IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v315y2022ics0277953622008346.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Grandparenting and subjective well-being in China: The moderating effects of residential location, gender, age, and income

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Shuhong
  • Li, Shengxiao (Alex)
  • Hu, Wanyang

Abstract

Grandparenting is a social determinant of older adults' subjective well-being (SWB) worldwide, and is receiving increasing scholarly attention. Grandparenting is particularly prevalent in China because of the increasing number of women in the labor force, shortages of daycare services, and intergenerational bonds. Based on three waves (2011, 2013, and 2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (n = 14,846), we used pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) regression to examine the association between grandparenting and Chinese older adults' SWB and the moderating effects of residential location (rural/urban), gender, age, and income. We measured SWB by four outcomes: self-rated health, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function. Our findings indicate that intensive grandparenting is positively associated with older adults' life satisfaction. Older adults providing a low-to-high intensity of grandparenting have better cognitive function than non-caregivers. Among caregivers, a moderate level of grandparenting is associated with better cognitive function. Residential location, age, and income are significant moderators. For example, high-intensity grandparenting is positively associated with rural grandparents' but not urban grandparents' life satisfaction. Although younger grandparents have better self-rated health, higher life satisfaction, and fewer depressive symptoms than their older counterparts if they provide grandparenting care, grandparenting is more beneficial for older grandparents’ cognitive function. Both low and high intensities of grandparenting are positively related to self-rated health and cognitive function for grandparents with lower incomes. Overall, the findings of this study indicate how grandparenting is related to the SWB of older people in China in different social groups and of people living in different locations.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Shuhong & Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Hu, Wanyang, 2022. "Grandparenting and subjective well-being in China: The moderating effects of residential location, gender, age, and income," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:315:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622008346
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115528
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622008346
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115528?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hongwei Xu, 2022. "Grandparenting and Cognitive Functioning in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 285-316, February.
    2. Teerawichitchainan, Bussarawan & Low, Timothy Qing Ying, 2021. "The situation and well-being of custodial grandparents in Myanmar: Impacts of adult children's cross-border and internal migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    3. Ates, Merih, 2017. "Does grandchild care influence grandparents’ self-rated health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 67-74.
    4. Katharina Mahne & Oliver Huxhold, 2015. "Grandparenthood and Subjective Well-Being: Moderating Effects of Educational Level," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(5), pages 782-792.
    5. Feinian Chen & Guangya Liu, 2012. "The Health Implications of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 67(1), pages 99-112.
    6. Mary Elizabeth Hughes & Linda J. Waite & Tracey A. LaPierre & Ye Luo, 2007. "All in the Family: The Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on Grandparents' Health," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(2), pages 108-119.
    7. Bruno Arpino & Valeria Bordone & Nicoletta Balbo, 2018. "Grandparenting, education and subjective well-being of older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 251-263, September.
    8. Choi, Seung-won Emily & Zhang, Zhenmei, 2021. "Caring as curing: Grandparenting and depressive symptoms in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    9. Komonpaisarn, Touchanun & Loichinger, Elke, 2019. "Providing regular care for grandchildren in Thailand: An analysis of the impact on grandparents’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 117-125.
    10. Di Gessa, Giorgio & Glaser, Karen & Tinker, Anthea, 2016. "The impact of caring for grandchildren on the health of grandparents in Europe: A lifecourse approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 166-175.
    11. Li-Jung E. Ku & Sally C. Stearns & Courtney H. Van Houtven & Shoou-Yih D. Lee & Peggye Dilworth-Anderson & Thomas R. Konrad, 2013. "Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on the Health of Grandparents in Taiwan," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 68(6), pages 1009-1021.
    12. Xu, Hongwei, 2019. "Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 106-116.
    13. Lindsey Baker & Lawrence Cahalin & Kerstin Gerst & Jeffrey Burr, 2005. "Productive Activities And Subjective Well-Being Among Older Adults: The Influence Of Number Of Activities And Time Commitment," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 431-458, September.
    14. Merril Silverstein & Zhen Cong & Shuzhuo Li, 2006. "Intergenerational Transfers and Living Arrangements of Older People in Rural China: Consequences for Psychological Well-Being," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(5), pages 256-266.
    15. Elisabeth J. Croll, 2006. "The Intergenerational Contract in the Changing Asian Family," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 473-491.
    16. Giorgio Di Gessa & Karen Glaser & Anthea Tinker, 2016. "The Health Impact of Intensive and Nonintensive Grandchild Care in Europe: New Evidence From SHARE," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 71(5), pages 867-879.
    17. Zachary Zimmer & Julia Kwong, 2003. "Family size and support of older adults in urban and rural China: Current effects and future implications," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(1), pages 23-44, February.
    18. Vivian W. Q. Lou & Nan Lu & Ling Xu & Iris Chi, 2013. "Grandparent-Grandchild Family Capital and Self-Rated Health of Older Rural Chinese Adults: The Role of the Grandparent-Parent Relationship," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 68(4), pages 599-608.
    19. Taehyun Ahn & Kyong Duk Choi, 2019. "Grandparent caregiving and cognitive functioning among older people: evidence from Korea," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 553-586, June.
    20. Pei-Chun Ko & Karsten Hank, 2014. "Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren in China and Korea: Findings From CHARLS and KLoSA," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(4), pages 646-651.
    21. Fenglian Du & Xiao-yuan Dong, 2013. "Women's Employment and Child Care Choices in Urban China during the Economic Transition," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(1), pages 131-155.
    22. Luo, Ye & Pan, Xi & Zhang, Zhenmei, 2019. "Productive activities and cognitive decline among older adults in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 96-105.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Jiankun & He, Xiaobin & Dong, Yinxi, 2024. "Household debt and children’s psychological well-being in China: The mediating role of parent–child relations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hongwei Xu, 2022. "Grandparenting and Cognitive Functioning in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 285-316, February.
    2. Mirkka Danielsbacka & Lenka Křenková & Antti O. Tanskanen, 2022. "Grandparenting, health, and well-being: a systematic literature review," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 341-368, September.
    3. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_018 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Wang, Hao & Fidrmuc, Jan & Luo, Qi, 2020. "Grandparenting and well-being of the elderly in China," BOFIT Discussion Papers 18/2020, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    5. Xu, Hongwei, 2019. "Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 106-116.
    6. Wang, Hao & Fidrmuc, Jan & Luo, Qi, 2020. "Grandparenting and well-being of the elderly in China," BOFIT Discussion Papers 18/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    7. Danielsbacka, Mirkka & Tanskanen, Antti O. & Coall, David A. & Jokela, Markus, 2019. "Grandparental childcare, health and well-being in Europe: A within-individual investigation of longitudinal data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 194-203.
    8. Choi, Seung-won Emily & Zhang, Zhenmei, 2021. "Caring as curing: Grandparenting and depressive symptoms in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    9. Shiming Liao & Ling Qi & Jie Xiong & Jie Yan & Ruoxi Wang, 2020. "Intergenerational Ties in Context: Association between Caring for Grandchildren and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Komonpaisarn, Touchanun & Loichinger, Elke, 2019. "Providing regular care for grandchildren in Thailand: An analysis of the impact on grandparents’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 117-125.
    11. Xue Yang & Doudou Yin, 2022. "The Protective Effect of Caring for Grandchildren on the Mental Health of the Elderly: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    12. Lin, Mengyun & Wang, Qing, 2019. "Center-based childcare expansion and grandparents' employment and well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    13. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2022. "Are Grandparents a Good Substitute for Parents as the Primary Caregiver? The Impact of Grandparents on Children's Academic Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1100, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Karsten Hank & Giulia Cavrini & Giorgio Gessa & Cecilia Tomassini, 2018. "What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 225-235, September.
    15. Ates, Merih, 2017. "Does grandchild care influence grandparents’ self-rated health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 67-74.
    16. Ellwardt, Lea & Hank, Karsten & Mendes de Leon, Carlos F., 2021. "Grandparenthood and risk of mortality: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    17. Herrera, M. Soledad & Galkuté, Milda & Fernández, M. Beatriz & Elgueta, Raúl, 2022. "Grandparent-grandchild relationships, generativity, subjective well-being and self-rated health of older people in Chile," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    18. Teerawichitchainan, Bussarawan & Low, Timothy Qing Ying, 2021. "The situation and well-being of custodial grandparents in Myanmar: Impacts of adult children's cross-border and internal migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    19. Peter Eibich & Xianhua Zai, 2022. "Are the grandparents alright? The health consequences of grandparental childcare provision," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-023, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    20. Liping Fu & Yuhui Wang & Lanping He, 2020. "Factors Associated with the Psychological Health of Caregiving Older Parents and Support from Their Grown Children: Results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-11, January.
    21. Wang, Lianjie & Tang, Yao, 2023. "Impacts of intergenerational caregiving on grandparents’ health: Implications for SDG-3," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 584-598.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:315:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622008346. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.