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Flows of social support and health status among older persons in China

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Xian
  • Liang, Jersey
  • Gu, Shengzu

Abstract

As a consequence of the political, social, and economic developments in contemporary China, there have been considerable changes in the patterns of flows of social support between Chinese older people and their significant others. There is evidence that Chinese elders are now under strong pressure to provide more social support, instrumental support in particular, to their children and other relatives while they receive less. Such a change in the direction of flows of social support has been reported to worsen the elders' health. This paper describes the general pattern of social support both to and from the Chinese elders, using data of a probability sample survey conducted in Wuhan, China in 1991. The association between social support, both receiving and providing, and old-age health status is also analysed within a multivariate framework. The results of two probit models suggest that emotional support received plays a crucial role in affecting an elder's health status, while instrumental support received does not have explicit impacts. In addition, there is no empirical evidence that increased instrumental support from elders has worsened their health status as reported.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Xian & Liang, Jersey & Gu, Shengzu, 1995. "Flows of social support and health status among older persons in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1175-1184, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:41:y:1995:i:8:p:1175-1184
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cheng, Cheng, 2017. "Anticipated support from children and later-life health in the United States and China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 201-209.
    2. Fu, Rong & Noguchi, Harkuo & Tachikawa, Hirokazu & Aiba, Miyuki & Nakamine, Shin & Kawamura, Akira & Takahashi, Hideto & Tamiya, Nanako, 2017. "Relation between social network and psychological distress among middle-aged adults in Japan: Evidence from a national longitudinal survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 58-65.
    3. Cheng, Sheung-Tak & Chan, Alfred C.M., 2006. "Social support and self-rated health revisited:: Is there a gender difference in later life?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 118-122, July.
    4. Jane K L Teh & Nai Peng Tey & Sor Tho Ng, 2014. "Ethnic and Gender Differentials in Non-Communicable Diseases and Self-Rated Health in Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-8, March.
    5. Lorena Patricia Gallardo-Peralta & Esteban Sanchez-Moreno & Soledad Herrera, 2022. "Aging and Family Relationships among Aymara, Mapuche and Non-Indigenous People: Exploring How Social Support, Family Functioning, and Self-Perceived Health Are Related to Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
    6. Zhan Shu & Jinguang Xiao & Xianhua Dai & Yu Han & Yingli Liu, 2021. "Effect of family "upward" intergenerational support on the health of rural elderly in China: Evidence from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-21, June.
    7. Chunkai Zhao & Jianhao Guo, 2022. "Are Veterans Happy? Long-term Military Service and the Life Satisfaction of Elderly Individuals in China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 477-508, February.
    8. Liu, Sizhe & Zhang, Wei & Wu, Li-hsueh & Wu, Bei, 2019. "Contributory behaviors and life satisfaction among Chinese older adults: Exploring variations by gender and living arrangements," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 70-78.

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