Intergenerational relations: the changing pattern of economic, social and psychological transfers within Chinese families

Abstract

The unprecedented population ageing speed, in combination with mass urbanisation and modernisation, have exerted a great impact upon intergenerational relations within Chinese families. This study investigates the changing intergenerational economic, social and psychological support exchanges within Chinese families, as well as the impact of the changes in the living arrangements with adult children upon the provision of support to or from their parents; and upon their parents’ physical and psychological health based on the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) (2011 - 2015). The results indicate that the exchanges of intergenerational economic, social and psychological support have undergone changes between 2011 and 2015. The intergenerational living arrangement shows a significant association with the flows of economic, social and psychological support within Chinese families, which are linked with the health status of Chinese older people. For example, the lagged fixed-effects models show that non-co-residence with adult children was associated with a rise in receiving economic support (OR=1.38, p<0.001) and a decline in receiving assistance with (I)ADLs from adult children (OR=0.61, p<0.001) 2 years later. In addition, a change from providing economic support to adult children to not doing so between 2011-13 was associated with an improvement of older people’s life satisfaction between 2013-15 (OR=0.78, p<0.05). Meanwhile, having weekly in-person and distant contact with one’s adult children predicted the report of a better depression status among older people in rural and urban areas two years later. The policy implications of such findings need to be taken into account at the national, regional and local level in order to better support intergenerational ties and help improve older people’s well-being in China.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Yazhen Yang: orcid.org/0000-0002-4740-7292

ORCID for Maria Evandrou: orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-9358

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