ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2494-3089

Date of Award

Summer 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

7-31-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Sociology

Program

Sociology

First Advisor

Katherine Trent

Committee Members

Katherine Trent, Glenn Deane, Zoya Gubernskaya

Keywords

grandparenthood, multigenerational relationships, grandchild care, living arrangement, intergenerational support, depressive symptoms

Subject Categories

Family, Life Course, and Society

Abstract

This dissertation examines whether and how experiences of grandparenthood—including becoming a grandparent, providing grandchild care, living with grandchildren, and exchanging intergenerational support—affect the well-being of middle-aged and older adults in China. Drawing on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2018), a nationally representative survey of Chinese adults aged 45 and older, the study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and random effects models to investigate the associations between multigenerational family relationships and depressive symptoms among this population.

There is limited evidence that the transition to grandparenthood itself has a significant impact on psychological well-being. However, patterns surrounding the transition reveal gendered differences: men tend to experience a decline in depressive symptoms in the years preceding grandparenthood—possibly due to data collection timing or anticipation during the pregnancy period—while women show a gradual increase in depressive symptoms. Early grandparenthood is associated with higher depressive symptoms, particularly among grandparents not involved in caregiving. Delayed grandparenthood appears to negatively affect men’s mental health, while its impact on women is less clear. Providing care for grandchildren is generally associated with better mental health, while lack of caregiving involvement is linked to worse outcomes. However, intensive or prolonged caregiving offers no additional benefits. Overall, the timing of grandparenthood appears more consequential for men, while moderate involvement in grandparenting is more beneficial for women.

Second, multigenerational coresidence is generally associated with higher levels of depression among grandparents, likely due to the psychological strain exacerbated by modernization, which is contrary to traditional cultural expectations. While rural residents tend to report higher levels of depressive symptoms than their urban counterparts, the link between grandchild coresidence and depressive symptoms does not significantly differ between rural and urban areas at the national level. However, rural-urban differences vary significantly across regions when examined in more detail. In urban areas, coresidence with grandchildren is associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms in the northeast and southwest, higher levels in the northwest, and shows no significant effect in other regions after statistical adjustments. In rural areas, by contrast, no clear regional differences are observed.

Finally, grandparents engaged in any form of support exchange with their children—whether giving, receiving, or reciprocal—report fewer depressive symptoms than those with no exchange. However, the benefits of receiving support alone (financial or instrumental) are limited compared to providing or reciprocating support, especially for rural residents and women. Grandfathers show no significant differences across exchange types. Moreover, financial support from adult children moderates the grandparenting-depression link: current and expected future financial aid are associated with lower levels of depression and weaken the caregiving benefits, especially for rural grandparents. In contrast, urban grandparents’ depression is not affected by financial support but is linked to expectations of future instrumental help. Lastly, long-term exchange patterns also matter. Grandparents in one-sided receiving or no-exchange relationships exhibit more depressive symptoms than those in reciprocal exchanges, though long-term receiving may be confounded by other factors.

License

This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.

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