What Neighborhood Environment Configuration Can Alleviate Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: A Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Abstract Introduction:The neighborhood is a regular living and activity space for the elderly. It is important to identify neighborhood environmental factors that can alleviate depression in the elderly to improve their health. However, existing literature does not consider the complex interdependencies among key neighborhood environmental factors. Method:This study employs the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method to explore how the configuration of neighborhood environmental conditions can help alleviate depressive symptoms in the elderly. The data is derived from the 2020 China Family Panel Study (CFPS) survey. Results: The results show that three different neighborhood environment configurations can help reduce depressive symptoms in older Chinese individuals. The first configuration requires a combination of neighborhood safety, good neighborhood relations, and neighborhood assistance. The second configuration involves amalgamating optimal community facilities, high-quality neighborhood relations, and neighborhood assistance. The third configuration encompasses sound community facilities, favorable housing surroundings, a secure communal atmosphere, and advanced neighborhood assistance. Furthermore, we identify neighborhood assistance as a core condition for alleviating depressive symptoms and find that the combined effects of neighborhood safety and housing surroundings on alleviating depressive symptoms are comparable to the effect of neighborhood relationships. Discussion:These research results deepen the current understanding of neighborhood environment configurations to alleviate depressive symptoms in older adults, offer important implications for theory and practice, and set new directions for the construction of age-friendly neighborhoods.