The worst tie matters: intergenerational relationship trajectories in multi-child families and depressive symptoms of older parents in China.
Objectives Close intergenerational relationships are associated with better mental health in later life, yet limited longitudinal research has examined how trajectories of relationship quality, especially differentiation across multiple children within the same family, relate to older parents' depre...
| Published in: | Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences Vol. 81; no. 8; pp. 1 - 14 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Aug2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195931917&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195931917 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10795014 JGB jtl: Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences issn: 10795014 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 81 iid: 8 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195931917 10.1093/geronb/gbag097 ppf: 1 ppct: 13 formats: tig: atl: The worst tie matters: intergenerational relationship trajectories in multi-child families and depressive symptoms of older parents in China. aug: au: Yu, Chang Gong, Jiaowei Zang, Emma affil: Department of Sociology and Criminology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York, United States Department of Sociology and Department of Demography, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States su: China Parent-child relationships Socioeconomic factors Socioeconomic status Family structure Adult children Psychology of parents Psychological tests Intergenerational relations Mental depression Social classes Old age Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Longitudinal method Data analysis software Regression analysis sug: subj: Parent-child relationships Socioeconomic factors Socioeconomic status Family structure Adult children Psychology of parents Psychological tests Intergenerational relations Mental depression Social classes Old age China Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Longitudinal method Data analysis software Regression analysis keyword: aged child china copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 depressive disorders Group-based trajectory modeling https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbag097 inLanguage:en Intergenerational relationships Life course mental health parent publisher:Oxford University Press Resilience sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42178217/ socioeconomic factors Stress process model aged child china copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 depressive disorders Group-based trajectory modeling https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbag097 inLanguage:en Intergenerational relationships Life course mental health parent publisher:Oxford University Press Resilience sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42178217/ socioeconomic factors Stress process model ab: Objectives Close intergenerational relationships are associated with better mental health in later life, yet limited longitudinal research has examined how trajectories of relationship quality, especially differentiation across multiple children within the same family, relate to older parents' depressive symptoms. This study identifies distinct trajectories of parent–child relationship quality and examines their associations with depressive symptoms among older adults in China, while assessing whether these associations vary across socioeconomic groups. Methods Using nationally representative panel data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (2014–2020; N = 3,519), we applied group-based trajectory modeling to characterize six-year patterns of relationship quality, separately capturing the worst, best, and average ties within families. Linear regression models estimated associations between these trajectories and depressive symptoms at the final wave, adjusting for baseline characteristics and testing whether these associations differed by education, occupation, and hukou status. Results Parents in steadily or rapidly strengthening relationship trajectories reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those in persistently strained trajectories. When trajectories of the worst, best, and average ties were modeled simultaneously, only trajectories of the worst relationship remained significantly associated with depressive symptoms. These associations were concentrated among parents with lower socioeconomic status. Discussion Intergenerational relationship dynamics, particularly changes in the most strained tie, are linked to older adults' mental health in multi-child families. Findings highlight the psychological importance of relational repair and suggest that parents with fewer socioeconomic resources may be especially sensitive to relationship change. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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