Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2019; 7(21): 3407-3418
Published online Nov 6, 2019. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i21.3407
Impress of intergenerational emotional support on the depression in non-cohabiting parents
Yun-Hua Jia, Zhi-Hong Ye
Yun-Hua Jia, Zhi-Hong Ye, Department of Nursing, Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, Zhejiang Province, China
Yun-Hua Jia, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou 310015, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Jia YH managed the literature searches and analyses, undertook the statistical analysis; Ye ZH designed the study, wrote the protocol, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Ethics Committee.
Informed consent statement: All involved subjects gave their informed consent (written) prior to study inclusion.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhi-Hong Ye, PhD, Professor, Department of Nursing, Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 3, Qingchun East Road, Hangzhou 310020, Zhejiang Province, China. yezh@zju.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-571-88015155 Fax: +86-571-3000300
Received: May 23, 2019
Peer-review started: May 23, 2019
First decision: September 9, 2019
Revised: September 21, 2019
Accepted: October 5, 2019
Article in press: October 5, 2019
Published online: November 6, 2019
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

China is one of the largest and fastest aging regions in the world and the increasing prevalence of geriatric depression has become a major public health problem.

Research motivation

On the dual changes of population structure and family structure, to explore the impact of intergenerational emotional support on mental health of middle-aged and elderly people.

Research objectives

The aim of the study was to investigate the association between intergenerational emotional support and depression of non-cohabiting parents (≥ 45 years old) in China.

Research methods

We used the fourth wave data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2015). 4810 samples were selected according to the purpose of our study, which mainly included data on intergenerational emotional support and the individual scores on depressive symptoms.

Research results

The average age was (60.56 ± 14.613) years old. Females were accounted for more than half of the samples (52.6%). 74.0% respondents from rural areas and approximately 63.3% of the participants had a chronic disease. The mean value of the CESD-10 score was 13.06 (SD5.225). Both face to face and phone contacts were protective factors on depression symptoms in Chinese (≥ 45 years old) (P < 0.05). The more frequently you met your parents, the lower your parents' depressive score was. Also, phone contact variable results are displayed as a positive correlation completely between inter-generational contacts from children and depressive symptoms in non-cohabiting parents in China. Children’s education level and income level were also reducing the risk of depression in non-cohabiting parents. However, gender, children’s numerous, chronic disease and chronic disease number were the risk factors.

Research conclusions

Intergenerational emotional support is associated with depressive symptoms in non-cohabiting parents in China. However, the relationship was also affected by other variables.

Research perspectives

From the perspective of parents to investigate the influence of emotional support of offspring on the mental health of their parents.