Configurational effects of intergenerational support on older adults’ depression: an empirical study from CHARLS data

Abstract

Background

The influence of different dimensions of intergenerational support on depression in older adults has a configuration effect. Existing researches have only used linear analyses to examine the independent effects of each dimension of intergenerational support on depression in older adults, resulting in the nature of the effects of each dimension of intergenerational support on the presence of depression in older adults remaining highly controversial.

Objective

To explore the synergy and substitution effects (configurational effects) of dimensions of intergenerational support on depression in older adults.

Method

Based on data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS), depression among older adults was used as the outcome variable, and intergenerational support (including three dimensions of emotional, economic, and caregiving support) was used as the antecedent variable. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was used to analyze the configurational effects of intergenerational support on depression in older adults.

Result

A single dimension of intergenerational support cannot be a necessary condition for depression in older adults.Factor configurations of different dimensions of intergenerational support as a sufficient condition for depression in older adults. The consistency parameter for all solution configurations in this study is 0.83, with a coverage of 0.61. The research identifies four types of configurational patterns associated with older adults’ depression: “Unidirectional Care Deficiency Type” (consistency mean of 0.84, coverage of 0.49), “Bidirectional Care Deficiency Type” (consistency mean of 0.86, coverage of 0.33), “Bidirectional Economic Deficiency Type” (consistency mean of 0.85, coverage of 0.48), and “Mixed Type” (consistency mean of 0.83, coverage of 0.23).

Conclusion

Depression in older adults is influenced by the configurational effects of intergenerational support. The complex link between intergenerational support and depression in older adults should be examined from a holistic perspective, paying attention to the dynamic balance of intergenerational support reception and provision.