Zhao Xinyi, Zhang Quan, Ji Ying, Liu Huiying, Lou Vivian W Q
School of Health Humanities, Peking University, Beijing, China.
National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Aging Ment Health. 2023 Jul-Aug;27(7):1266-1273. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2022.2089630. Epub 2022 Jun 27.
With sociodemographic changes, men are increasingly taking responsibility for spousal caregiving. Previous studies have described gender differences in the psychological outcomes of caregiving; however, few have focused exclusively on husband caregivers. This study investigates the influence of starting spousal caregiving on the psychological well-being of older husbands in rural areas and examines whether living arrangements can moderate this relationship.
A total of 1,167 baseline non-caregiver husbands aged 60 and above in rural areas were taken from the 2011-2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The generalized estimating equation (GEE) was employed to examine the effects of spousal caregiving transitions and living arrangement changes on depressive symptoms over four years.
Compared with rural husbands who remained non-caregivers, those transitioning into activities of daily living (ADL) caregiving reported higher depressive symptoms at follow-up ( = 1.67, < 0.05). Moreover, the increase in depressive symptoms when transitioning into ADL caregiving was significantly lower among participants who changed from living with spouse alone to living with spouse and other family members together (B = - 5.37, < 0.05).
There was an association between transitioning into ADL caregiving and an elevated level of depression over four years among older husbands, which could be alleviated by living with family members. Co-residence with family members could serve as a natural support resource, buffering adverse mental health outcomes when older husbands start a demanding caregiving role.
随着社会人口结构的变化，男性越来越多地承担起照顾配偶的责任。以往的研究描述了照顾行为在心理结果方面的性别差异；然而，很少有研究专门关注丈夫照顾者。本研究调查了开始照顾配偶对农村老年丈夫心理健康的影响，并检验生活安排是否能调节这种关系。
从2011 - 2015年中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）中选取了1167名60岁及以上的农村非照顾者丈夫作为基线样本。采用广义估计方程（GEE）来检验四年间照顾配偶的转变和生活安排变化对抑郁症状的影响。
与仍未成为照顾者的农村丈夫相比，那些转变为日常生活活动（ADL）照顾者的丈夫在随访时报告的抑郁症状更高（β = 1.67，P < 0.05）。此外，从单独与配偶居住转变为与配偶及其他家庭成员一起居住的参与者，在转变为ADL照顾时抑郁症状的增加显著更低（B = -5.37，P < 0.05）。
对于老年丈夫而言，转变为ADL照顾与四年内抑郁水平升高之间存在关联，而与家庭成员同住可缓解这种情况。与家庭成员同住可以作为一种自然的支持资源，在老年丈夫开始承担艰巨的照顾角色时缓冲不良心理健康结果。
