Grandparent–Grandchild Family Capital and Depressive Symptoms of Older Adults in Rural China: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis

The relationship between intergenerational family relationships and indicators of well-being among older adults was found to be equivocal and a possible bidirectional relationship was suggested by previous results from cross-sectional studies. This study aims to test the direction of influence between grandparent–grandchild family capital and depressive symptoms among rural older Chinese adults over time. A total of 825 responses were selected from a regional representative longitudinal panel study ("Well-Being of Older People in Anhui Province") in rural China in 2009 and 2012. Standardized instruments on observed indicators of grandparent–grandchild family capital, depressive symptoms, and sociodemographic variables were administered using face-to-face interviews. A cross-lagged analysis was conducted to simultaneously examine the association between grandparent–grandchild family capital at baseline and subsequent depressive symptoms, as well as the association between baseline depressive symptoms and subsequent grandparent–grandchild family capital. Among older grandparents, having higher levels of grandparent–grandchild family capital at baseline was significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms at the follow-up. In contrast, depressive symptoms at baseline were not significantly associated with subsequent grandparent–grandchild family capital in this sample. The findings highlight the important protective role of grandparent–grandchild family capital in reducing depressive symptoms among rural-dwelling older Chinese adults. Future policy and intervention designs should promote mental health among rural Chinese older adults by encouraging and strengthening grandparent–grandchild family capital.