Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
J Health Soc Behav. 2020 Mar;61(1):96-112. doi: 10.1177/0022146520903282. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
Little is known about whether and how intergenerational relationships influence older adult mortality. This study examines the association between caring for grandchildren (i.e., grandparenting) and mortality and how the link differs by race-ethnicity. Drawing from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014, = 13,705), I found different racial-ethnic patterns in the effects of grandparenting on mortality risk. White grandparents who provide intensive noncoresident grandparenting (i.e., over 500 hours of babysitting per two years) and multigenerational household grandparenting have a lower risk of mortality compared to noncaregiving grandparents. In contrast, black grandparents have a higher mortality risk than their noncaregiving counterparts when providing intensive noncoresident, multigenerational household, and skipped-generation household (i.e., grandparent-headed family) grandparenting. Caregiving Hispanic grandparents are not significantly different from their noncaregiving counterparts in mortality risk. These findings suggest that important variations in social and cultural contexts for racial-ethnic groups shape the consequences of grandparenting for older adult mortality.
关于代际关系是否以及如何影响老年人口的死亡率，目前知之甚少。本研究考察了照顾孙辈（即祖辈育儿）与死亡率之间的关系，以及这种关系因种族和民族而异的情况。本研究利用健康与退休研究（1998-2014 年，=13705）的数据发现，祖辈育儿对死亡率风险的影响存在不同的种族和民族模式。与不照顾孙辈的祖辈相比，提供密集的非核心家庭照顾（即每两年照顾 500 小时以上）和多代同堂家庭照顾的白人祖辈的死亡率风险较低。相比之下，当提供密集的非核心家庭、多代同堂家庭和隔代家庭（即祖辈为家长的家庭）照顾时，黑人社群的祖辈的死亡率风险比他们不照顾孙辈的同辈高。照顾孙辈的西班牙裔祖辈在死亡率风险方面与不照顾孙辈的祖辈没有显著差异。这些发现表明，种族和民族群体的社会和文化背景的重要差异塑造了祖辈育儿对老年人口死亡率的影响。
