ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1664235
Is labor force participation detrimental to the mental health of rural older adults? : The mediating role of attitudes toward aging
Provisionally accepted
Yanjun Liu
Xiaoyuan Ji*- Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Population ageing presents a significant challenge globally, with rural China experiencing pronounced ageing trends, labor force loss, and associated mental health pressures among older adults. This study examines the relationships between labor participation, attitudes toward aging, and mental health in rural Chinese older adults to support age-friendly policy development. Methods: Using 2020 China Longitudinal Ageing Study (CLASS) data, rural residents aged 60+ were analyzed. Correlation analysis, OLS regression, stepwise and Bootstrap mediation tests, and Propensity Score Matching were applied to assess linkages and address endogeneity. Results: (1) Labor participation significantly improved mental health by reducing depressive symptoms, though its effect followed an inverted U-shaped pattern—beneficial up to a threshold, beyond which benefits diminished. (2) Labor participation promoted mental health by fostering positive aging attitudes. (3) These attitudes mediated the transformation of labor participation from a potential risk into a psychological protective factor. Conclusion: Labor participation is a key protective factor for mental health among rural older adults in China when practiced in moderation. Effective policies should encourage appropriate labor engagement and support positive aging attitudes to enhance well-being in aging rural communities.
Keywords: Labor participation, Ageing attitudes, Mental Health, Mediating effect, Rural elderly people
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 16 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu and Ji. 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: Xiaoyuan Ji, 18393943428@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.