Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Sep 19:3:2333721417729501.
doi: 10.1177/2333721417729501. eCollection 2017 Jan-Dec.

Children's Geographic Proximity and Older Parents' Depressive Symptoms in China

Di Liang  1 , Donglan Zhang  2
Affiliations

Children's Geographic Proximity and Older Parents' Depressive Symptoms in China

Di Liang et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the association between children's proximity and older parents' depressive symptoms, and whether living with grandchildren modified this association. Method: Study sample was from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (N = 5,261). Elders' depressive symptoms were measured using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Children's proximity was measured by the geographic distance from an adult child to elders' residence. Linear and logit regressions were performed. Results: Elders who had their nearest child living 100 km away were 9% more likely to experience severe depressive symptoms (95% CI: [1%, 16%]) than those living together with children. Among those living far away from adult children, living with a grandchild in the same household increased the likelihood of having severe depressive symptoms by 23% (95% CI: [12%, 34%]). Discussion: Relationships between children's proximity and parents' health were identified and modified by whether living with grandchildren.

Keywords: elders; living arrangement; mental well-being; parent–child geographic proximity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Andersen E. M., Malmgren J. A., Carter W. B., Patrick D. L. (1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10, 77-84. - PubMed
    1. Ariyo A. A., Haan M., Tangen C. M., Rutledge J. C., Cushman M., Dobs A., Furberg C. D. (2000). Depressive symptoms and risks of coronary heart disease and mortality in elderly Americans. Circulation, 102, 1773-1779. - PubMed
    1. Cai F., Giles J., O’Keefe P., Wang D. (2012). The elderly and old age support in rural China. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.
    1. Chen R., Wei L., Hu Z., Qin X., Copeland J. R., Hemingway H. (2005). Depression in older people in rural China. Archives of Internal Medicine, 165, 2019-2025. - PubMed
    1. Chen H., Mui A. C. (2014). Factorial validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale short form in older population in China. International psychogeriatrics, 26(1), 49-57. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources