Son or Daughter Care in Relation to Self-Reported Health Outcomes for Older Adults in China

Information communication technology accessibility and mental health for older adults during the coronavirus disease in South Korea

Introduction

As society ages and the digital economy continues to develop, accessibility to information and communication technology (ICT) has emerged as a critical factor influencing the mental health of older adults. Particularly, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for non-face-to-face communication has significantly increased older adults' reliance on ICT for accessibility. This transition from a self-motivated engagement to a more socially passive mode of interaction highlights the importance of creating a digitally inclusive aging society.

Methods

This empirical study used pooled cross-sectional data from the Digital Gap Survey conducted in South Korea in 2018 and 2020. It aimed to analyze the association between ICT accessibility and the mental health of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

A significant positive relationship was found between ICT and mental health among older adults in South Korea. However, this positive association weakened during the COVID-19 period. Furthermore, the analysis revealed heterogeneity among older adults by age, sex, and place of residence, with older females in their 70s living in rural areas experiencing the greatest weakening.

Discussion

These results highlight the need for tailored interventions and support mechanisms for specific demographic groups of older adults. We recommend that the South Korean government implement various policies to facilitate the post-COVID-19 digital landscape. These include initiatives such as ICT-related education programs, development of user-friendly e-government systems, and creation of social media platforms designed to accommodate the needs and preferences of older adults.

Raising sons or daughters for old age? Influence of children's gender on intergenerational family support in rural families

Background

Under the background of miniaturization of family size and a growing number of young and middle-aged population outflow in rural China, the study of family pension mechanism in rural China from the perspective of changes in the pension functions of son and daughter will not only help to deepen the understanding of the change rules of China's family system, but also provide important reference for the future design of rural pension system.

Data and method

The data come from the China Family Tracking Survey (CFPS), a nationwide social survey project runs by the Social Science Research Centre of Peking University. After excluding missing data, we obtained a valid sample of 11,207 sons and 2028 daughters in four data periods. We applied a fixed effects model for the analysis.

Results

In rural areas, sons mainly provide economic support, while daughters mainly provide life care, thus forming a gender-based division of labor. With increasing off-farm job opportunities for daughters, they provide more economic support for their parents, but the time they spend on housework for their parents is reduced. As the number of children in a family has increased, daughters' role in supporting their parents has decreased. This research shows that although the traditional son-centered pension mode in China has not completely disintegrated, it has changed significantly. The findings reveal that changes in family size and improvements in women's status are important factors in changing family support patterns.

Discussion

Different from the thought research about intergenerational relationship for a whole model, this article from the family internal different subjects role identity, shows the characteristics of the individual in the family, is conducive to theoretically explore the tension in the intergenerational relationship, individual and family which is helpful to understand the contemporary China's rural family generation ethics and intergenerational solidarity model. Families are classified more carefully according to the number, size and gender of children in the family, so as to fully show the heterogeneity and complexity of intergenerational relationships and old-age care models in rural families with different structural types. The discussion of the above issues has refined the description of rural family pension resources in China, which has certain reference significance for improving rural pension policies and actively dealing with the aging population.

The impact of son or daughter care on Chinese older adults' mental health

RATIONALE

The traditional cultural norm in China is that eldercare should be offered by a son and his family. However, several decades of family planning policies and rapid economic growth have led to low fertility rates, urbanisation, and cultural change, resulting in both reduced household size and the availability of sons. The traditional eldercare system is thus being challenged, especially in urban areas, with an increasing number of daughters supporting their parents, enabled by rising female empowerment, formal economic employment and improved financial capacities. Existing studies examine and compare the amount and types of support provided by sons and daughters, but very little is known about the differential health outcomes of parents experiencing eldercare offered by sons and by daughters.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the difference in mental health outcomes of parents who receive eldercare from their sons and from their daughters.

METHOD

We analyse waves 2013, 2015, and 2018 of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, with mental health measured by a 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D-10) score. We compare the CES-D-10 score between parents with different sources of care - son's family, daughter's family or other - with multivariate statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Receiving regular care from a son (or a daughter-in-law) is associated with a lower CES-D score than from a daughter (or a son-in-law). The difference mainly exists amongst those with a stronger son preference and those who are heavily deponent on their children, in particular rural parents, mothers, and those with less wealth.

CONCLUSION

Our study explores the evidence on mental health inequalities among parents with different sources of care, highlighting that lack of son care creates an apparent mental health disadvantage. Lowering older adults' dependency on their children may alleviate this inequality by improving their financial independence. We also suggest the development of a long-term care system and greater facilitation of older adults to take-up supplementary services for family care.