Impress of intergenerational emotional support on the depression in non-cohabiting parents.

backgroundMental health is one of the important dimensions of health, while depression is an important indicator of mental health evaluation.

aimTo investigate the association between intergenerational emotional support and depression of non-cohabiting parents (≥ 45 years old) in China.

methodsWe used the fourth wave data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2015). The data was made up of ten main modules, the associated two datasets, and five constructed datasets. The first step is to select the corresponding module data according to the purpose of this study. Moreover, the data of the six modules are integrated by the unique ID code and we choose depression and non-cohabiting items as the selection conditions. 4810 samples were selected, which mainly included data on intergenerational emotional support and the individual scores on depressive symptoms.

resultsThe average age of 4810 respondents 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 faces to face and phone contacts were protective factors on depression symptoms in the mid-aged and seniors in China (

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