Effects of retirement and grandchild care on depressive symptoms.
This study explores how grandchild care in conjunction with grandparents' retirement affects depressive symptoms, using data from the Health and Retirement Survey. The findings demonstrate that retirement moderates the influence of grandchild care obligations on well-being, measured by depressive symptoms. For retired men, freedom from grandchild care obligations is associated with heightened well-being. Among women, continued employment seems to protect against potential negative effects of extensive grandchild care obligations on well-being. The results for men seem most in line with the argument that family care obligations spoil retirement, whereas the results for women suggest a scenario that is most compatible with the role enhancement thesis.
Szinovacz
Maximiliane E
ME
Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk 23507-1912, USA. maxres@visi.net
Davey
Adam
A
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012179:Retirement / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012941:Social Responsibility; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States