Fujiwara Takeo, Lee Cynthia K
Centre for Community Child Health Research, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
J Affect Disord. 2008 Apr;107(1-3):29-36. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2007.08.016. Epub 2007 Sep 17.
Although previous studies have suggested that altruistic behaviors are beneficial for mental health, few studies have examined the impact of altruistic behaviors for children and grandchildren (ABC) on the mental health of parents and grandparents using a longitudinal study design. It is needed to test whether paternal and maternal ABC prevent the development of mental health problems in later life.
The association between three types of ABC (informal assistance, emotional support, financial support) in 1995-1996 and major depression (MD) in 1998 were examined using a nationally representative longitudinal study in the US (the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) in 1995-1996 and the MIDUS Psychological Experience Follow-Up study in 1998, N=724).
Moderate amounts of informal assistance and financial support by fathers/grandfathers, but not by mothers/grandmothers, showed a protective effect on MD 2-3 years later, holding parents/grandparents and children covariates. Emotional support was not associated with MD for both sexes after adjusting for covariates.
The sample size in this study was relatively small and not all possible covariates were adjusted. The effect of children's/grandchildren's responses for ABC on the development of parental MD was not examined.
The impact of ABC on MD in 2-3 years varies depending on the types of ABC and the sex of parents/grandparents. Moderate amounts of informal assistance and financial support had a protective effect on MD in later life among fathers/grandfathers, but not among mothers/grandmothers.
尽管先前的研究表明利他行为有益于心理健康，但很少有研究采用纵向研究设计来考察对子孙的利他行为（ABC）对父母和祖父母心理健康的影响。有必要检验父母的ABC是否能预防晚年心理健康问题的发生。
利用美国一项具有全国代表性的纵向研究（1995 - 1996年美国中年发展全国调查（MIDUS）以及1998年MIDUS心理体验随访研究，N = 724），考察了1995 - 1996年三种类型的ABC（非正式帮助、情感支持、经济支持）与1998年重度抑郁症（MD）之间的关联。
在控制父母/祖父母和子女协变量的情况下，父亲/祖父提供的适量非正式帮助和经济支持，而非母亲/祖母提供的此类帮助，对2 - 3年后的MD具有保护作用。调整协变量后，情感支持与男女双方的MD均无关联。
本研究样本量相对较小，且未对所有可能的协变量进行调整。未考察子女/孙辈对ABC的反应对父母MD发展的影响。
ABC对2 - 3年后MD的影响因ABC类型以及父母/祖父母的性别而异。适量的非正式帮助和经济支持对父亲/祖父晚年的MD具有保护作用，但对母亲/祖母则不然。
