A new study has found that daughters-in-law help Chinese elders fight the blues. The study also found that assistance from own kids could actually increase depression among older adults.
Giving a new turn to the Confucian ideal of filial piety, the research found that the assistance of daughters-in-law - but not their own children - helps mitigate depression among older people in China.
Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.
"The inability to secure assistance from children may induce depression not only because needs are likely to go unmet but because the absence of such support may induce feelings of helplessness and strain intergenerational relations," says Zhen Cong, who received her Ph.D. in May 2008 from the USC Davis School of Gerontology.
Cong and Professor Merril Silverstein of the USC Davis School of Gerontology were intrigued by earlier findings showing that intergenerational support, particularly hands-on care, had inconsistent effects on the psychological well-being of Chinese elders.
Adolescent Depression - Causes - Affects - Depressed Teens - Treatment - FAQs
Adolescent depression is an ailment that occurs during the teenage characterized by persistent melancholy, disappointment and loss of self-esteem.
Adolescent depression is an ailment that occurs during the teenage characterized by persistent melancholy, disappointment and loss of self-esteem.
The researchers looked at rural Anhui province, where rates of depression are twice that of their urban counterparts (though still much lower than in the West).
Advertisement
Overview Suicide
Suicide is an act of ending one's own life and it usually results from emotional isolations and inability to adjust and cope with one's environment.
Suicide is an act of ending one's own life and it usually results from emotional isolations and inability to adjust and cope with one's environment.
When women shared a home with their in-laws, their presence and support was particularly beneficial to the psychological well being of older mothers. Daughters-in-law provided the overwhelming majority of personal care for older women in a household, the researchers found.
Advertisement
Problem Dealings in Youth Affected by Family Situations
New research on African-American young adults has now challenged the theory that boys become violent and girls depressed when faced with insurmountable problems.
New research on African-American young adults has now challenged the theory that boys become violent and girls depressed when faced with insurmountable problems.
Similarly, mothers who received an increase in household support from daughters-in-law had fewer depressive symptoms, while those who experienced an increase in household support from their own daughters had more depressive symptoms.
Source-ANI
RAS/M
