Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
Research Center for Gerontology and Family Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
Gerontologist. 2024 Apr 1;64(4). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnad125.
Around eight million older adults have internally migrated to take care of grandchildren in China. This study aimed to explore how Chinese migrant and nonmigrant grandparents perceived successful aging and how they coped with challenges to successful aging.
Based on ecological systems theory, semistructured interviews were conducted among 21 grandparents (12 migrants, median age = 59 years old) from urban areas in China who provided noncustodial grandchild care. Deductive content analysis was employed to examine the data pertaining to the definition of successful aging, the stressors encountered, and coping strategies employed by both groups.
Findings revealed that both migrant and nonmigrant grandparents placed a higher emphasis on family prosperity than their own physical health, in their definitions of successful aging. Although both groups experienced common stressors in the microsystem (e.g., intergenerational conflicts), migrant grandparents uniquely encountered stressors in the mesosystem (e.g., hardships in their close relationships) and in the macrosystem (e.g., uncertainty in aging preparation). In terms of coping, migrant grandparents exhibited a distinctive pattern of utilizing avoidant coping strategies when navigating intergenerational conflicts and planning for their later life, compared to nonmigrant grandparents.
Our findings suggested that although migration was not associated with grandparents' definition of successful aging, migrant grandparents encountered specific challenges in achieving successful aging. This highlights the necessity of providing more support to grandparents through the family, community, or state, particularly to those who are migrants.
约有 800 万老年人移居内地照顾孙辈。本研究旨在探讨中国移民和非移民祖父母如何看待成功老龄化以及他们如何应对成功老龄化的挑战。
基于生态系统理论，对来自中国城市地区的 21 名（12 名移民，中位数年龄为 59 岁）提供非监护孙辈照顾的祖父母进行了半结构式访谈。采用演绎内容分析法对两组关于成功老龄化定义、所面临的压力源以及应对策略的数据进行了分析。
研究结果表明，移民和非移民祖父母在成功老龄化的定义上都更强调家庭繁荣而不是自身的身体健康。尽管两组都在微系统（例如代际冲突）中经历了共同的压力源，但移民祖父母在中系统（例如亲密关系中的困难）和宏系统（例如养老准备的不确定性）中还遇到了独特的压力源。在应对方面，与非移民祖父母相比，移民祖父母在处理代际冲突和规划晚年生活时表现出独特的回避应对策略模式。
研究结果表明，尽管移民与祖父母对成功老龄化的定义无关，但移民祖父母在实现成功老龄化方面确实面临着特殊的挑战。这凸显了通过家庭、社区或国家为祖父母提供更多支持的必要性，尤其是那些移民的祖父母。
