Children's job stability, intergenerational support, and the health of aging parents

The health of the older population is a core issue in China's response to population aging. As the country with the largest older population worldwide, China faces mounting challenges in maintaining the physical and mental well-being of older adults, with families continuing to serve as the primary providers of care and support. Against this backdrop, examining how adult children's job stability affects parental health is crucial for understanding intergenerational health transmission and shaping effective aging policies.

Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2016 to 2022, this paper systematically examines the impact of children's job stability for both physical and mental health of their parents, providing micro-level evidence on intergenerational transmission of health within families.

The study finds that children's job stability significantly improves parents' physical and mental health. Mechanism analysis shows that this effect primarily operates through enhanced financial support, emotional support, and perceived value support, which jointly contribute to better health outcomes for parents. Further analysis reveals that sons play a more pronounced role in improving parents' physical health, while daughters have a stronger influence on mental health. This divergence stems mainly from the long-standing traditional gender-based divisions of caregiving roles, wherein sons tend to fulfill filial responsibilities through financial support, while daughters are more likely to provide emotional care. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that working hours influence intergenerational health transmission through the joint effects of the "income effect" and the "substitution effect." Under conditions of overwork, the substitution effect tends to dominate, thereby weakening the positive health impact of children's job stability on their parents.

This study has important implications for improving family support policies, addressing the challenges of an aging population, and promoting healthy aging. The findings suggest that enhancing children's job stability not only strengthens their capacity to provide financial and emotional care, but also fosters a sense of intergenerational responsibility that benefits the well-being of aging parents. Policymakers should therefore prioritize labor market stability, promote work-life balance, and develop complementary social support mechanisms to reduce the overreliance on families, thereby creating a more sustainable framework for intergenerational health transmission.