Older Parents Benefit More in Health Outcome From Daughters’ Than Sons’ Emotional Care in China

Abstract

Objective To examine whether older parents in China would benefit more from daughters’ care than from sons’ emotional care. Method Analysis of the unique data sets of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2002, 2005, and 2008–2009 in 22 provinces. Results As compared with having son(s), having daughter(s) is significantly more beneficial at older ages in China, with regard to maintaining higher cognitive capacity and reducing mortality risk. Such daughter advantages in providing emotional care to older parents are more profound among the oldest-old aged 80+ as compared with the young-old aged 65 to 79 and surprisingly more profound in rural areas as compared with urban areas, even though son preference is much more common among rural residents. Discussion We describe how educational campaigns aimed at informing the public about the benefits of daughter(s) for older parents’ health outcome could help promote gender equality and reduce traditional son preference, especially in rural China.

Older Parents Enjoy Better Filial Piety and Care From Daughters Than Sons in China

“…Our analysis provides empirical evidence supporting the hypotheses based on the literature review and our prior research. These findings are fully consistent with those of a recent study (based on the CLHLS data) which reported that, as compared to having son(s), having daughter(s) is significantly more beneficial at older ages in China in terms of maintaining higher cognitive capacity and reducing mortality risk, and daughter-advantages are stronger among the oldest-old than the young-old and in rural areas than in urban areas (Zeng et al 2016). One recent study found no protective effect of sons on elderly parents’ survival in either Mainland China or Taiwan.…”

“…Thus, we propose adding factual information about daughter-advantages into the CLGA and other public campaign programs (such as media reports, movies, and TVs shows) aimed at reducing and finally eliminating the son-preference and high SRB. We suggest that Chinese policy makers and the media effectively inform the public that daughters’ better care to old parents is beneficial to older parents’ well-being, including enjoying greater filial piety from and better relationships with children, higher satisfaction with care received when needed, and maintaining higher cognitive capacity and reducing mortality risk (Zeng et al 2016), especially in rural areas and at oldest-old ages.…”

The effects of China's universal two-child policy

“…Although sons have traditionally supported parents financially, 41 daughters (and sons-in-law) have generally cared for their older parents. 42,43 Thus, the shortage of women, partly caused by the one-child policy, is affecting the quantity and quality of elderly care, especially in rural areas. The growth in the elderly population is also putting serious pressures on the health system, which is not yet adapted to deal with the complex and expensive comorbidities of an ageing population.…”

“…Evidence from longitudinal healthy ageing surveys 42,90 indicates that elderly people cared for by daughters (and sons-in-law) rather than sons (and daughters-in-law) have a lower mortality and lower probability of declining cognitive capacity. Further evidence suggests that older parents are more satisfied with care provided by daughters than by sons, and that older parents have better relationships with their daughters than sons.…”

“…The outcome will eventually be more elderly parents benefiting from the care of daughters, thus enhancing their mental and physical health. 42,43 …”