The Association Between Neighbourhood Leisure Amenities and Chinese Older Adults' Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Social Capital

With the growing prevalence of mental health problems among older adults, this paper investigates the association between neighbourhood leisure amenities and depressive symptoms among older adults in China, and further explores the mediating role of social capital in this relationship. The results suggest that neighbourhood leisure amenities significantly reduce older adults' depressive symptoms (α = -0.124, 95% CI [-0.206, -0.042]), with stronger associations observed among those who are low-income, aged 75 years and above, female, and living in rural areas. Mediation analyses show that social participation and sense of neighbourhood belonging exert statistically significant mediating effects, accounting for 2.58% and 7.91% of the total effect, respectively. In contrast, the social support network does not exhibit a statistically significant mediating effect. These findings provide important insights into understanding the mechanisms linking neighbourhood leisure amenities to healthy ageing.