Background: Depression is a commonly studied mental disorder affecting Chinese internal (i.e., rural-to-urban) migrants. Social resources effectively reduce depression for many communities experiencing adversities. This study evaluated social-level risk factors for depression between internal migrant and non-migrant Chinese living in mainland China. Method: We conducted a random population-level survey among migrants and local residents living in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. We used items from the Social Support Rating Scale to measure social resource dimensions, including social network size, emotional support, structural social capital, and one (self-developed) item that measured belonging (an element of social cohesion). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measured depression. Correlation and regression analyses of the partial sample (n = 678) were conducted to estimate the association between social resources and depression for migrants (n = 383) and non-migrants (n = 295). Results: Stratified regression analysis demonstrated that for migrants, greater belonging was associated with less depression, while age and larger friendship social network size was related to less depression among non-migrants. Conclusion: Differences emerged in our sample with regard to the types of social resources that are protective against depression between migrants and non-migrants. Interventions that provide opportunities for migrants to better integrate and feel welcomed into their new communities may reduce their depression symptoms.

Although college provides an opportunity for socioeconomic advancement, poor college youth confront material scarcity and financial problems and are at risk for psychological distress. Yet, distress is a product not only of poverty per se but of a sense of poverty, or a subjective evaluation of one's socioeconomic conditions vis-à-vis life circumstances. Both sense of poverty and psychological distress, however, can be mitigated by collective problem-solving in the family and by the family's social resources. Analysis of data from Filipino college youth (n = 831) shows that the family's inability to meet financial obligations is not directly associated with distress, but indirectly through sense of poverty. Lack of family assets is not a predictor of psychological distress, given that the positive indirect effect through sense of poverty is counteracted by a negative direct effect. Results also show that family problem-solving lessens psychological distress and that adequate access to social resources lessens the negative effect of sense of poverty on distress.

This paper considers the support networks of older people in populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households and examines the most vulnerable network types in terms of loneliness and isolation. Current common typologies of support networks may not be sensitive to differences within and between different cultures. This paper uses cross-sectional data drawn from 590 elders (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis) living in the United Kingdom and South Asia. Six variables were used in K-means cluster analysis to establish a new network typology. Two logistic regression models using loneliness and isolation as dependent variables assessed the contribution of the new network type to wellbeing. Four support networks were identified: ‘Multigenerational Households: Older Integrated Networks’, ‘Multigenerational Households: Younger Family Networks’, ‘Family and Friends Integrated Networks’ and ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’. Older South Asians with ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’ were more likely to be lonely and isolated compared to others. Using network typologies developed with individualistically oriented cultures, distributions are skewed towards more robust network types and could underestimate the support needs of older people from familistic cultures, who may be isolated and lonely and with limited informal sources of help. The new typology identifies different network types within multigenerational households, identifies a greater proportion of older people with vulnerable networks and could positively contribute to service planning.

Background: Identification of caregiver risk factors associated with psychological elder abuse is crucial for preventing and managing such abuse. The aim of this study was to test the most effective model for explaining caregiver factors contributing to caregiver psychological abuse behavior. We hypothesized that caregiver hours worked each day, years of education, age, geriatric care-giving training, gerontological care knowledge, social resources, and self-reported work stress are factors contributing to psychological abuse behavior of caregivers.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. The sample included a total of 183 caregivers recruited from seven long-term care facilities in southern areas of Taiwan. Instruments included the Caregiver Psychological Elder Abuse Behavior (CPEAB) scale, the Work Stressors Inventory Chinese version (WSI-C), the Personal Resources Questionnaire (PRQ-2000), and Knowledge of Gerontological Nursing Scale (KGNS). The structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure was used to analyze the data.

Results: All the model-fit indexes (χ2 = 87.84, df = 70, p = 0.073; CMIN/DF = 1.26; GFI = 0.94, AGFI =0.91, TLI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.037) of the final model exceeded their respective common acceptance levels except for the normed fit index (NFI) value (0.88). The study results suggest that caregivers who work fewer hours, received fewer years of education, lack social resources, and had more work stress showed higher levels of psychological abuse behavior in caring for the elderly (p = 0.000–0.037).

Conclusions: These findings should be incorporated into practice by intervening to reduce caregiver stress and reduce elder abuse behaviors. To help reduce elder psychological abuse, caregivers would benefit from stress management and social resource interventions provided by employers or government programs.