The specific sources of data for each section of

The specific sources of data for each section of the paper are described in Appendix A.
Results
Discussion From the above observations we draw a series of ten inferences, presented roughly in the order of those least to most speculative; since we have offered no identification strategy in the data, none is intended to suggest causal inference.
Acknowledgements
Introduction Examining health in the context of residential neighborhoods is not a new endeavor. Recently, however, researchers have been interested in how residents’ appraisals of their neighborhoods are associated with their health. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that neighborhood safety perceptions (NSP) are associated with various aspects of health, including elderly mobility disability, self-rated health, and psychological distress (Clark et al., 2009; Hale et al., 2013; Meyer, Castro-Schilo, & Aguilar-Gaxiola, 2014). Furthermore, these perceptions partially explain the long-standing relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and physical and mental health (Kim, 2010; Ross & Mirowsky, 2001). Researchers are also focusing on mechanisms, such as health behaviors and stress (Burdette & Hill, 2008; Hale et al., 2013), to explain these connections as this information may inform neighborhood-level health interventions.
Method
Results Participants were eligible for the present study if they had completed the main telephone interview and self-administered questionnaire at both Wave II and III of the MIDUS Study. 4963 participants completed MIDUS Wave II. Of those 3294 participants who also completed Wave III, 2754 were included in our analytic sample. Nineteen participants were missing addresses making it Tricine impossible to link neighborhood income to their records. A large group of participants completed the initial telephone interview but did not return the self-administered questionnaire (N=388). The remaining participants that were excluded did not respond to questions regarding individual income (N=108), neuroticism (N=17), or NSPs (N=8). The majority (93.08%) of the analytic sample was white, ranging from 30 to 84 years old (M=55 years, SD=11 years), and 55.77% were women. Means and standard deviations for the variables used in the analyses are shown in Table 1. In general, participants felt safe in their neighborhoods. There was a slight increase in the number of reported chronic health conditions from Wave II to Wave III. Both individual and neighborhood income spanned wide ranges. Participants generally reported low levels of neuroticism and depressive symptoms. The majority of the participants in this sample reported that they had smoked at some point in their lives and a minority of participants were considered to be ‘heavy’ drinkers.
Discussion
Introduction Poor physical health, often indicated by chronic conditions and activities of daily living (ADL) limitations, is a major risk factor of depression in older adults (Chapman, Perry, & Strine, 2005; Fiske, Wetherell, & Gatz, 2009; Ormel, Rijsdijk, Sullivan, van Sonderen, & Kempen, 2002). From the perspective of the stress process (Pearlin & Bierman, 2013), physical health problems are stressors diminishing sense of mastery and self-esteem, which lead to negative emotions, including depressive symptoms. This process, however, is not linear. The stress buffering hypothesis posits that social support can alleviate the emotional consequence of stressors such as poor physical health, as it may provide solutions to the problem, lessen the perceived importance of the difficulty, and affirm the identity and worth of the individual (Cohen & Wills, 1985). Numerous studies have provided evidence for the buffering effects of social support at the individual level (e.g., DeGarmo, Patras, & Eap, 2008; Wight, Aneshensel, & LeBlanc, 2003). More recently, there has been a growing interest in the role of neighborhood in the stress process (Aneshensel, 2010; Elliott, 2000). Most previous studies have focused on negative features of neighborhoods such as disorder, poverty and deprivation (e.g., Casciano & Massey, 2012; Ross, 2000). In this exploratory study, we focus on neighborhood resources, specifically leisure amenities and voluntary associations, and examine their effects in moderating the relationship between poor physical health and depressive symptoms among older persons in rural and urban China, respectively.