Can social support matter? The relationship between social support and mental health among bereaved parents in an only-child society: Evidence from China.

Abstract

Shidu parents (parents who lost their only child) experience poor mental health, and social support is expected to alleviate mental stress and facilitate mental adaptation of bereaved parents. However, the literatures on the effects of social support on mental health of bereaved parents have yield mixed outcomes, and the relationship between social support and mental health among Shidu parents has been unexplored in China. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social support and mental health among Shidu parents in China. Multistage stratified random sampling was conducted to collect data in 2017, and a total of 1,750 Shidu parents were employed as the analytical sample. The Ordinary Least Squares Model and Instrumental Variables (IV) Method were both employed. The variable of community services for the aged provided by the market was employed as the IV of the study considering death taboo inveterately rooted in philosophies and religions in Chinese culture. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between social support and mental health among Shidu parents, specifically, objective social support and social support utilisation were significantly related to mental health of Shidu parents, while subjective social support was not. Implications of the study include the following: First, it is crucial to help spouse and friends gain appropriate social support skills. Mutual associations can be an important source of social support. Second, objective social support should be given a top priority, and suitable amount, timing, source and structure of social support should be paid more attention to strengthen the 'goodness of fit' between the needs of Shidu parents and support provided. Third, some other social services such as community care, social work services and professional consulting services can be appropriate alternatives to alleviate mental stress of Shidu parents.