Effects of Relationship with Adult Children on Mental Health of the Elderly in China

摘要

To study how a relationship with the adult and children relate to the mental health of the elderly in China, we draw unique panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). By using the 2015 wave which consists of 21095 Chinese residents ages 45 and older and 12235 households, we construct a regression model using the number of times of visit in a year and total support from children as independent variables and depression rate as the dependent variable. The regression analysis reveals that greater times of visit by children is associated with lower depression rate. Monetary support and in-kind support, however, do not necessarily result in better mental health condition. These findings provide some evidence on the importance of children accompany on the mental health of the elderly, which is supported by the results of other related research. Discussions on further implication of the results from both the individual and society's perspective are also included as a suggestion for future improvement.