The empty nest, depressive symptoms and loneliness of older parents: Prospective findings from the German Ageing Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 104425
Author(s):  
Kaja Kristensen ◽  
Hans-Helmut König ◽  
André Hajek
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Empty Nest ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
German Ageing Survey

Prevalence and related influencing factors of depressive symptoms among empty-nest elderly in Shanxi, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 245 ◽  
pp. 750-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chichen Zhang ◽  
Yaqing Xue ◽  
Huining Zhao ◽  
Xiao Zheng ◽  
Ruifang Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Empty Nest

scholarly journals Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e016091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Mi Hu ◽  
Shui-yuan Xiao ◽  
Liang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Elderly Adults ◽  
Empty Nest ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cohen’S D ◽  
Major Depressive Episodes ◽  
Depressive Episodes

ObjectiveTo compare loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults in rural areas of Liuyang city, Hunan, China.MethodsA cross-sectional multi-stage random cluster survey was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 in Liuyang, China. A total of 839 rural older residents aged 60 or above completed the survey (response rate 97.6%). In line with the definition of empty nest, 25 participants who had no children were excluded from the study, while the remaining 814 elderly adults with at least one child were included for analysis. Loneliness and depressive symptoms in rural elderly parents were assessed using the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Major depressive episodes were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I).ResultsSignificant differences were found between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults regarding loneliness (16.19±3.90 vs. 12.87±3.02, Cohen’s d=0.97), depressive symptoms (8.50±6.26 vs. 6.92±5.19, Cohen’s d=0.28) and the prevalence of major depressive episodes (10.1% vs. 4.6%) (all p<0.05). After controlling for demographic characteristics and physical disease, the differences in loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes remained significant. Path analysis showed that loneliness mediated the relationship between empty-nest syndrome and depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes.ConclusionLoneliness and depression are more severe among empty-nest than not-empty-nest rural elderly adults. Loneliness was a mediating variable between empty-nest syndrome and depression.

Adult children's achievements and ageing parents’ depressive symptoms in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Haowei Wang ◽  
Sae Hwang Han ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Jeffrey A. Burr
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Ageing Parents

Abstract This study examined the association between adult children's achievements and ageing parents’ depressive symptoms in China. The research topic was examined within the contexts of one-child and multiple-children families in rural and urban China. Older adults (aged 60–113, N = 8,450; nested within 462 communities/villages) from the 2013 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey provided information about themselves and their adult children (N = 22,738). Adult children's achievements were assessed with educational attainment, financial status and occupational status; older parents’ depressive symptoms were assessed with nine items of the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel linear regression models were estimated separately for older parents with one child only and multiple children. For older parents with multiple children, both having one or more children with any achievement and the total number of children's achievements were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. For parents with only one child, any achievement of the child and the total number of the child's achievements were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Our results also indicated that the association between children's achievements and parents’ depressive symptoms varied by rural–urban residence and family type. Our findings contributed to the understanding of family dynamics underlying the emotional wellbeing of older adults in China.

scholarly journals Depression in Later Life: The Role of Adult Children’s College Education for Older Parents’ Mental Health in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenjira J Yahirun ◽  
Connor M Sheehan ◽  
Krysia N Mossakowski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Family Background ◽  
College Education ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Completion ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
College Attainment ◽  
Socioeconomic Gradient

Abstract Objectives Research on the socioeconomic gradient in mental health links disadvantaged family background with subsequent symptoms of depression, demonstrating the “downstream” effect of parental resources on children’s mental health. This study takes a different approach by evaluating the “upstream” influence of adult children’s educational attainment on parents’ depressive symptoms. Methods Using longitudinal data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (N = 106,517 person-years), we examine whether children’s college attainment influences their parents’ mental health in later life and whether this association increases with parental age. We also assess whether the link between children’s college completion and parents’ depression differs by parents’ own education. Results Parents with children who completed college have significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than parents without college-educated children, although the gap between parents narrows with age. In addition, at baseline, parents with less than a high school education were more positively affected by their children’s college completion than parents who themselves had a college education, a finding which lends support to theories of resource substitution. Discussion Offspring education is an overlooked resource that can contribute to mental health disparities among older adults in a country with unequal access to college educations.

When Does Support to Adult Children Negatively Affect the Subjective Well-Being of Older Japanese?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 421-422
Author(s):  
Erika Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Japanese Adults

Abstract Providing time and money to adult children may enhance perceived usefulness and consequently the subjective well-being (SWB) of older parents. However, non-reciprocal relationships with children and conflicts with leisure activities could negatively affect parents’ SWB. It was hypothesized that a substantial amount of support to children would be associated with lower SWB when older parents (a) had a low expectation of receiving long-term care from the children, and (b) were engaged in hobbies/learning activities. Life satisfaction and depressive symptoms measured as SWB were predicted based on the Generalized Estimating Equations, using panel data (2012-2017) with a nationwide representative sample of Japanese adults aged 60 years and older (1,212 parents). Providing child-rearing support (i.e., grandchild care) of 30 hours or more per month was positively associated with SWB regardless of conditions (a) and (b). Hypothesis (b) was partially supported: providing financial support enhanced depressive symptoms among older adults with hobbies/learning.

scholarly journals TRADITIONAL NETWORK ON MENTAL HEALTH: SUPPORT FROM CHILDREN AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS FOR OLDER ADULTS IN RURAL CHINA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S511-S512
Author(s):  
Lei Chen ◽  
Fernando Torres-Gil
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Rural China ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Number Of Children

Abstract In rural China, support from children is the traditional network for older adults. Their mental health problem is poorly understood and remains unsolved. The study aims to explore the relationships between older adults’ depressive symptoms and characteristics of support from children under the current social-structural conditions in rural China. The study is informed by the intergenerational solidarity theory and the theoretical framework of social relationships and their influence on health. The quantitative study is based on the recent wave of Harmonized China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (Harmonized CHARLS) in 2015, which is a high-quality national-level dataset. The study applies conditional process analysis to do the data analysis. The key findings include: the number of children has a negative association with older adults’ depressive symptoms (c= -.2390, p=.0002&lt;0.05); the number of children influenced older adults’ depressive symptoms indirectly through financial support from children (If children do not live with older parents, ab=-.0141, CI= -.393 to -.0038; If children live with older parents, ab=-.0153, CI= -.369 to -.0056;). However, both theses direct and indirect relationships do not depend on the co-residence situation between older adults and their children. The controlling variables include age, gender, and self-rated health. Under China’s current transition period of population policy, this study provides policy implications regards to the characteristics of children support and their influence on older adults’ mental health, especially in rural China. This study also tests the two theories to some extent under the Chinese context, which were initially developed in Western countries.

Loneliness, Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among the Chinese Rural Empty Nest Elderly: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-jie Huang ◽  
Wen-ting Du ◽  
Yong-chuang Liu ◽  
Li-na Guo ◽  
Jing-jing Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Empty Nest

scholarly journals Intergenerational Relationships, Social Support, and Psychological Well-Being Among Korean Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 302-302
Author(s):  
Janet Wilmoth ◽  
Yooumi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Older Parents

Abstract Using longitudinal data from the 2006 to 2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, this study explores depression trajectories among individuals who are 60 or older with at least one living adult child at baseline. We estimated linear growth curve models of depression trajectories separately for married, unmarried and widowed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results indicate that declining health and recent widowhood are positively related to depressive symptoms. Satisfactory intergenerational relationships and social support in the form of caregiving decrease depressive symptoms of older parents, especially among the widowed. Having at least one son and a first-born daughter positively impact psychological well-being of older parents. A son was particularly important for those who are widowed. We conclude that the psychological benefits of intergenerational relationships and social support are contingent upon the vulnerability of Korean older adults and discuss the implications for public policy.

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