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Influence of grandparenting stress, sleep quality, and grandparenting type on depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults who care for their grandchildren: A moderated-mediation study

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Abstract

Depression is a serious problem among older adults who care for their grandchildren. The relationship between general stress, sleep quality and depressive symptoms has been confirmed. However, it is unclear whether this relationship can be generalized to grandparenting stress and whether sleep quality could influence the relationship between grandparenting stress and depressive symptoms remains unclear. The present study explored how grandparenting stress, sleep quality, and grandparenting type (divided by frequency of grandparenting, including primary care and supplementary care) influence depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults who care for their grandchildren. A sample of 1303 Chinese older adults (Female: 46.2%), with a mean age of 66.0 years (SD = 4.2), were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Grandparenting stress, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Chinese version of the Parenting Stress Scale (modified for grandparents), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Geriatric Depressive Symptoms Scale, respectively. We found that older adults who care for grandchildren have high levels of depressive symptoms, and grandparenting stress and sleep quality were significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms. In addition, we also found that sleep quality partially mediated the relationship between grandparenting stress and depressive symptoms. Grandparenting type moderated the relationship between grandparenting stress and sleep quality but did not significantly moderate the relationship between grandparenting stress and depressive symptoms. Supplementary care (i.e., providing care while parents are temporarily unavailable) was associated with a weaker association between grandparenting stress and sleep quality when compared to primary care (providing care while parents are unavailable for long periods). These results can provide some ideas of intervention to reduce the depressive symptoms of older adults who care for their grandchildren, which had certain public health significance.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the participants of this study for their time and dedication. We also thank the 48 investigators who assisted the participants in completing the questionnaire.

Authors’ Contributors

Shaojie Li participated in data collection and statistical analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Huilan Xu and Yuli Li gave many valuable comments on the draft. Yuli Li designed the study and wrote the research proposal and questionnaire.

Funding

This study was supported by Social Science funding of Shandong Province (18CQXJ39). The fund provider was not involved in any of the research processes.

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Author notes

  1. Shaojie Li and Huilan Xu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine and Health Service Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, People’s Republic of China

    Shaojie Li & Huilan Xu

  2. School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, No. 44 West Wenhua Road, Jinan City, Shandong, 250012, People’s Republic of China

    Yuli Li

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  1. Shaojie Li
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Correspondence to Yuli Li.

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Li, S., Xu, H. & Li, Y. Influence of grandparenting stress, sleep quality, and grandparenting type on depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults who care for their grandchildren: A moderated-mediation study. Curr Psychol 42, 4630–4640 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01787-4

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