Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator

Amid accelerating population ageing, China has witnessed a growing number of caregivers aged 60 and over. Older adults caring for their parents may represent a notable family caregiving paradigm in the longevity era, yet their unique challenges and associated health impacts deserve more attention. U...

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Main Authors: Qin Liu, Wenbo Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825002021
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author Qin Liu
Wenbo Liu
author_facet Qin Liu
Wenbo Liu
author_sort Qin Liu
collection DOAJ
description Amid accelerating population ageing, China has witnessed a growing number of caregivers aged 60 and over. Older adults caring for their parents may represent a notable family caregiving paradigm in the longevity era, yet their unique challenges and associated health impacts deserve more attention. Using two waves of data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) in 2018 and 2020, this study explored caregiving challenges among older adults caring for their parents, analyzed associations between these challenges and depressive status, and finally examined the moderating role of internet use. Results showed that more than half of older caregivers experienced challenges such as physical strain, long distance and lack of time. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that caregiving challenges, especially physical strain, significantly exacerbated depressive status among older adults. Notably, internet use emerged as a significant moderator post-COVID-19 pandemic. This study calls for expanded research on this vulnerable yet crucial caregiving groups and highlights the urgency and accuracy of targeted policy interventions to address challenge-specific needs.
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spelling doaj-art-08bf405487d349d5b9e81ca4aaf571082025-08-20T02:11:57ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-05-0125510488910.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104889Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderatorQin Liu0Wenbo Liu1Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China; Corresponding author at: School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.Amid accelerating population ageing, China has witnessed a growing number of caregivers aged 60 and over. Older adults caring for their parents may represent a notable family caregiving paradigm in the longevity era, yet their unique challenges and associated health impacts deserve more attention. Using two waves of data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) in 2018 and 2020, this study explored caregiving challenges among older adults caring for their parents, analyzed associations between these challenges and depressive status, and finally examined the moderating role of internet use. Results showed that more than half of older caregivers experienced challenges such as physical strain, long distance and lack of time. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that caregiving challenges, especially physical strain, significantly exacerbated depressive status among older adults. Notably, internet use emerged as a significant moderator post-COVID-19 pandemic. This study calls for expanded research on this vulnerable yet crucial caregiving groups and highlights the urgency and accuracy of targeted policy interventions to address challenge-specific needs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825002021Older adultsCaregiving challengesDepressive statusInternet use
spellingShingle Qin Liu
Wenbo Liu
Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
Acta Psychologica
Older adults
Caregiving challenges
Depressive status
Internet use
title Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
title_full Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
title_fullStr Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
title_full_unstemmed Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
title_short Challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status: Examining internet use as a moderator
title_sort challenges faced by older adults caring for their parents and their relationship with depressive status examining internet use as a moderator
topic Older adults
Caregiving challenges
Depressive status
Internet use
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825002021
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