Childlessness and Social Support in Old Age in China

Although previous studies showed that children are the primary source of old-age support in China, much less is known about the availability and sources of social support among childless elders. Also, little research has explored how older adults' social support transitions over time by childless status. Using the 2005 and 2011 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (N = 14,575), this study examined the transition of living arrangement and sources of social support by childless status among adults aged 65 and older. A series of multinomial logistic and linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Results show that compared to elders with children, childless elders were more likely to live alone or in an institution at baseline, but their probability of living alone decreased substantially while that of living in an institution increased modestly in the 6-year follow-up. Moreover, childless elders generally had fewer support sources, but this disadvantage became smaller over time. Although childless elders were significantly more likely to depend on nobody, the spouse, grandchildren (or other relatives), or nonrelatives for support at baseline, this pattern disappeared in the follow-up likely due to mortality selection. Findings imply that although the risk of social isolation among childless elders becomes lower as age progresses, garnering more social resources at younger ages may help reduce their premature mortality.