Balancing roles and well-being in later life: insights from Chinese older women’s life course

Description

Xinyi Chen and Wei-Jun Jean Yeung published this study in 2025. It asks whether juggling many roles in later life helps or hurts the health of older Chinese women. Two theories compete: role strain says extra roles exhaust, role enhancement says they energize. Chinese women retire early yet keep heavy family duties, making the test sharp.

Using national panel data on women aged fifty-five to eighty-four, the study tracked work, caregiving, and grandparenting against functional ability and self-rated health. The enhancement view won: more roles, and more intense engagement, went with better health. Women supported by their children, and urban residents, gained most. Part of the benefit flowed through lower depression and through children's financial support. The authors say family backing amplifies what activity gives. In a country with thin old-age support, they argue, policy should help older women stay productively engaged rather than sidelining them.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC12860188