It Is the Spouse, Not the Children, That Influences Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: Evidence From CHARLS

The association between living arrangements and depressive symptoms has been documented in previous systematic studies but remains controversial. This study further explored the association between living arrangements and depressive symptoms. It utilized newly published data and implemented a more rational categorization of living arrangement styles based on census data. The sample for this study was drawn from the China Health and Aging Tracking Survey (CHARLS) 2020 survey data and included 6527 residents aged at least 60 years. Depressive symptoms were defined by the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to evaluate the association between living arrangements and depressive symptoms. Additionally, gender differences in this association were analyzed, and 4 distinct living arrangement patterns were compared. Compared with living alone, living with spouse or living with children and spouse was associated with lower odds of experiencing depressive symptoms (OR = 0.281 95% CI 0.134-0.588 and 0.381 95% CI 0.177-0.819). The spouse, not the child, influences depressive symptoms in older adults. There was no significant association between women's living arrangements and depressive symptoms. The associations of the variables with depressive symptoms within the 4 living arrangement styles were generally the same as the associations of the variables with depressive symptoms within the total sample, but there were differences between the associations of the individual variables and depressive symptoms. Older adults who live alone or live with children without a spouse are more likely to experience depressive symptoms. More attention should be given to older adults who live with children without a spouse.