BackgroundIn China, grandchild care plays an important social role later in life. The effects of grandchild care on physical health and depression in older adults have been illustrated. However, there is a gap in research on grandchild care and life satisfaction of older adults specifically based on the Chinese experience.MethodBased on 7,079 individuals’ data from 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), this study explored the impact of grandchild care on older adults’ life satisfaction by using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Propensity Score Matching (PSM), and instrumental variables (IV) models.ResultsThe empirical results indicated that (1) life satisfaction was significantly higher for older adults who undertook grandchild care compared to those who did not; (2) non-coresiding grandparents showed higher life satisfaction than those non-carers, and this effect was not found in custodial grandparents or three-generation household grandparents; (3) higher life satisfaction of grandchild caregivers was achieved through reduced loneliness, enhanced self-efficacy, and increased emotional support from children, with the latter being the greatest contribution; and (4) the improving effect of grandchild care on life satisfaction was found mainly in the group of older adults who were male and in rural households.ConclusionThere was a significant difference in life satisfaction between older Chinese adults who provided grandchild care and those who did not. Efforts in terms of old age policy protection and family relationships should be made to enhance the subjective well-being of older adults.

PurposeThere is a strong link between occupation and self-rated health. Existing research has revealed the effects of occupation on self-rated health outcomes and the corresponding mechanisms. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of state services on self-rated health in China. Therefore, this study focuses on exploring the effects of serving as a state functionary in China on self-rated health to enrich research in related fields.MethodBased on the data of 14,138 individuals collected from the 2016 China Labour-Force Dynamics Survey, the logit model was used to investigate the effects of serving as a state functionary on self-rated health and the difference in the effects across different populations.ResultsThe results show that (1) serving as a state functionary has a significant positive effect on self-rated health; (2) self-rated health of elderly state functionaries is higher than that of younger state functionaries; (3) self-rated health of state functionaries in non-eastern regions is higher than that of state functionaries in eastern regions; and (4) state functionaries with lower education have higher self-rated health than highly-educated state functionaries; (5) Higher self-rated health of state functionaries is achieved primarily through better work time, better work environment and lower relative deprivation.ConclusionServing as a state functionary in China has a significant positive correlation with self-rated health, with differences across populations of state functionaries. This study expands the current literature on the effects of occupation on self-rated health in the context of China.

Background With the development of urbanization in China and the liberalization of the hukou conversion policy, more and more people have converted from agricultural hukou to non-agricultural hukou. Based on this, the present study intends to examine whether there is an association between earlier hukou conversion and current depression level in the group of older adults, and the underlying mechanisms of this association. Method The present study used data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) to explore the relationship between earlier hukou conversion and current depression level in older adults, using 10,213 older adults who had a hukou conversion as the study population. This study used ordinary least squares (OLS) and ordered logit models for regression analysis to explore the association between earlier hukou conversion and current depression level. Meanwhile, we further analyzed whether social status and social relationships play a mediating role between earlier hukou conversion and depression level of the older adults. Results The study led to the following conclusions: (1) Older adults who had a hukou conversion had lower levels of depression compared to those who had an agricultural hukou. (2) Compared to older adults who had an agricultural hukou, they had lower level of depression for both active and passive hukou conversions. (3) Older adults who had received lower education and lived in the eastern region exhibited lower level of depression in both actively and passively changing hukou. (4) Changes in social status and social relationship are the mediating mechanisms between hukou conversion and depression level of older adults. Conclusion This study found that there was some association between earlier hukou conversion and current depression level of the group of older adults. There is a significant reduction in depression level of the older adults after they have achieved hukou conversion to obtain a non-agricultural hukou. The government can learn from the formation mechanism of lower depression level of the older adults who had achieved hukou conversion to promote the reform and the development of the hukou system.

Background Political participation is an important component of civil rights. Several studies have shown that citizens’ political participation not only influences the allocation of public resources, but also has a positive correlation with participants’ life satisfaction. Recently, political participation has become increasingly frequent in China; however, the research on Chinese citizens’ political participation and life satisfaction is insufficient. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between political participation and life satisfaction in the Chinese cultural context, and how this relationship varied under different conditions. Methods Based on 8,475 respondents from the 2015 Chinese Social Survey, ordinary least squares modeling was used to investigate the relationship of Chinese citizens’ political participation and their life satisfaction, and the differences that might exist in this relationship. Results Political participation was closely related to life satisfaction. Compared with non-political participants, the life satisfaction of political participants was 0.133 units higher, which was significant at the 1% level. Regarding the types of political participation, citizens engaged in institutionalized political participation had higher life satisfaction, whereas citizens engaged in non-institutionalized political participation had lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, two social capitals, namely social tolerance and social trust, were the mediating variables linking political participation to citizens’ life satisfaction. Conclusions In China, citizens engaged in political participation had higher life satisfaction, in contrast, citizens engaged in non-institutionalized political participation had lower life satisfaction.