Does co-residence with adult children associate with better psychological well-being among the oldest old in China?

Abstract

Objectives: Embedded in a traditional culture where filial piety was honored, living with adult children once had been the most prevalent living arrangement and the best option for Chinese elderly people. This study examined whether co-residence with adult children would be still beneficial to the psychological well-being (PWB) among the oldest old (aged 80 and above) in China today.

Method: Using data from the fifth wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2008, the authors examined the living arrangements among the total sample (n = 12,213) and the association between living arrangement and PWB among a subsample (n = 7037) of respondents with normal cognition.

Results: (1) More than half (67.1%) of the unmarried oldest old reported being co-resided with their children; while for the married oldest old, the majority of the respondents (62.4%) lived with a spouse only. (2) For the widowed, co-residence with adult children was associated with better PWB compared to living alone; but for the married, co-residence did not bring additional benefits to the PWB. (3) Co-residence of the widowed and children was associated with better life satisfaction compared to living with a spouse only, while it was associated with lower emotional well-being compared to living with a spouse (with or without a child).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that living arrangements of Chinese oldest old are partially getting westernized, and a majority of them adapt it well. Government programs need to be developed to assist the Chinese oldest old (especially widowed) to live independently.

Keywords:

• psychological well-being
• social support
• extreme old age
• living arrangement
• independent living

Acknowledgements

Data used for this research were provided by the longitudinal study entitled ‘Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey’ (CLHLS) managed by the Center for Healthy Aging and Family Studies, Peking University. CLHLS is supported by funds from Duke University under an award from the US National Institutes on Aging (NIA) (R01 AG23627-01; PI: Zeng Yi), and by the China Natural Science Foundation, China Social Science Foundation, UNFPA, and Hong Kong Research Grant Council. We would like to thank Yang Ji for his assistance with English editing. We also would like to thank reviewers for the most helpful comments on this article.