Grandchild Care Research Articles

The experiences of grandparents looking after their grandchildren: examining feelings of burden and obligation among non-custodial grandparents

Abstract Quantitative research on how grandparents fare when looking after grandchildren has mainly focused on general wellbeing indicators, showing that grandparenting is linked to higher wellbeing. However, global assessments of wellbeing reveal little about activity-specific experiences and only indirectly provide insights about how grandparents experience grandchild care. Whereas qualitative studies have observed diversity in grandparenting experiences, quantitative insights regarding potential strains of grandparenting are scarce. This study examines directly to what extent grandparents experience supplementary grandchild care as burdensome and obligatory, and tests – building on role strain theory – how differences in grandparents' characteristics can explain these experiences. Analyses are based on data collected in 2015 and 2018 among 3,429 Dutch grandparents who look after grandchildren. Descriptive findings show that 20 per cent of the studied grandparents experienced grandparenting as fairly/very burdensome and 8 per cent as fairly/very obligatory. Ordinal logistic regression models with random effects show that more-intense grandparenting situations were linked to higher levels of burden and obligation. Moreover, grandparents in poor health, higher education and those with other responsibilities (e.g. paid work) were relatively more likely to experience higher levels of burden and obligation. Our findings imply that the understanding of non-custodial grandparenting as only rewarding might be one-sided, as positive and negative experiences can go together. There appears to be substantial heterogeneity in how grandparents experience looking after their grandchildren.

China's new age floating population: Talent workers and drifting elders

Talent workers are becoming a critical factor in the urbanization of China. Government programs encourage the attraction of these skilled and university educated workers by providing subsidized housing. Talent workers are responding to these incentives, yet many are not settling in the urban communities that woo them. This micro-scale case study of talent worker housing in Shenzhen explores some aspects of the lived experience of these “floating” talent workers. As a well-paid and upwardly mobile component of the floating population, talent workers are typically co-resident with their spouses and dependent children. However, a third generation is commonly present in these urban extended family households. Parents and in-laws of talent workers provide grandchild care and as such, they exemplify the “drifting elderly,” a newly identified phenomenon in China's cities. Interview evidence shows that about one half of young talent workers and virtually all of the drifting elderly constitute a new age floating population, challenging traditional conceptions of the floating population as an urban underclass. Despite the provision of subsidized housing intended to foster the retention of talent workers in Shenzhen, many are not committed to staying in their community and have no interest in attaining local urban hukou status.

The Effect of Grandparenting on the Depression and Life Satisfaction among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults.

Given the prevalence of depressive mental health symptoms among Chinese adults of grandparenting age in recent decades, a better understanding of how depression and life satisfaction among middle-aged and older adults in China are affected by their role as grandparents is called for. This study examines the relationship between grandparenting and depression and life satisfaction among Chinese adults using multilevel regression models based on a multilevel matching dataset formulated from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the 2018 China City Statistical Yearbook. The results show that for adults who take care of their grandchildren, living with their children can significantly reduce depression. Meanwhile, whereas spending more time taking care of grandchildren can lower life satisfaction, taking care of more grandchildren is related to higher life satisfaction. The findings of this study should help policymakers improve the quality of life of Chinese adults through better-targeted approaches.

Grandchild care, inadequate medical insurance protection, and inequalities in socioeconomic factors exacerbate childhood obesity in China.

This study examines the influences of grandchild care and medical insurance on childhood obesity. Nationally representative longitudinal data—from the China Family Panel Studies 2010–2020—of 26,902 school-age children and adolescents aged 6–16 years and China's new reference standard (“WS/T586-2018”) are used to identify a child's obesity status. Using binary mixed-effects logistic regression models and the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method, this study explores the roots of obesity inequalities and finds that at least 15% of Chinese children aged 6–16 were obese in the 2010s. The logistic regression analysis results indicate that grandchild care, public medical insurance, and commercial medical insurance are key risk factors of child obesity. However, the influences are heterogeneous in different groups: Grandchild care and public medical insurance increase urban–rural obesity inequalities because of a distribution effect, and grandchild care may also exacerbate children obesity inequalities between left-behind and non-left-behind children owing to the event shock of parental absence. Inequalities in socioeconomic status (SES) factors such as income, education, and region also cause obesity inequalities. These results indicate that child obesity and its inequalities are rooted in multidimensional environmental inequalities, including medical protection policies and its benefit incidence; intergenerational behavior and family SES factors; and urban–rural and left-behind risk shocks. This study provides new evidence for the development of population-based interventions and equitable medical insurance policies to prevent the deterioration of child obesity among Chinese school-age children and adolescents.

Caring for grandchildren and life satisfaction of grandparents in China

BackgroundCaring for grandchildren has been a normative, pragmatic and prevalent practice in China, while its association with the well-being of grandparents remains inconclusive. This study aims to illustrate whether and how the provision of grandchild care is related to grandparents’ life satisfaction, and how the relationship is contingent on the features of grandparents. MethodsUsing data from the 2018 wave of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we apply ordered logistic model to examine the link between caregiving intensity and life satisfaction. ResultsProvision of moderate grandchild care is associated with better life satisfaction, as caregiving grandparents participate in social activities more actively and feel more confident in the future. The association between intensive child care and life satisfaction remains insignificant, as its detrimental effect might wipe out the benefits. The positive association between moderate caregiving and life satisfaction is more pronounced among male, younger, rural grandparents and grandparents not co-residing with their children. ConclusionOur findings suggest that caring for grandchildren is not necessarily beneficial for grandparents. Attenuating the load of child care as well as enhancing social and economic support to caregivers would help them better reap the benefits of grandchild care.

The transition to grandparenthood: No consistent evidence for change in the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction

Intergenerational relations have received close attention in the context of population aging and increased childcare provision by grandparents. However, few studies have investigated the psychological consequences of becoming a grandparent. In a preregistered test of grandparenthood as a developmental task in middle and older adulthood, we used representative panel data from the Netherlands ( N = 563) and the United States ( N = 2210) to analyze first-time grandparents’ personality and life satisfaction development. We tested gender, employment, and grandchild care as moderators. To address confounding, we employed propensity score matching using two procedures: matching grandparents with parents and nonparents to achieve balance in different sets of carefully selected covariates. Multilevel models demonstrated mean-level stability of the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction over the transition to grandparenthood, and no consistent moderation effects—contrary to the social investment principle. The few small effects of grandparenthood on personality development did not replicate across samples. We found no evidence of larger inter-individual differences in change in grandparents compared to the controls or of lower rank-order stability. Our findings add to recent critical re-examinations of the social investment principle and are discussed in light of characteristics that might moderate grandparents’ personality development.

Is Caring for Grandchildren Good for Grandparents' Health? Evidence From a Fourteen-wave Nationwide Survey in Japan.

BackgroundEnhanced female labor force participation is raising the importance of grandparents’ caring for their grandchildren. However, previous studies have reported mixed results of the association between grandchild care and grandparents’ health.MethodsLongitudinal data of 33,204 individuals born between 1946 and 1955 were collected from a 14-wave nationwide panel survey conducted from 2005 to 2018. We examined how caring for at least one co-residing grandchild aged <6 years was associated with grandparents’ psychological distress (defined by five or higher Kessler 6 score) and poor self-rated health in pooled cross-sectional, fixed-effects, and 3-year follow-up logistic models.ResultsWhile pooled cross-sectional models showed a positive association between grandchild care and grandparents’ health, the fixed-effects or follow-up logistic models did not find any significant association between them. In the case of grandmothers, the odds ratio of reporting psychological distress in response to caring for grandchildren was 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89–1.08) and 1.04 (95% CI, 0.85–1.27) observed from fixed-effects and 3-year follow-up models, respectively, compared to 0.86 (95% CI, 0.81–0.91) in the pooled cross-sectional model. Similar patterns were observed for self-rated health for grandmothers, while grandfathers’ health outcomes were not sensitive to grandchild care. These results contrasted with those of caring for parents, which had almost consistently a negative association with grandparents’ health.ConclusionThe results suggest that caring for grandchildren does not have a beneficial or detrimental effect on grandparents’ health.

Needs or obligations? The influence of childcare infrastructure and support norms on grandparents’ labour market participation

This study investigates how institutional and normative characteristics affect grandparents’ labour market participation. Previous studies indicate that providing regular grandchild care reduces labour market participation, and this linkage varies between European welfare states. Yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and no study has systematically disentangled cultural from institutional influence when investigating grandparents’ work–care reconciliation. Based on two mechanisms, needs and obligations, we investigate how (grandparental) support norms and childcare infrastructure jointly shape the labour market participation of active grandparents. We use six waves from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), investigating variation across 91 subnational regions in 18 countries. The results indicate that the regular provision of grandchild care increases the risk of exiting the labour market for both men and women. This linkage is stronger in contexts with stronger support norms, but also depends on the childcare infrastructure in contexts where norms are weaker.

Grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans: Longitudinal evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

Restricted knowledge exists with regard to the association between grandchild care and loneliness among older Europeans. Hence, our goal was to investigate the association between the onset of grandchild care and loneliness in different European regions and stratified by sex longitudinally. Longitudinal data were taken from waves 5 to 6 of the 'Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe' (SHARE) (n=83,416 observations). Loneliness was assessed using the established three-item version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness scale. Transitions into grandchild care (= onset of grandchild care) served as key independent variable. It was adjusted for several covariates in regression analysis. Linear FE regressions with cluster-robust standard errors were used to mitigate the challenge of unobserved heterogeneity. Linear FE regressions showed that the onset of grandchild care was significantly associated with an increase in loneliness levels among women (but not men) in Southern Europe (β=0.28, p=0.01), whereas the onset of grandchild care was not significantly associated with changes in loneliness levels in both sexes in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and Israel. Our study emphasized the association between the onset of grandchild care and increases in loneliness among women in Southern Europe. Efforts (e.g., respite services) are required to support this group to avoid loneliness.

The role of grandparents in the family's penitentiary crisis: biographical research

This paper focuses on the role and importance of grandparents in the situation of the family's penitentiary crisis. In the light of biographical research carried out with two research groups: (1) adults who experienced a parent's incarceration in childhood and (2) parents of prisoners – the activities and key strategies of grandparents involved in supporting their grandchildren were analysed. The potential of Fritz Schütze's biographical sociology was used to carry out the study, based on the reconstruction of the life history of the respondents. On the basis of the narrative interviews, I described the specificity of two key contexts: (1) the (negative) experience of parentification in the situation of complete takeover of the care of grandchildren, and (2) (positive and negative) aspects of grandparents' occasional participation in family life. The obtained results allow to improve the knowledge about the experiences (needs and difficulties) of prisoners' families, especially focusing on intergenerational relations.

Social Media about Grandparents as Childcare Providers: Evidence from Russian Region

Social media and the internet are proving more and more popular, even among older people. While still providing child care, grandparents become active users of social media. This research aims to estimate whether publications mentioning grandparents explore the topic of raising grandchildren and whether the increasing activity of older people on social media results in more proactive grandparental labour. The paper analyses socio-political communities—including the mass media ones—of the largest social media in Russia—Facebook, VK, Instagram, Telegram, and Odnoklassniki. The location of the publications analysed is the Sverdlovsk Region. The sample included posts mentioning grandmothers and grandfathers. The analysis identified main topics which the publications mentioning grandparents are associated with and tried to find a correlation between their activity on social media and contribution to childcare. The research shows that the publications analysed are mostly related to the topics of safety and accidents. Education and childcare rank third in terms of the frequency of posts mentioning grandparents. The publications mention grandmothers more than three times more often than grandfathers. On the one hand, social media facilitate a better understanding between the younger and the older generations. On the other hand, social media may replace face-to-face communication with grandchildren. Grandparents are becoming less involved in raising grandchildren because of the increasing retirement age and state programmes that support social activity of the older generation, which is proved by their activity on social media and results of this study. However, in the Russian Federation, the state and information support for grandparental labour (i.e., grandparents’ activity while raising, educating, and taking care of grandchildren) may become one of the tools to promote fertility. The paper suggests several possible mechanisms to integrate grandparental labour in the economic subsystem of the society.

“My children,” “my grandchildren”: Navigating intergenerational ambivalence in grandparent childcare arrangements in Hong Kong

AbstractObjectiveThis study contributes in‐depth knowledge about informal childcare and family processes in East Asian families in Hong Kong in a time of rapid economic and social development. We explore how families negotiate grandparent childcare and how parents and grandparents manage intergenerational tensions and conflict.BackgroundThe common way of understanding intergenerational relationships in childcare is to focus on the positive experience of taking care of grandchildren, but there is limited discussion on the tension and conflicts that also occur between the generations.MethodThis qualitative study is based on in‐depth interviews with 14 parents and 12 grandparents about childcare arrangements for 53 children within East Asian families in Hong Kong.ResultsTensions are found among the parents and grandparents in childcare provision, and considerable negotiation and ongoing emotional management of relationships is required.ConclusionGrandparent childcare is an important resource for many families, but it might not suit all. The issues of autonomy, seniority, power, respect, and different expectations of care are embedded in established family dynamics. Some intergenerational problems are unable to be settled by the family members.ImplicationsGrandparent childcare should be a care option provided for families with young children. However, it should not be a substitute for childcare services and supports outside the home. Professional family services also should be sensitive to intergenerational family dynamics.

Familial factors, depression and cognitive decline: A longitudinal mediation analysis based on latent growth modeling (LGM).

BackgroundCognitive decline of ageing population has become one of the major public health challenges worldwide, and familial factors (such as household income, marital status, etc.) have been identified as risk factors. Currently, we mainly focused on two familial factors: living with spouse/child and intergenerational rearing (taking care of grandchildren), exploring their relations with cognitive ageing. We also tested the possible mediating role of depression between the two family factors and cognitive decline.MethodsData was derived from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database, and a total of 8474 participants (3602 females, mean age = 69.64) were included in the current research. Latent growth model (LGM) has been constructed for cognitive functions, with initial level and declining rate being estimated respectively. We further examined: (1) whether living with spouse/child and intergenerational rearing could influence the declining trajectory (initial level and declining rate) of elders’ cognitive functioning; (2) and if so, whether depression could mediate the effects of living with spouse/child and intergenerational rearing on cognitive functioning.ResultsFirst, while living with spouse/child was related to higher initial level of cognitive functions and slower declining rate, intergenerational rearing was associated with neither of them. Second, growth trajectory of depression partly mediated the effects of living with spouse/child on cognitive functioning (Indirect effect = 0.14; p < 0.01).ConclusionsFamilial factors (living with spouse/child and intergenerational rearing) may be influential on declining trajectories of elders’ cognitive functions, and depression may mediate such effects. More research efforts are needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relations between familial factors and cognitive ageing.

The impact of grandchild care provision on grandparents\u2019 depressive symptoms across Europe using multi-level analysis: do the grandchild caring patterns and the country\u2019s economy matter?

Little research has examined the cross-national differences in the impact of grandchild care provision on the grandparents’ depression, by taking into account of both macro- and micro-level factors. This study used a unique grandchild caring pattern variable in order to examine the effect of the changes in the intensity of grandchild caring on the grandparents’ depressive symptoms in European countries, and whether the grandparents’ country level economy influenced such effect. Longitudinal data derived from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe 2010–2018 covered 13 countries and 24,656 grandparents aged 50–90. Multi-level linear regression analyses with REML estimation were used. This study found that providing grandchild care had a protective effect against grandparents’ depressive symptoms in both lower and higher income countries. Moreover, providing more intensive grandchild care reduced the grandparents’ depressive symptoms to a greater extent in lower income countries than higher income countries. In addition, grandmothers benefited more from grandchild caring than grandfathers, and the gender gap in the effects of grandchild care provision on one’s depressive symptoms was wider in lower income countries than higher income countries in Europe. Future research can further investigate the mechanisms behind such results. The research findings can be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at grandparents providing childcare of different intensity.

Does grandchild care affect ageing satisfaction? Findings based on a nationally representative longitudinal study.

ObjectiveThis study seeks to explore the association between grandchild care and Attitudes Towards Own Ageing, assessing whether the commencement of, or ceasing, grandchild care is associated with changes in grandparents’ perspectives on ageing.MethodsLongitudinal data were drawn from a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged ≥40 years in Germany. The Attitudes Toward Own Ageing subscale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Moral Scale (PGCMS) was used to measure Attitudes Towards Own Ageing. To determine whether respondents provided grandchild care, respondents were asked “I’d now like to go on to learn more about your activities and pastimes. Do you supervise other people’s children privately, e.g. your grandchildren, or the children of siblings, neighbors, friends or acquaintances?” Symmetric and asymmetric linear fixed effects regressions were used to assess within-person changes longitudinally.ResultsNo statistically significant association between providing care for grandchildren and Attitudes Towards Own Ageing was found. Significant associations were found between Attitudes Towards Own Ageing and employment status. Namely, retirement was associated with more positive Attitudes Towards Own Ageing (β = 0.57, p < .001), as was not being employed (β = 0.57, p < .001). A significant association between self-rated health and Attitudes Towards Own Ageing was also found (β = -0.06, p < .001), with poorer self-rated health associated with more negative Attitudes Towards Own Ageing.ConclusionOur findings suggest that undertaking grandchild care does not shape Attitudes Towards Own Ageing. As our findings did not align with existing evidence on the associations between grandchild caregiving and measures of subjective ageing, further research is required.

Work histories and provision of grandparental childcare among Italian older women

This work investigates the link between grandmothers’ participation in the labour market during adult life (between ages 18 and 49) and their provision of grandparental childcare later in life. Our contribution is twofold. First, we consider the Italian case, that despite its reliance on informal care has been under-researched. Second, we test two contrasting arguments on the association between grandchild care provision and grandmother’s work histories. On the one hand, lifelong homemakers could be more family-oriented and more likely to provide grandchild care in later life. On the other hand, ever-employed grandmothers could be more likely to have employed daughters and provide grandchild care to support their working careers. With data from the Multipurpose surveys on Families and Social Subjects (2003, 2009, 2016), we estimate logistic regression models, considering various specifications of grandparental childcare, and measuring labour market attachment in three different ways (having ever worked, length of working career, employment interruptions for family reasons). Results show a dualism between grandmothers who ever worked and those who never did, with the former more likely to provide grandparental childcare, especially when parents are at work. Grandmothers who worked only a few years are more similar, in terms of grandchild care provision, to those who worked throughout their life, than to lifelong homemakers. This association is stronger in the South and North-West of Italy. Overall, we showed that care responsibilities are inextricable from labour market participation, as grandmothers who already juggled family and work are those supporting the most their adult children’s work–family reconciliation.

Investigation and influencing factors about well-being level of elderly chronic patients during COVID-19 postpandemic period in Beijing.

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has huge impacts on the world, including human health and economic decline. The COVID-19 has severe infectivity, especially the elderly with chronic diseases will cause various complications after infection and accelerate the disease process. In addition, COVID-19 will also affect their mental health. Therefore, the mental health of elderly patients with chronic diseases cannot be ignored. The aim of this study was to investigate the well-being level of elderly people with chronic disease during COVID-19 postpandemic period in Beijing and analysis related influencing factors, so as to provide a basis for improving the well-being level of elderly chronic patients during the postpandemic period.Elderly patients with chronic diseases who met the inclusion criteria in 5 different administrative regions in Beijing were selected to carry out a questionnaire survey. The contents of the questionnaire included general data, the Memorial University of Newfoundland Happiness scale and the awareness situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed by WeChat and 486 valid questionnaires were collected. The t test and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare Memorial University of Newfoundland Happiness scores between 2 or more groups, multiple linear regression analysis was used to conduct multiple factor analysis to explore the related factors about well-being level of elderly chronic patients.A total of 109 cases (22.43%) were evaluated high well-being level, 319 cases (65.64%) were evaluated moderate well-being level and 58 cases (11.93%) were evaluated low well-being according to the Memorial University of Newfoundland Happiness (MUNSH) scores rating. The multiple linear regression indicated that the education level, number of chronic diseases, medical expenses, frequency of children's visits, taking care of grandchildren or not, and group activity frequency significantly affected the well-being of patients with chronic diseases during COVID-19 postpandemic period in Beijing (P < .05).Most elderly patients with chronic diseases had moderate or above sense of well-being during postpandemic period, but we should still pay attention to the mental health of those elderly chronic patients with low education level, much comorbidity, more medical expenses, less visits by children, not take care of grandchildren and never participate in group activities.

Is grandparental childcare socio-economically patterned? Evidence from the English longitudinal study of ageing

Grandparents play a vital role in providing childcare to families. Qualitative research and evidence from parents raise concerns that it is grandparents who are socio-economically disadvantaged who provide grandchild care more regularly, perform more intensive tasks, and care out of financial necessity. However, no European studies have investigated these issues at population level. This study is based on grandparents aged 50+ who looked after grandchildren. Data are from wave 8 of the nationally representative English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2016/2017). We exploit newly collected information on frequency of grandchild care, activities, and reasons for care. Using multinomial regressions, we first examined the extent to which grandparents’ socio-economic characteristics (wealth and education) are associated with frequency of grandchild care. Second, using logistic regressions, we investigated whether wealth and education are associated with activities and reasons for grandchild care. Overall, grandparents from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to provide more regular childcare. Similarly, grandparents in the lowest wealth quartile were more involved in hands-on activities (cooking, taking/collecting grandchildren to/from school), whereas highly educated grandparents were more likely to help grandchildren with homework. Finally, better-off grandparents were more likely to look after grandchildren to help parents and provide emotional support and less likely to report difficulty in refusing to provide care. Our findings show that grandparental childcare varies by socio-economic status with more intensive childcare activities falling disproportionately on those with fewer resources, and this may act to exacerbate existing socio-economic inequalities in later life.

Longitudinal Patterns of Grandchild Care in South Korea.

This study examined the longitudinal patterns of grandchild care to observe the influence of factors related to social participation, financial support to grandparents, demographic characteristics, and family structure on classifying the grandchild care. The rate of grandparent care for grandchildren was increasing, and the amount of time commitment for grandchild care was large in South Korea. Understanding how grandchild care unfolds over time and who is likely to provide ongoing grandchild care helps to advance the knowledge about grandparents providing grandchild care. The total sample consisted of 333 South Korean grandparents derived from the 3 waves of nationally representative data. This study utilized growth mixture modeling to identify latent classes of longitudinal patterns of grandchild care, and ran a multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationships between factors related to grandparents, adult children, and family structure and the identified latent classes. Grandchild care was classified into one of three categories: low-level decrease, high-level decrease, and low-to-high increase. Grandparents in the group of low-to-high increase were more likely to have higher financial dependence on adult children and have lower social participation than grandparents in other groups. Findings indicate that there are distinct subgroups among grandparents who care for their grandchildren. Additionally, those in the three classifications varied according to financial support received from adult children, social participation, and personal and family structure. Our findings inform policymakers to provide older adults a means to maintain their self-sufficiency. The community needs to provide programs and resources for working parents on behalf of grandchild care.

Research on grandchild care and depression of chinese older adults based on CHARLS2018: the mediating role of intergenerational support from children

BackgroundThere may be differences in gender and marital status in the impact of grandchild care on the depression of the Chinese older adults. This research explores the effect of grandchild care on the depression of Chinese older adults of different genders and marital status, and explores the mediating role of intergenerational support from children between grandchild care and depression.MethodsThis research uses the data of 3540 Chinese older adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018. The OLS model is used to analyze the effect of grandchild care on the depression of the older adults. and the older adults are classified according to gender and marital status, and the differences in the effect of grandchild care on the depression of the elderly of different genders and marital status is explored. Finally, the bootstrap method is used to test the mediating effect of intergenerational support from children.ResultsThe research finds that grandchild care has a significant impact on the depression of the older adults in China, and providing grandchild care can significantly reduce the depression of the older adults. The effect of grandchild care on the depression of the older adults is different between different genders and marital status. After categorizing the older adults by gender, the grandchild care only has a significant impact on the depression of female older adults; after classified by marital status, grandchild care only has a significant impact on the depression of the older adults who don’t have a spouse. The mediating effect analysis shows that both children’s emotional support and children’s economic support have a mediating effect between grandchild care and depression of the older adults.ConclusionThe depression of the Chinese older adults is affected by grandchild care, and this effect is more prominent in female older adults and the older adults who don’t have a spouse. The society should support and encourage capable older adults to participate in grandchild care, and children should also provide more intergenerational support to the older adults who provide grandchild care, so as to further play the role of grandchild care in relieving depression of the older adults.