Abstract
This study examined the characteristics of depression among rural older adults in China in the face of rapid urbanization. The relationship between early interparental conflict, couple relationships, and depression trends in rural older adults (aged 60 years and above) were analyzed. Three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; n = 2171) were considered, and latent variable growth models were used to analyze the relationship between the main variables. The results showed that depression among rural older adults had a linearly increasing trend, and early parental conflict significantly impacted the initial level of depression in early old age. Furthermore, couple relationship played a mediating role in the association between early parental conflict and depression. Parents should avoid or reduce conflict to create a harmonious family environment, which has long-term positive effects on their children’s mental health, as well as the couple relationship. Similarly, rural older adults who have experienced early parental conflict should strive to maintain supportive and intimate couple relationships, to mitigate its negative impact on mental health.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Data are available from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) (http://charls.pku.edu.cn/) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to CHARLS data.
References
Abbott, M. W., Wong, S., Giles, L. C., Wong, S., Young, W., & Au, M. (2003). Depression in older Chinese migrants to Auckland. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37(4), 445–451. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1614.2003.01212.x
Akbulut-Yuksel, M. (2017). War during childhood: The long run effects of warfare on health. Journal of Health Economics, 53, 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.02.005
Amato, P. R., & Booth, A. (2001). The legacy of parents’ marital discord: Consequences for children’s marital quality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(4), 627–638. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.4.627
Amato, P. R., & Deboer, D. D. (2010). The transmission of marital instability across generations: Relationship skills or commitment to marriage? Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1038–1051. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.01038.x
Andresen, E. M., Malmgren, J. A., Carter, W. B., & Patrick, D. L. (1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10(2), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(18)30622-6
Aziz, R., & Steffens, D. C. (2013). What are the causes of late-life depression? Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 36(4), 497–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2013.08.001
Bartell, D. S. (2006). Influence of parental divorce on romantic relationships in young adulthood: A cognitive-developmental perspective. In M. A. Fine & J. H. Harvey (Eds.), Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution (pp. 339–360). Erlbaum.
Bowen, K. L., Morgan, J. E., Moore, S. C., & Goozen, S. H. (2014). Young offenders’ emotion recognition dysfunction across emotion intensities: Explaining variation using psychopathic traits, conduct disorder and offense severity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36(1), 60–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9368-z
Brenhouse, H. C., Danese, A., & Grassi-Oliveira, R. (2019). Neuroimmune impacts of early-life stress on development and psychopathology. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 43, 423–447. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2018_53
Buehler, C., Anthony, C., Krishnakumar, A., Stone, G., & Pemberton, S. (1997). Interparental conflict and youth problem behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6(2), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025006909538
Buehler, C., & Gerard, J. M. (2013). Cumulative family risk predicts increases in adjustment difficulties across early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(6), 905–920. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9806-3
Bulloch, A. G., Williams, J. V., Lavorato, D. H., & Patten, S. B. (2009). The relationship between major depression and marital disruption is bidirectional. Depression and Anxiety, 26(12), 1172–1777. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20618
Coln, K. L., Jordan, S. S., & Mercer, S. H. (2013). A unified model exploring parenting practices as mediators of marital conflict and children’s adjustment. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 44(3), 19–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0336-8
Coşkun, H., Yildiz, I., & Alkan, Ö. (2023). Prevalence and predictors of psychological assistance services for older individuals in Turkish society. Frontiers in Public Health, 1(4), 1060845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1060845
Cummings, E. M., & Davies, P. T. (2010). Marital conflict and children: An emotional security perspective. The Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00617-4.x
Currie, J., & Almond, D. (2011). Human capital development before age five. In D. Card & O. Ashenfelter (Eds.), Handbook of labor economics (pp. 1315–1486). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7218(11)02413-0
Dalsmo, B. S., Eivind, M., Mette, B., Tschudi, B. G., Frode, T., & Thomas, M. (2020). Couple relationship problems—A task for the general practitioner? A cross-sectional survey from Norway. Family Practice, 38(2), 115–120. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaa093
Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (1994). Marital conflict and child adjustment: An emotional security hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 387–441. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387
Department of Ageing Health. (2021). National Aging Cause Development Communique in 2020. http://www.nhc.gov.cn/lljks/pqt/202110/c794a6b1a2084964a7ef45f69bef5423.shtml
Erel, O., & Burman, B. (1995). Inter-relatedness of marital relations and parent-child relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 118(1), 108–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.108
Fan, H., Zhu, Z., Miao, L. T., & Zhang, L. (2018). The effect of parental marital conflict on adolescent depression: A moderated mediating model. Psychological Development and Education, 34(04), 481–488. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2018.04.12
Feng, D., Giarrusso, R., Bengtson, V. L., & Frye, N. (1999). Intergenerational transmission of marital quality and marital instability. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61(2), 451–463. https://doi.org/10.2307/353761
Freud, S. (1922). Mourning and melancholia. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 56(5), 543–545. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429477843
Friedrich, M. J. (2017). Depression is the leading cause of disability around the world. Journal of the American Medical Association, 317(15), 1517. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.3826
Gager, C. T., Yabiku, S. T., & Linver, M. R. (2015). Conflict or divorce? Does parental conflict and/or divorce increase the likelihood of adult children’s cohabiting and marital dissolution? Marriage and Family Review, 52(3), 243–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2015.1095267
George, L. K. (2013). Life-course perspectives on mental health. In C. S. Aneshensel, J. C. Phelan, & A. Bierman (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 585–602). Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_28
Guinjoan, S. M., Bär, K., & Camprodon, J. A. (2021). Cognitive effects of rapid-acting treatments for resistant depression: Just adverse, or contributing to clinical efficacy? Journal of Psychiatric Research, 140, 512–521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.06.026
Holly, A. (2010). Old age, health and long-term care. In L. Bovenberg, A. Van Soest, & A. Zaidi (Eds.), Ageing, health and pensions in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307346_8
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352
Karakurt, G., Keiley, M., & Posada, G. (2013). Intimate relationship aggression in college couples: Family-of-origin violence, egalitarian attitude, attachment security. Journal of Family Violence, 28(6), 561–575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9526-9
Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (1st ed.). Guilford Press.
Kong, X. K., Xiao, Q. L., & Li, J. (2018). An urban-rural comparison of factors associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly. Chinese Journal of Mental Health, 08, 648–655. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-6729.2018.08.005
Li, J. Y., Dai, T., & Huang, J. (2018). Study on the correlation between childhood socioeconomic status and adult heart disease prevalence. China Preventive Medicine, 19(6), 437–442. https://doi.org/10.16506/j.1009-6639.2018.06.008
Li, L., Ma, M. Y., Peng, H. Y., Yan, Z. F., Hu, M. C., & Zhao, Z. H. (2021). Study on the occurrence and influencing factors of depressive symptoms in the elderly in rural areas of China. Chinese Journal of General Practice, 24(27), 3432–3438. https://doi.org/10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2021.00.577
Liu, H. R., Shang, X. H., Wang, Y., & Kou, S. (2022). The influence of loneliness on depression in rural elderly people: The mediating role of self-identity. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 1607–1611. https://doi.org/10.13342/j.cnki.cjhp.2022.11.002
Liu, Y. F. (2018). Do childhood hunger experiences affect health in old age? Economic Review, 6, 113–126. https://doi.org/10.19361/j.er.2018.06.09
McCall, W. V., & Kintziger, K. W. (2013). Late life depression: A global problem with few resources. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 36(4), 475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2013.07.001
Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (1992). Age and depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33(3), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(91)90026-O
Mushtaq, R., Shoib, S., Shah, T., & Mushtaq, S. (2014). Relationship between loneliness, psychiatric disorders and physical health? A review on the psychological aspects of loneliness. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 8(9), WE01–WE04. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/10077.4828
Musliner, K. L., Munk-Olsen, T., William, W., & Zandi, P. P. (2016). Heterogeneity in long-term trajectories of depressive symptoms: Patterns, predictors and outcomes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 192(1), 199–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.12.030
Neelsen, S., & Stratmann, T. (2011). Effects of prenatal and early life malnutrition: Evidence from the Greek famine. Journal of Health Economics, 30(3), 479–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2011.03.001
Ng, Y. Y., & Wan, S. W. S. (2017). Resilience as mediator in the relationship between family functioning and depression among adolescents from single parent families. Akademika (Kuala Lumpur), 87(1), 111–122. https://doi.org/10.17576/akad-2017-8701-08
Park, N. S., Lee, B. S., Chiriboga, D. A., & Chung, S. (2019). Loneliness as a mediator in the relationship between social engagement and depressive symptoms: Age differences among community-dwelling Korean adults. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27(3), 706. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12687
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1990). Crime and deviance over the life course: The salience of adult social bonds. American Sociological Review, 55(5), 609–627. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095859
Shao, Q., Tao, R., & Luca, M. M. (2022). The effect of urbanization on health care expenditure: Evidence from China. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 850872. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.850872
Sheikh, M. A., Abelsen, B., & Olsen, J. A. (2017). Education and health and well-being: Direct and indirect effects with multiple mediators and interactions with multiple imputed data in Stata. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 71(11), 1037–1045. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208671
Song, Y. P. (2014). Spiritual support or economic support: An analysis of the impact of migrant children’s pension behavior on the health of the left-behind elderly in rural areas. Population and Development, 20(04), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-1668.2014.04.005
Su, J. A., Li, Y., Zhang, M. Q., & Liang, Z. Y. (2022). The development trajectory of depression and the role of social participation in the elderly: A comparative study of empty nesters and non-empty nesters. Psychological Science, 45(3), 740–746. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20220331
Sun, Y. J. (2023). Physical activity’s impact on rural older adult health: The multiple mediating effects of education, income, and psychological capital. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1173217. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPUBH.2023.1173217
Tao, H., Zhang, X., & Wang, Z. (2018). Depression status and influencing factors of rural elderly in eastern, central and western regions of China. Chinese Journal of Disease Control, 22(07), 696–699. https://doi.org/10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2018.07.010
Wang, M., Zhou, L. P., et al. (2022). Factors influencing loneliness among elderly people living alone in rural areas. Evidence-Based Nursing, 8, 1101–1103. https://doi.org/10.12102/j.issn.2095-8668.2022.08.021
Wang, Y. T. (2013). Changes in rural intergenerational relations in the process of urbanization. Southern Population, 28(1), 73–80+18. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1004-1613.2013.01.008
Wang, F. P., Wang, J. L., & Lin, Q. B. (2013). Study on the plight and countermeasures of empty-nesters in rural areas: A case study of Z village, Tongnan County, Chongqing. Northwest Population, 34(1), 67–72. https://doi.org/10.15884/j.cnki.issn.1007-0672.2013.01.002
Weissman, M. M. (1987). Advances in psychiatric epidemiology: Rates and risks for major depression. American Journal of Public Health, 77(4), 445–451. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.77.4.445
Williams, K., Frech, A., & Carlson, D. (2009). Marital status and mental health. In T. Scheid & T. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems (pp. 306–320). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984945.020
Xiong, W. S., & Shi, T. Y. (2023). Big family: The impact of changes in rural family structure on farmers’ income. Journal of China Agricultural University (Social Sciences), 3, 123–137. https://doi.org/10.13240/j.cnki.caujsse.2023.03.012
Yan, X. Y., Huang, S. M., & Huang, C. Q. (2011). Marital status and risk for late life depression: A meta-analysis of the published literature. Journal of International Medicine Research, 39(4), 1142–1154. https://doi.org/10.1177/147323001103900
Yang, A. L., Fang, X. Y., & Tu, C. P. (2007). Parental conflict, adolescent cognitive evaluation and its relationship with adolescent social adjustment. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 5(2), 127–134.
Zainab, S., Fatmi, Z., & Kazi, A. (2012). Risk factors for depression among married women belonging to higher and lower socioeconomic status in Karachi, Pakistan. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 62(3), 249–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-011-0793-2
Zhang, R. (2020). The effect of marital quality on marital stability in elderly couples. Master Dissertation, Tianjin Normal University. https://doi.org/10.27363/d.cnki.gtsfu.2020.000837
Zhang, C., Shi, H. B., Zhang, C. S., & Lu, K. Y. (2022). Can communication of rural children improve parents’ mental health? Agrotechnical Economics, 1, 97–113. https://doi.org/10.13246/j.cnki.jae.2022.01.001
Acknowledgements
We thank the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) research team and the field team for collecting the data.
Funding
This study was supported Social Science Foundation of Fujian province (Grant No. FJ2021B073).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
YD designed the study and wrote the manuscript. XL modified the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Informed Consent
All methods were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. This work was fully compliant with Ethical Standards and approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Peking University (IRB 00001052-11015). Written informed consent for each participant was obtained prior to sample collection.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Deng, Y., Li, X. Early Interparental Conflict, Couple Relationships, and Depression Among Rural Older Adults in China: A Latent Growth Model. J Adult Dev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09473-y
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-024-09473-y