The Impact of Two Generations of Education on Depression among Elderly People in Rural Areas
The article is based on seven special tracking data from 2001 to 2018 on the living and welfare status of el-derly people in rural areas of Anhui Province.The individual growth model and generalized structural equation model are used to study the impact and pathways of two generations of education on depression among elderly people in rural areas.Research has found that,firstly,both elderly education and children's education significantly reduce the level of depression among rural elderly people,and the highest years of education for children partially explains the impact of elderly education on their level of depression.Secondly,there is an age group difference in the impact of two genera-tions of education on the level of depression among rural elderly people.That is,rural elderly education only reduces the level of depression among younger elderly people.After incorporating the variable of children's education,rural el-derly people only receive economic support,which significantly reduces the level of depression among middle-aged and younger elderly people.Rural elderly people receive emotional support,which significantly reduces the level of de-pression among all age groups.Thirdly,economic and emotional support are the inherent roots of the impact of two gen-erations of education on the level of depression among rural elderly people.Elderly education can affect children's edu-cation,leading to changes in intergenerational support for children and ultimately affecting the level of depression among rural elderly people.There is a substitution effect between intergenerational support for children and the number of children.Based on this,the article proposes the following suggestions:Firstly,pay attention to the lagging issue of rural education,attach importance to the education of rural children's growth,appropriately tilt educational resources towards vulnerable families,and ensure the accessibility of higher education for rural children.Secondly,correspond-ing measures should be taken to meet the needs of elderly people in different age groups,in order to increase the sourc-es of economic support for middle and young age groups and emotional support for all age groups.Thirdly,we should at-tach importance to the elderly care function of families,introduce relevant policies to promote intergenerational support for children,formulate tax incentives to encourage children to provide financial support to their parents,and provide preferential policies for purchasing or renting houses to encourage children to live with their parents,thereby improving intergenerational emotional support.
Two Generations of EducationRural ElderlyDepressionTracking DataAge Differences
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
