Volume 49, January–February 2023, Pages 81-88Author links open overlay panelAbstract

Aging has gradually accelerated in China, and achieving successful aging of older adults has become a public health concern. Intergenerational support is crucial for Chinese older adults in later life due to the culture of filial piety. However, the association between successful aging and intergenerational support remains poorly understood in China. This study aimed to examine the association between patterns of intergenerational support and successful aging of older adults in China. The present study is a secondary analysis of data obtained from the follow-up survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2018. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regressions. Bidirectional intergenerational support was associated with successful aging in the participants. In addition, there was an association between different intergenerational financial, caring, and emotional support patterns and elements of successful aging.

Section snippetsBackground

According to the latest census data for 2021, the population aged 60 years and above in China increased by 5.44% compared with 2010.1 Improved healthcare services result in longer life expectancy of older adults; however, they may still develop chronic diseases and psychological problems.2,3 These poor health outcomes can lead to a reduced quality of life and place a burden on families and the healthcare financial system.4 Therefore, it is urgent to pay attention and explore ways of

Data

The data used in this study was obtained from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). CHARLS is a large-scale national follow-up survey designed and implemented by the Social Science Research Center of Peking University for the middle-aged and older adults. The national baseline survey of CHARLS was conducted in 2011, and survey interviews were conducted in 150 counties and 450 communities (villages) in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under

Participant's characteristics and their univariate analysis

A total of 3,352 older adults aged 60 years and above were included in the study. Older adults were predominantly 65–74 years old (47.0%) and male (50.4%). The majority of participants were married (77.6%) and had more than three children (58.7%). Most older adults were from rural areas (81.6%), and their education level was mainly primary school or below (75.0%). The successful aging rate was only 3.9% in this study. The results of the chi-square analysis showed that successful aging among

Discussion

Our study found an association between bidirectional intergenerational support and successful aging. Our findings confirmed that different bidirectional intergenerational support patterns have an association with different aspects of the successful aging of older adults. We will elaborate on more possible explanations of the results below.

Regarding financial support, old adults with an under-benefited financial support pattern were prone to successful aging than those with a reciprocal

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.

Acknowledgments

We thank Peking University for the open data resources and all investigators who participated in the study.

List of abbreviations

ADL, Activities of Daily Living; CESD, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; CHARLS, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study; CI, confidence interval; OR, Odds ratio; TICS, Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The CHARLS study received approval to interview respondents and collect data from the Biomedical Ethics Review Committee of Peking University (IRB00001052–11015). All the participants signed the informed consent at the time of participation.

Consent for publication

All authors approve the manuscript and give their consent for submission and publication.

Availability of data and materials

CHARLS data can be accessed through its official website (http://charls.pku.edu.cn/).

Authors’ contributions

Qiyuan Lyu made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study. Yu Zhao and Li Tang contributed to drafting the manuscript, revising it critically for important intellectual content, and approving the final version to be published. Qing-Wei Zeng, Fan Bu, Na-ni Zhan, Zi-lin Wang, and Xiao-hui Deng contributed to the interpretation of data for the study.

Funding

1 National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 71804204.

2 Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 2019A1515011672.

3 The Ministry of education of Humanities and Social Science project, Grant/Award Number: 18YJCZH122.

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