Perceptions of neighborhood environment and loneliness among older Chinese adults: the mediator role of cognitive and structural social capital

Objective This study aimed to examine the mediating role of social capital in the association between perceived physical neighborhood environment and loneliness among older adults in urban China.Method Data were derived from face-to-face interviews with people (n = 472) aged 60 or older in urban communities of Shanghai, China, in 2020. Loneliness was measured by the 6-item De Jong Gierveld Scale. A multiple mediator model was adopted to examine the research hypotheses.Results Cognitive social capital played a full mediation role in the association between perceived community health care (β = −.061, p < .05), safety (β = −.168, p < .001), recreational services (β = −.058, p < .05), and loneliness. Structural social capital was associated with loneliness (β = −.102, p < .05), whereas its mediator effect was not significant. Perceived transportation convenience had neither a direct nor an indirect effect on loneliness among older adults.Conclusion Findings indicate that older adults' perceptions of healthcare services, safety, and recreational resources could help alleviate their loneliness via fostering cognitive social capital. Interventions improving older adults' perceptions of community health care, safety, and recreation, and their social capital level could help reduce the prevalence of loneliness.