Direct and Indirect Effects of Sociocultural Factors on Self-Rated Health among Aging Parents in Urban China

Objectives. This study explores culturally relevant correlates of self-rated health with a specific focus on direct and indirect effects of family network and intergenerational transfers of financial support on self-rated health among aging parents in urban China. Previous studies in the Chinese context have been limited in terms of cultural factors considered, sample representativeness, and examination of interrelationships among correlates. Methods. Data were obtained from the nationally representative study Sample Survey on Aged Population in Urban and Rural China in 2006, collected by the China Research Center on Aging. A subsample of parents aged 60 and older in urban China (N=7,898) was included in path analysis using Mplus 5.1. Family network was measured using the Lubben Social Network family subscale. Intergenerational transfers of financial support was measured by asking whether respondents received financial support from children and provided financial support to children. Results. Model fit was good (χ2/df=11.797/1; p=0.0006; CFI=0.997; RMSEA=0.038). Coresidence with children, robust family network, and perception of children as pious were positively related with self-rated health, while providing financial support to children was negatively associated with self-rated health. Perceived filial piety was shown to mediate the relationship between family network and self-rated health, and a similar pattern held for provision of financial support to children. Conclusion. Besides encouraging and maintaining the family network, interventions should consider the effects of perceived filial piety, living arrangements, and provision of financial support to children on self-rated health among aging parents in urban China.