using a cross-sectional design, a cohort of 283 Chinese old adults aged between 60 and 85 years (Mage = 65.26, SDage = 5.73; 62.2% females) completed measures related to sense of community, prosocial behavior, meaning in life, and subjective well-being. To examine the mediating roles of prosocial behavior and meaning in life on the link between sense of community and subjective well-being, the PROCESS macro model4 and model6 were used to conduct single and serial mediation analysis, respectively. The results fully supported the proposed serial mediation model. The serial mediation model obtained in this study sheds light on the relationships between these factors and suggests that promoting sense of community independent of considering prosocial behavior and meaning in life may be insufficient to achieve good subjective well-being in Chinese older adults. These findings contribute to the refinement of interventions targeting the subjective well-being of older adults by emphasizing the importance of considering both the physical and social environments of the community.
Highlights
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Sense of community significantly and positively predicted Chinese older adults’ subjective well-being.
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Prosocial behavior and meaning in life mediated the association between sense of community and subjective well-being separately.
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Prosocial behavior and meaning in life were identified as serial mediators in the relationship between sense of community and subjective well-being among Chinese older adults.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
The Youth Foundation of Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education, China (23YJC190025).
The 2023 Social Science Applied Research Project: Special Topic on Social Education (Social Science Popularization), Jiangsu Province, China.
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B. Wang participated in the design, data collection, performed statistical analyses, and wrote the early version of the manuscript.
Y. Wang participated in the statistical analyses and revising of the manuscript.
L.Jia participated in the supervising and revising of the manuscript.
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The study underwent scrutiny and received approval from the Academic Ethics Committee at the institution of the primary author with the decision number 2023–03-001, dated 05/03/2023. All methods were performed in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. All participants’ information has been strictly confidential. All participants signed the informed consent form.
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Wang, B., Jia, L. & Wang, Y. The serial mediation model of sense of community and subjective well-being among Chinese older adults: the role of prosocial behavior and meaning in life. Curr Psychol 43, 17310–17319 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05708-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05708-z