Childhood Adversities and Caregiving for Older Parents: Building Capacity for a Caring Society

Abstract

Objectives This study investigates the relationships between childhood adversities and the provision of informal care for older parents in later life in China. Method The data came from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, N = 20,047). Using multilevel logistic regression models, we examined the relationships between adverse experiences in childhood and both the propensity and intensity of caregiving for older parents. Drawing on the regression results, we then estimated the total number of caregivers for older parents in China. Results Experiencing one additional childhood adversity was associated with a decrease of 8% in the odds of providing informal care (p<0.001). The association between childhood adversity and caregiving remained significant after socio-demographic factors and later life outcomes were controlled for. We estimated that 58.3 million middle-aged adults in China were providing care for parents in 2020. Had people experienced one fewer adversity in their childhood, there would have been 2.2 million more caregivers in 2020. Had they experienced two fewer adversities, there would have been 3.4 million more caregivers. Discussion The factors associated with informal caregiving can be traced back to early life experiences. To address the shortage of informal care supply, it is crucial to foster a caring culture from the very beginning of human development.