Impact of caring for grandchildren on the health of grandparents in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
To understand how caring for grandchildren affects the physical and mental health of grandparents in Taiwan.


METHODS
Grandparents aged 50 and older from 4 waves of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (1993-2003, n = 3,711) were divided into 7 categories based on living arrangement and caregiving history. Generalized estimation equations controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and disease status were used to estimate the relationship between caregiving and 4 outcomes: self-rated physical health, mobility limitation, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms.


RESULTS
Compared with noncaregivers, long-term multigenerational caregivers were more likely to report better self-rated health, higher life satisfaction, and fewer depressive symptoms. We found some evidence of reduced mobility limitations for both skipped-generation and nonresidential caregivers relative to noncaregivers. The associations in self-rated health and depressive symptoms were more pronounced in long-term caregivers than among those who recently started caregiving.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in self-rated health and mobility associated with caregiving support our hypothesis that caring for grandchildren can be beneficial for grandparents in Taiwan, especially for long-term multigenerational caregivers. Comparing Taiwanese grandparents across different types of caregiving shows that the associations of grandparent caregiving with health vary by living arrangement and duration. However, these findings may not be causal because caregiving and health outcomes were observed simultaneously in our data.
Correspondence should be addressed to Li-Jung Ku, Institute of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan. E-mail: eljku@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
Li-Jung E
LJ
Ku
Sally C
SC
Stearns
Courtney H
CH
Van Houtven
Shoou-Yih D
SY
Lee
Peggye
P
Dilworth-Anderson
Thomas R
TR
Konrad
D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000523:psychology; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000208:ethnology*; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D013624:Taiwan / Q000208:ethnology; D013997:Time Factors
Caregiving; Grandparent; Health; Living arrangements.