Xu Ling, Tang Fengyan, Li Lydia W, Dong Xin Qi
School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington.
School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017 Jul 1;72(suppl_1):S56-S62. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glw186.
Though ample research on grandparent caregiving and psychological well-being outcomes exist in Western literature, little attention has been focused on Chinese American grandparents. Based on role enhancement and role strain theories, this study examined grandparent caregiving and psychological well-being among Chinese American older adults and tested whether caregiving burden or pressure from adult children moderated such association.
We used the data from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), a population-based survey of community-dwelling Chinese older adults in the Greater Chicago area. Grandparents with grandchildren younger than 16 years old were selected for present study (N = 2,775). Negative binominal regression and logistic regression models were used to test the relationships of grandparent caregiving time and psychological well-being measured by depressive symptoms and quality of life.
Grandparents reported an average of 11.96 hours a week for caring for grandchildren. Caregiving time had a significantly negative association with depressive symptoms, but not with quality of life. The association between grandparent caregiving and depressive symptoms was moderated by the perception of caregiving burden. No moderating effect of caregiving pressure from adult children was found.
More time spending on grandparent caregiving is generally beneficial to Chinese American grandparents' psychological well-being, thus supporting role enhancement theory. However, this association depends on whether this experience is a burden to the grandparents, therefore role strain theory is also supported. Policies and programs are discussed to address the grandparenting experience in the Chinese American older adults.
尽管西方文献中有大量关于祖父母照料及心理健康结果的研究，但很少关注美籍华裔祖父母。基于角色增强和角色压力理论，本研究考察了美籍华裔老年人的祖父母照料情况及心理健康状况，并检验了照料负担或来自成年子女的压力是否调节了这种关联。
我们使用了芝加哥华裔老年人人口研究（PINE）的数据，这是一项对大芝加哥地区居住在社区的华裔老年人进行的基于人口的调查。本研究选取了有16岁以下孙辈的祖父母（N = 2775）。采用负二项回归和逻辑回归模型来检验祖父母照料时间与以抑郁症状和生活质量衡量的心理健康之间的关系。
祖父母报告平均每周照料孙辈的时间为11.96小时。照料时间与抑郁症状呈显著负相关，但与生活质量无关。照料负担感调节了祖父母照料与抑郁症状之间的关联。未发现成年子女的照料压力有调节作用。
花更多时间照料孙辈总体上有利于美籍华裔祖父母的心理健康，从而支持了角色增强理论。然而，这种关联取决于这种经历对祖父母来说是否是一种负担，因此也支持了角色压力理论。文中讨论了针对美籍华裔老年人祖父母养育经历的政策和项目。
