Mental health effects of adult children’s outmigration on older parents in Central and Eastern Europe

Lee, Hayoung; Kim, Jaeshin; Zrínyi, Miklós

doi:10.1080/13607863.2023.2260327

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Traditionally, the responsibility of caring for the elderly in Indian families has been taken on by their adult children (9). However, in India, due to the extensive out-migration of young people in pursuit of better job opportunities, the older parents are live without the presence of their children (left-behind elderly) (10)(11)(12). For instance around 22% of older adults live alone or with their spouse, which has escalated to 27% per LASI's 2021 ndings (1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical and Mental Well-being of the Elderly: Examining the Impact of Financial Support from Migrant Children on Indian Left-behind Parents

Mandal,

Paul

2024

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Background: This study aims to examine the impact of adult child migration on physical and mental health of elderly parents and further how received financial support (remittance) compensate the absence of adult child. Methodology: Using the 2011 Building a Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI) dataset, the current study (n=5122) employs bivariate statistics, logistic regression, and mediation analysis to address the objectives. Logistic regression determines the factors of self-rated health and depression, while mediation analysis is implied to understand the intermediate effect of financial support i.e. remittance on left behind elderly health. Results: The findings indicate that approximately 43 percent of the study population are left behind, meaning they have at least one migrant child. Notably, 20 percent of these left-behind elderly report poor health conditions, and 17 percent exhibit depressive symptoms, while the poor health and having depressive symptoms is lower among the non-left behind elderly i.e., 13 and 12 respectively. The mediation analysis indicate that the likelihood of good self-rated health increased 1.35 times due to the effect of adult child migration via remittance which contribute around 55 % of total effect of migration. Conclusion: The consistent inflow of remittances serves to alleviate the impact on household finances, ensure food security, and address medical expenses. However, it is crucial to recognize that while remittances contribute significantly to economic stability, they cannot replace the physical presence of adult children, especially in terms of caregiving. Consequently, the study highlights that emotional bonds between parents and children play a pivotal role in bridging the emotional gap caused by physical separation, offering vital emotional support and reassurance to elderly family members and ultimately contributing to their holistic well-being.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical and Mental Well-being of the Elderly: Examining the Impact of Financial Support from Migrant Children on Indian Left-behind Parents

Mandal,

Paul

2024

Preprint

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Physical and mental well-being of older adults: examining the impact of financial support from male migrant children on Indian left-behind parents

Mandal,

Paul

2024

Arch Public Health

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Background Amid high youth out-migration, India’s older parents face severe social, economic, psychological, and health crises due to their children’s separation. However, remittances from their migrant children alleviate economic hardships, improve healthcare access, and partially compensate for their absence. So, this study examines how adult-child migration affects older parents’ physical and mental health and how remittance support helps mitigate these challenges. Methodology This study used the 2011 Building a Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI) dataset, the current study ( n = 5122) employs bivariate statistics, logistic regression, and mediation analysis to address the objectives. Logistic regression determines the factors of self-rated health and depression, while mediation analysis is implied to understand the intermediate effect of financial support i.e. remittance on left-behind older adult health. Results The findings indicate that approximately 43% of the study populations were left behind, meaning they have at least one migrant child. Notably, 20% of these left-behind older adults report poor health conditions, and 17% exhibit depressive symptoms, while the poor health and having depressive symptoms were lower among the non-left-behind older adults i.e., 13% and 12% respectively. The mediation analysis indicates that the likelihood of good self-rated health increased 1.35 times through the effect of remittance, which compensates for around 55% of the total adverse effect of migration. Conclusion The consistent inflow of remittances serves to alleviate the impact on household finances, ensure food security, and address medical expenses. However, it is crucial to recognize that while remittances contribute significantly to economic stability, they cannot fully replace the physical presence of adult children, especially in terms of caregiving. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13690-024-01413-2.

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The implications of social relationships for depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: Results from the Korea Community Health Survey

Lee,

Kim,

Lee

et al. 2024

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Background Epidemiological findings have established a strong link between social relationships and mental health in older populations. However, a comprehensive exploration within diverse social contexts is warranted. This study aimed to identify the connections between social relationship and depressive symptoms among older adults in South Korea. Methods The 2017 and 2019 Korea Community Health Surveys were used to analyze 85,861 adults aged 65 years and older. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). A single question was used to measure gloom. Social contact, social activity, and perception of neighborhood served as variables related to social relationships. Associations were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression. Results Among the participants, 5,632 (6.5%) experienced gloom and 3,770 (4.3%) had depressive symptoms. In the multivariate analyses, older adults with good social contact, social activity, and perception of neighborhood were less likely to be depressive. Additionally, participants were less likely to be depressed if they had a higher income, worked, slept longer hours, had higher education, consumed alcohol, and were physically active. Good social contact was robustly associated with fewer depressive symptoms in the lowest income subgroup. Discussion This study showed a close link between social relationships and depressive symptoms in older adults, highlighting the significance of social contact in low-income groups. A social context-based approach should be considered to prevent depression in older adults.

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Mental health effects of adult children’s outmigration on older parents in Central and Eastern Europe

Cited by 3 publications

References 58 publications

Physical and Mental Well-being of the Elderly: Examining the Impact of Financial Support from Migrant Children on Indian Left-behind Parents

Physical and Mental Well-being of the Elderly: Examining the Impact of Financial Support from Migrant Children on Indian Left-behind Parents

Physical and mental well-being of older adults: examining the impact of financial support from male migrant children on Indian left-behind parents

The implications of social relationships for depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: Results from the Korea Community Health Survey

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