The Impact of Child Care on the Physical and Cognitive Functioning of Older Chinese Individuals with Disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities

han hu, School of Public Policy and AdministrationXi'an Jiaotong University

This study aims to ascertain whether child care acts as a protective factor against or a contributor to the decline in physical and cognitive functioning among older adults, and whether this effect varies over time. The data utilized in this research were derived from three longitudinal surveys conducted during 2011-2012, 2014, and 2017-2018 by the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). By extending the autoregressive cross-lagged model, we developed two cycles related to child care, disability, and dementia. Research findings suggest that child care consistently contributes to the incapacity of older adults, while exhibiting no significant impact on dementia. As the duration of child care received by older adults increased, the influence of care intensity on their incapacity was found to be reversed; however, there remained no significant effect on dementia among this population. It is imperative to deepen our understanding of the interplay between child care, disability, and dementia. Furthermore, there is a pressing need to establish effective policy support systems aimed at alleviating caregiver stress and safeguarding the physical health and cognitive abilities of care recipients.

Keywords: Population Ageing, Longitudinal studies , Older Adults and Intergenerational Relations

See extended abstract.