ACCI Conference 2024

The filial piety rooted in Chinese culture facilitates family caregiving because older adults in China prefer being looked after by their adult children instead of moving to a nursing house. Informal care provision affects not only caregiver’s employment but also their mental health. Most previous research conducted in developed countries revealed a negative effect of informal care on caregivers’ well-being.   This study examines the effect of providing informal care (IC) on caregivers' mental health in China, using the three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Instrument variables estimation is used to address the endogeneity associated with informal care provision. We focus on middle and old-age caregivers aged between 45 and 70. Analyses were stratified by gender and rural/urban status. The results of this study are as follows. First, this study found that providing informal care to parents-in-law will significantly increase caregivers’ mental stress, and this impact exists among rural samples. Second, taking a dual role of being employed and providing informal care will significantly increase caregivers’ mental health stress, no matter whether the care recipients are parents or parents-in-law. Third, the impact of dual roles is especially significant among females and rural residents.

Author(s): Siyi Liu, Zhuo Chen