Effect of Grandchild Care on the Risk of Depression Symptoms among Elderly Migrants in Megacities
With the increasing aging population and rapid urbanization,there is a growing number of elderly individu-als who migrate to cities to support their children's careers and take care of the third generation.However,they face significant challenges to their mental health due to language barriers,differences in lifestyle habits,and separation from their relatives and friends.Based on the survey conducted on elderly migrants aged 60 and above in Daxing Dis-trict,Beijing,this article utilizes instrumental variable analysis(2SLS-IV)and mediation analysis(KHB)to study the impact of grandchild care on the risk of depression symptoms among elderly people in super cities and explore the mediating mechanisms.It is found that:(1)grandchild care can effectively reduce the risk of depression symptoms in elderly migrants;(2)Nevertheless,when the intensity of care exceeds five days a week,the positive impact of grand-child care weakens,disappears,or even becomes negative,(3)The influence of grandchild care and care intensity on the risk of depression symptoms is more pronounced among elderly migrants aged 70 and above,with no significant dif-ferences based on gender or duration of stay in Beijing;(4)The reduction in the risk of depression symptoms in elderly migrants through grandchild care is achieved by enhancing emotional interaction with grandchildren,increasing emo-tional support from children,and promoting their social participation.Among these factors,emotional interaction with grandchildren contributes the most to the mediating effect.Unlike previous studies,this article focuses on the mental health of elderly migrants,a growing population group,and further enriches the understanding of the mechanisms through which grandchild care influences the risk of depression symptoms among elderly migrants from the perspective of emotional interaction with grandchildren.Based on this,the article suggests that involving elderly migrants in grand-child care and jointly caring for the third generation with young parents not only benefits the release of the"silver divi-dend"and alleviates the scarcity of childcare resources in megacities but also meets the emotional needs of elderly mi-grants and allows them to enjoy family happiness.
MegacitiesElderly MigrantsGrandchild CareRisk of Depressive SymptomsEffect Mechanism
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