The Association Between Filial Piety and Depressive Symptoms Among U.S. Chinese Older Adults

Background: Depressive symptoms are detrimental to the overall health and well-being of older adults. This study aimed to examine the association between filial piety and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults. Method: Data were derived from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), a community-engaged, population-based epidemiological study of U.S. Chinese older adults aged 60 years and above in the Greater Chicago area. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was adopted to measure depressive symptoms. Six domains of filial piety were evaluated, involving respect, happiness, care, greeting, obedience, and financial support. Regression analyses were performed. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, education, annual personal income, marital status, living arrangement, number of children, years in the United States, years in the community and medical comorbidities, every one point lower in filial piety expectation score was associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms (RR [rate ratio] = .96, .95-.98). And every one point lower in filial piety receipt score was associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms (RR = .94, .93-.95). Discussion: This study provides insights to research on filial piety and depressive symptoms by examining expectation and perceived receipt of filial piety. Future studies are needed to investigate the association between filial discrepancy and depressive symptoms.