Perceived Care Among Rural Left-Behind Older Adults in China: A Network Analysis

BackgroundRural-to-urban migration separates many rural older adults from adult children and changes how care is received and experienced. Rural left-behind older adults remain in their rural places of origin after family members migrate for work.ObjectiveThis study examined conditional associations among reported care items and compared care networks by number of children and gender.MethodsCross-sectional data were obtained from 836 rural left-behind older adults aged 55 to 95 who completed the 14-item CSS-RLE. EBIC-LASSO Gaussian graphical models estimated item-level networks, expected influence summarized net signed connectivity, and network comparison tests assessed subgroup differences.ResultsVillage care and visits had the highest expected influence in the overall, male, and three-or-more-child networks. Holiday gifts from offspring ranked highest in the one- and two-child networks, whereas living expenses from children ranked highest in the female network. Network structure differed between one-child and larger-family groups and between men and women.