LEFT BEHIND IN CHINA: THE EFFECT OF THE CONTEMPORARY PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP ON DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN ADULT PARENTS

Abstract

In 1979 the Open Door Policy propelled China towards becoming a market economy and the One Child Policy permanently transformed the traditional structure of Chinese families. In the years following the implementations of these policies, China’s booming economy led to a substantial migration of workers who were in search of better job opportunities. Despite these economic advancements, depression rates in the country remain very high. This study looks at the effect of the relationship between a parent and his/her child on the parent’s exhibition of depression symptoms in the context of contemporary Chinese society. The sample is made up of parents aged between 41 and 77 whose children were born between 1979 and 1995, and is drawn from the 2011 Baseline of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The relationship between a parent and his/her child was quantified by the distance a child lives from his/her parent, the frequency of contact between the parent and child, as well as by the frequency with which a parent sees his/her child. This paper finds that a parent living far from their parent, maintaining infrequent contact with their child, and seeing their child infrequently all have a significant, positive effect on the parent’s exhibition of depression symptoms. Further, categorical representations of the independent variables reveal that contact (via e-mail, text message, telephone, or video calls) is very important in determining the parent’s level of depressive symptoms, while the distance a parent lives from their child and of the frequency with which a parent sees their child do not have as large an effect. These findings can serve as a helpful tool for policy-makers seeking to address the rising problem of adult depression in China.