Anticipated Support from Children and Later-life Mental Well-being: A Comparative Study of United States and China

• In Event: 392 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Aging in Asia and Asian America

Abstract

The protective influence of anticipated support on mental well-being is well-established in both Western and non-Western literatures. Yet few studies attempt to directly compare the health impact of anticipated support across cultures. Culture meaning systems may alter the effectiveness of anticipated support, such as the magnitude of the impact. Collectivist countries where children’s obligations to support elderly parents are valued may experience stronger impact of anticipated support on health than individualistic societies. This study attempts to understand how culture may moderate the relationship between anticipated support by comparing elderly parents of US and China. Results suggest that despite China’s long established norm of filial piety and scarcity of public elderly support systems, anticipated support from children is equally important in promoting mental-wellbeing in the US and China. In addition, anticipating support only from other relatives/friends but not from children is no better than anticipating no support at all from any sources in terms of mental health. Given the size and the speed of population aging in both countries, these results underscore the importance of promoting positive intergenerational relationships in bettering later-life mental well-being. The importance of knowing that children would come to help if needed transcend geographic and cultural boundaries.

Author

• Cheng Cheng, Princeton University