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Reciprocal Intergenerational Support Trajectories and All-Cause Mortality Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in
1Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330004, China; School of Statistics and Data Science, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330013, China.
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Active intergenerational support patterns, involving balanced financial, caregiving, and social exchanges, are linked to reduced mortality risk in older Chinese adults. These reciprocal relationships offer significant health benefits compared to one-directional support.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology and Public Health
- Sociology of Aging
- Epidemiology of Health Behaviors
Background:
- Intergenerational support is crucial for the health of middle-aged and older adults in China.
- The relationship between dynamic, multidimensional support patterns and mortality remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify longitudinal patterns of intergenerational support among Chinese adults aged 45-85.
- To examine the association between these support trajectories and all-cause mortality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2018).
- Employed group-based multi-trajectory modeling to define support patterns across six domains.
- Analyzed mortality associations using Cox proportional hazards models with inverse probability of censoring weighting (IPCW).
Main Results:
- Identified five distinct intergenerational support trajectories, including low-contact financial exchange, rising reciprocity, financially intensive with declining contact, high-intensity reciprocal, and upward-support with high contact.
- All active support trajectories were associated with significantly lower mortality risk compared to low-contact financial exchange.
- Reciprocal support patterns showed no significant differences in mortality risk among themselves, but all were protective compared to passive support.
Conclusions:
- Multidimensional intergenerational support trajectories significantly influence all-cause mortality in older Chinese adults.
- Reciprocal support, characterized by balanced financial, caregiving, and social exchanges, is associated with reduced mortality risk.
- One-directional or weak support patterns are linked to higher mortality risk compared to balanced, reciprocal intergenerational relationships.
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