Abstract
In China, older parents have become an important source of childcare for their grown children since 2010. However, caring for grandchildren may affect older parents’ psychological health (PH) in both positive and negative ways. Using the method of stepwise decreasing logistic regression, this study aimed to assess the factors associated with PH and support from grown children among caregiving older parents (400 respondents) based on the public panel data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The findings showed that being male (X1, OR = 1.661 (95% CI 1.066–2.590)), being literate (X4, OR = 2.129 (95% CI 1.369–3.309)), and expecting long-term care in the future from their grown children (X6, OR = 2.695 (95% CI 1.736–4.185)) were significant factors associated with PH. Therefore, in such an aging society, we should not regard older parents as a “burden”; we should recognize and appreciate their contribution to caregiving. As family and children, it is important to give older parents the necessary economic and emotional support to maintain their psychological health in the meantime.
Highlights
Since 2010, the one-child policy of China has gradually opened up, the number of second births has increased [1,2], and an increasing number of elderly people have had to take care of their grandchildren due to the inadequacies of kindergarten classes and the insufficiency of China’s current child-care system [3,4,5]
In the face of the reality that an increasing number of older people are providing care for their grandchildren, the current study aimed to assess the factors associated with the psychological health of caregiving older parents
In China, older parents have become an important source of childcare for their grown children since 2010
Summary
Since 2010, the one-child policy of China has gradually opened up, the number of second births has increased [1,2], and an increasing number of elderly people have had to take care of their grandchildren due to the inadequacies of kindergarten classes and the insufficiency of China’s current child-care system [3,4,5]. According to the data of Shanghai Academy of Sciences, 84.6% older parents tried to help their grown children by caregiving for their babies in Shanghai. It is usually noted that there are some health benefits of caregiving from older parents and those benefits are recognized by grown children [11]. It can make up for negative feelings of older empty nesters, lead to a happier life, and improve their quality of life [12,13,14,15,16]. If older populations did their grown children a favor by
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