Protective and risk factors for caregiver mental health: a mediation analysis in a rural Chinese cohort of mothers and grandmothers caring for young children.

Shanshan Li, Dorien Emmers, Boya Wang, Hanwen Zhang, Scott Rozelle

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Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Shanshan LiSchool of Public Finance and Taxation, Zhongnan University of economics and law, Wuhan, 430073, China.

Dorien EmmersChinese Studies Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Boya WangStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Encina Hall 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, United States. boyawang@stanford.edu.

Hanwen ZhangStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Encina Hall 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, United States.

Scott RozelleStanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University, Encina Hall 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, United States.

Funding

The study is supported by "the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities", Zhongnan University of Economics and Law 2722023BQ072

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesConsidering the importance of caregiver mental health for early childhood development, this study investigates risk and protective factors of mental health of mothers and grandmothers caring for infants and toddlers in rural China.

methodsUsing survey data from 777 primary caregivers of children aged 5 to 25 months, we apply regression analysis and structural equation modeling to examine associations between social support, mental health literacy, parenting-related hardships, and mental health among mothers and grandmothers.

resultsThe study finds that 33% of the caregivers report symptoms of mental health problems, with grandmothers experiencing more severe symptoms. Poor caregiver mental health is associated with lower child language (p < 0.05) and social-emotional development (p < 0.001). Social support and mental health literacy are associated with better mental health, but this association was not statistically significant among either the mothers or the grandmothers alone.

conclusionsEnhancing caregiver mental health is crucial for children's development. Social support and mental health literacy are predictors of mental health. Future research should examine the effect of improving social support and mental health literacy on the mental health of caregivers for young children.

Indexed as

CaregiversGrandparentsMental HealthMothersAdultChild, PreschoolChinaEast Asian PeopleFemaleHealth LiteracyHumansInfantMediation AnalysisMiddle AgedParentingProtective FactorsChinese grandmothersGrandmother caregivingMental healthMental health literacyParental stressParenting self-efficacySocial support

Identifiers

PMID42106775

DOI10.1186/s40359-026-04622-2

PMCPMC13326106

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.