The longitudinal effects of grandchild care on depressive symptoms and physical health of grandmothers in South Korea: a latent growth approach

Chung, Soondool; Park, Aely

doi:10.1080/13607863.2017.1376312

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…As the Chinese population ages rapidly, there is an increasing interest in literature on depressive symptoms of grandparents caring for grandchildren. The literature indicates that caring for grandchildren contributed to reduced depressive symptoms in grandparents in some countries [ 8 , 20 , 21 ], the same scenario is seen in China [ 22 – 24 ]. Based on the theory of role enhancement, multiple social roles lead to improved wellbeing, since individuals gain social integration and gratification from these different areas of social participation [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren

et al. 2021

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Background Caring for grandchildren is regarded as one of the principle roles of middle- and old-aged adults, especially among rural Chinese grandparents. This study aims to examine the gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren, based on the gender differences in grandparental role engagement and the theories of role strain and role enhancement. Methods A total of 4833 rural citizens with one or more grandchildren were selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2015. Grandchild care was measured by continuous variable (duration) and categorical variable (no care, low intensity, moderate intensity, high intensity). Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). We used coarsened exact matching (CEM) to balance the covariates of caregivers and non-caregivers. Following CEM, 1975 non-caregivers and 2212 caregivers were identified (N = 4187). Multilevel linear regression was employed to examine the gender differences in depressive symptoms. We also tested for the moderating role of gender on the association between grandchild care and depressive symptoms. Results Grandmothers were more likely to provide grandchild care (54.42% vs 51.43%) at high intensity (61.46% vs 51.01%), with longer duration (39.24 h vs 33.15 h) than that given by grandfathers. Grandmothers suffered more from depressive symptoms than grandfathers, and such gap increased when grandparents were involved in high-intensity care. Grandmothers providing grandchild care, particularly at moderate intensity, were associated with fewer depressive symptoms (Coef. = − 0.087, 95%CI: − 0.163, − 0.010; Coef. = − 0.291, 95%CI: − 0.435, − 0.147), compared with non-caregivers. Grandmothers giving moderate intensity of grandchild care were also associated with fewer depressive symptoms (Coef. = − 0.171, 95% CI: − 0.313, − 0.029), compared with those with low-intensity care. However, such associations were not significant among grandfathers. Conclusions Our findings highlight the gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren. Grandparents should be encouraged to engage in grandchild care, but at moderate intensity. The health status of middle- and old-aged adults, particularly females, should be monitored closely. Humanistic care, preventive care and curative treatment strategies focusing on such populations should be developed and refined.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren

et al. 2021

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“…In addition, researchers have emphasised the importance of incorporating a gender perspective to examine this topic (Di Gessa et al, 2016;Xu, 2019). However, although recent evidence has consistently highlighted the need for examining the relationship between grandparenthood and late-life depression across different cultures (Arpino & Gomez-Leon, 2020;Chung & Park, 2018;Kim et al, 2017), there is a lack of research examining macro-level factors to understand the pattern.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multilevel analysis of the impact of transitioning to grandparenthood on individuals’ depression in England, Europe and China

Yang

2021

Aging & Mental Health

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Objectives:The impact of grandparenting on depression is mediated by both macro-and micro-level factors, however, their combined examination between different country contexts is relatively rare. This study examined whether country level income and grandparents' gender influenced the relationship between the transition to grandparenthood and individuals' depression across England, Europe and China. Methods: Multi-level linear regression analyses with restricted maximum likelihood estimation were performed covering 15 countries from the ELSA, the SHARE and the CHARLS 2010-15 in order to understand cross-country differences in this area. Results: This study found significant cross-national variations in the effects of transitioning to grandparenthood on individuals' depression. Transitioning to grandparenthood reduced the depression score among both men and women in lower income countries, but increased it in higher income countries. Moreover, the gender gap in the effects of becoming a grandparent on one's depression was wider in lower income countries than higher income countries. Conclusions: Policymakers should pay attention to the support grandparents need, and systematically integrate childcare provided by grandparents into family policies. Policies supporting older people should take into account the way in which macro-level and micro-level factors combine to affect grandparents' well-being.

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“…Third, from a methodological point of view, we examine the effect of grandparenthood on depression using fixed-effects models. Previous studies in the related literature have often employed cross-sectional data, with a few exceptions that investigated the effect of grandchild care on health outcomes drawing on longitudinal data (Chung/Park 2018;Di Gessa et al 2016;Grundy et al 2012). To our knowledge, only Ates (2017) relied on fixed-effects models to study whether grandchild care affects self-reported health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grandparenthood, grandchild care and depression among older people in 18 countries

Bordone¹,

Arpino²

2019

JFamRes

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Due to the increasing central role of grandparenthood in later life, sound knowledge about its effects on older people’s health is more and more important. This paper examines the impact of becoming a grandparent, having more grandchildren, and engaging in grandchild care on depressive symptoms. Moreover, based on the structural ambivalence theory, we expect that such effects differ across contexts as (grand)childcare is differently organised across Europe. Taking advantage of the longitudinal structure of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we estimate fixed-effects models. Our results show that women face a decline in depressive symptoms when becoming grandmothers, but neither an increase in the number of grandchildren nor changes in grandchild care are associated with changes in depressive symptoms. The analyses by country highlight differences across Europe, without, however, drawing a clear pattern. Our results show that depression consequences of grandparenthood also vary between countries characterised by similar roles of grandparents. This suggests the need to make available more refined questions about grandparenthood in surveys on older people.

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The longitudinal effects of grandchild care on depressive symptoms and physical health of grandmothers in South Korea: a latent growth approach

Abstract: Findings from the latent growth curve modeling indicate how caring for grandchildren affected grandmothers' depressive symptoms and self-rated health status from a longitudinal perspective. Implications for future research and policies on grandchild care are discussed.

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren

Gender differences in depressive symptoms of rural Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren

A multilevel analysis of the impact of transitioning to grandparenthood on individuals’ depression in England, Europe and China

Grandparenthood, grandchild care and depression among older people in 18 countries

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