Table 1

Measures of health of left-behind older adults in rural China in 2017–2018 (N=1016)

Health	Indicators	Range	Reliability α
BADL	Ability to eat independently	0–2	0.879
	Ability to walk independently	0–2
	Ability to visit friends independently	0–2
	Ability to dress independently	0–2
	Ability to bathe independently	0–2
IADL	Ability to cook independently	0–2	0.873
	Ability to shop independently	0–2
	Ability to clean independently	0–2
	Ability to take a bus independently	0–2
Depression	Are you satisfied with your life?	0–1	0.839
	Do you continue to pursue hobbies?	0–1
	Do you have a sense of life enrichment?	0–1
	Do you feel upset?	0–1
	Do you feel good in spirits?	0–1
	Do you have a sense of insecurity?	0–1
	Do you feel happy?	0–1
	Do you have a sense of loneliness?	0–1
	Do you feel good to be alive?	0–1
	Do you have a sense of unworthiness?	0–1
	Do you feel energetic?	0–1
	Do you feel hopeless?	0–1

A total of 15 items were used to measure depression in the questionnaire, and 3 of them were excluded in the analysis because their single-item reliability α was less than 0.800.
BADL, basic activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living.