Social-economic context of parent care: explaining Chinese caregivers' psychological and emotional well-being.

This paper explores Chinese familial caregivers' depression and subjective burdens among the current caregivers. Data were collected in 1997-1999 with 110 caregivers who were then taking care of physically dependent parents or parents-in-law. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the factors that influence caregivers depression and subjective burden. Findings suggest that family and individual economic conditions are related to caregivers' depression. Caregivers' involvement in caregiving tasks is associated with caregivers' subjective burden. Poorer self-perceived health is related to higher report of caregivers' depression. The author argues that poorer health and unemployment at the time of drastic social and economic changes in China may have created psychological and emotional anxieties and depression for caregivers. The lack of financial and social stability may have deleterious effect for current caregivers in the future when they grow older and have to be cared for by their one-child generation children.