Pensions and Depressive Symptoms of Older Adults in China: The Mediating Role of Intergenerational Support

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relations between pensions and depressive symptoms of Chinese older people, and whether intergenerational support mediated such association. Secondary data was drawn from Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) 2014 (N = 6687). Depressive symptoms were measured by 12-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D). Intergenerational support was measured by financial, instrumental, and emotional support. About 80.1% of the participants had pension and the mean score of depressive symptoms of the participants was 17.10 (SD = 4.35) with a range from 12 to 36. The results from hierarchical linear regression revealed that there was significantly association between pensions and lower levels of depressive symptoms (B = −0.645, p < 0.000). Findings of mediation analyses also indicated that financial support from adult children played a mediating role between pensions and depressive symptoms (B = −0.039, 95% CI [−0.064, −0.018], z = −3.082, p = 0.002). Findings from this study enrich our theoretical and practical understanding of the roles of intergenerational support, and offer implications for social insurance policy, social work, and family support interventions for Chinese older adults.