{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T09:40:29Z","timestamp":1777887629974,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777593600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004260","name":"Renmin University of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025RD0304"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025RD0304"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004260","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Land fragmentation is a persistent feature of China\u2019s rural tenure system, yet its psychological ramifications remain underexplored. This study investigates the causal association between land fragmentation and depressive symptoms among rural households, drawing on the Social Determinants of Health framework.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using data from the 2022 China Land Economic Survey, we employ an instrumental variable approach based on agricultural machinery subsidies to address endogeneity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We identify a robust positive impact of fragmentation on depressive symptoms. Mechanism analyses reveal that fragmentation exacerbates depression through three distinct pathways: increasing agricultural production costs, intensifying labor burdens leading to time poverty, and eroding risk coping capabilities by reducing crop insurance participation. Furthermore, land transfer acts as a crucial moderator that significantly attenuates these adverse mental health effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings underscore that land consolidation is not merely an economic imperative but a public health intervention. Policy efforts should integrate land tenure reform with targeted mental health support for vulnerable smallholders.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1792633","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T04:19:18Z","timestamp":1777609158000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The association between land fragmentation and depressive symptoms among Chinese rural households"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Lei","family":"Zhou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Rural Development, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China"]},{"name":"School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Future Human United Research Institute, Renmin University of China\u2013Westlake University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shenwei","family":"Wan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Rural Development, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China"]},{"name":"School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Future Human United Research Institute, Renmin University of China\u2013Westlake University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhiwen","family":"Ding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Rural Development, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China"]},{"name":"Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Rural Development, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liangshan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Rural Development, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7099","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18137099","article-title":"The impact of land-based physical activity interventions on self-reported health and well-being of indigenous adults: a systematic review","volume":"18","author":"Ahmed","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. 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