LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, CARING FOR GRANDCHILDREN, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG GRANDPARENTS IN CHINA

Abstract

This paper investigated the relationship between living arrangements, caring for grandchildren and depressive symptoms among grandparents. Data came from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2012) baseline data, a sample of those 45 and older. The analytic sample contained 5,473 grandparents with grandchildren aged under 16. The CESD-10 was used to measure depressive symptoms with a score from 10 to 40. We used Multiple Linear Regression. 42.69% rural and 48.01% urban grandparents provided care for their grandchildren. More grandparents provided care of high intensity (>=48weeks/year). After controlling demographic and socioeconomic variables, rural grandparents co-residing with grandchildren tended to have less depressive symptoms compared to rural grandparents not co-residing with grandchildren. And rural grandparents providing care tended to have less depressive symptoms compared to rural grandparents providing no care. But when co-residing with grandchildren and providing care of high intensity, rural grandparents were likely to have more depressive symptoms. For urban grandparents, co-residing with grandchildren compared to not co-residing with grandchildren contributed to their less depressive symptoms. But after controlling frequency of visiting from adult children and some other variables, the association between caregiving intensity, interaction term for caregiving intensity and co-residing living arrangements and depressive symptoms among grandparents were not statistically significant. But urban grandparents living in skipped generation households had more depressive symptoms. Grandchildren could be a critical emotion support to their grandparents. However, grandparents co-residing with grandchildren and providing care of high intensity or living in skipped generation households tend to have negative mental health.