Dynamic intergenerational support and anxiety-depression in aging: Insights from latent transitions to symptom...

Intergenerational support is crucial for older adults' mental health, yet its dynamic trajectories and links with anxiety and depression remain underexplored. This study examined the transitions of intergenerational support and their predictors, and characterized anxiety-depression comorbidity networks across different transition patterns. Data from 3327 adults aged ≥65 in the 2014-2018 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were analyzed. Intergenerational support, depressive symptoms (CESD), and anxiety symptoms (GAD) were assessed. The LTA identified four trajectories: stable high emotional support (Transition Pattern 1), stable low overall support (Transition Pattern 4), high emotional support transitioning to low overall support (Transition Pattern 2), and low overall support transitioning to high emotional support (Transition Pattern 3). Age, sex, marital status, residence, smoking, drinking, and chronic disease predicted these transitions. The robust results indicated that GAD1 (nervousness) served as a common bridging symptom for Transition Patterns 1 and 4, and no significant differences in global network strength were observed. These findings highlight key intervention targets for alleviating anxiety and depression in older adults populations and offer a theoretical framework for understanding the link between intergenerational support and mental health in later life.