To examine the impact of social participation on life satisfaction in perimenopausal women and the mediating role of depression over time.

Using China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011—2018) data, a latent growth model analyzed trajectories of social participation, depression, and life satisfaction in 1 133 perimenopausal women and tested the longitudinal mediation of depressionin in the relationship between social participation and life satisfaction.

Social participation, depression, and life satisfaction showed increasing trends. After controlling for education, the intercept of social participation negatively predicted the intercept of depression (β=-1.198, P<0.001), and the intercept of depression negatively predicted the intercept of life satisfaction (β=-0.058, P<0.001). The slope of social participation negatively predicted the slope of depression (β=-0.909, P<0.05), while the slope of depression negatively predicted the slope of life satisfaction (β=-0.101, P<0.001). The intercept and slope of depression showed longitudinal mediation between social participation and life satisfaction, with indirect effects of 0.069(95% CI: 0.037-0.112) and 0.092(95% CI: 0.024-0.215),respectively.

Social participation indirectly affects life satisfaction by influencing the level of depression. Providing flexible participation opportunities and emotional support may enhance psychological well-being and life satisfaction in perimenopausal women.