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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1534124
The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital in Health Behaviors Among Elderly Nursing Home Residents
Provisionally accepted- 1 Zigong First People's Hospital, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China
- 2 Chengdu College of Arts and Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- 3 Zhangjiajie People's Hospital, Zhangjiajie, China
- 4 Jishou University, Jishou, China
Objective: This study aims to explore the interactions between social capital, positive psychological capital, and health-promoting behaviors among elderly residents in nursing homes in the Xiangxi region of China.Methods: A random cluster sampling method was employed to select elderly individuals from 27 nursing homes in the Xiangxi area. Data were collected using the general information questionnaire, the Social Capital Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Scale, and the Health-Promoting Behaviors Scale. The mediating role of positive psychological capital between social capital and health-promoting behaviors was analyzed.Results: A total of 341 questionnaires were collected from 27 nursing homes. The data reveals mean scores of 46.83 ± 10.26 for social capital, 72.48 ± 6.39 for positive psychological capital, and 68.25 ± 10.85 for health-promoting behaviors. Mediation analysis shows that the total effect of social capital on health-promoting behaviors was 0.800 (95% CI: 0.726, 0.873), with a direct effect of 0.478 (95% CI: 0.379, 0.577), accounting for 59.75% of the total effect. The indirect effect, mediated by positive psychological capital, was 0.321 (95% CI: 0.233, 0.409), contributing to 40.13% of the total effect.Positive psychological capital acts as a mediating variable between social capital and health-promoting behaviors. Future interventions designed to enhance health-promoting behaviors must consider both social and psychological capitals to fully leverage their interplay and further promote healthy aging.
Keywords: Xiangxi region, Nursing Homes, Elderly, social capital, Positive psychological capital, Health-promoting behaviors, mediation effect
Received: 27 Nov 2024; Accepted: 02 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liao, Li, Tian, Wu, Zhong, He and LI. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jinxiu LI, Jishou University, Jishou, China
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