Intergenerational Relationship Patterns and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in India: The Moderating Role of Caste

As life expectancy rises in India, intergenerational family support remains critical for older adults in the absence of comprehensive social security. This study identified patterns of intergenerational relationships, examined their associations with depressive symptoms, and assessed whether these associations differed across caste groups. Using data from the 2018 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, we analysed adults aged 65+ years with at least one living child (N = 20,636). Latent profile analysis identified three relationship patterns: Co-residence–Physical Exchanges (66.9%), Large Family–Interdependent (3.6%), and Distant–Disconnected (29.5%). Respondent-weighted linear regression models indicated that, compared with the Co-residence–Physical Exchange profile, both the Large-Family–Interdependent profile (B = 0.38, 95% CI [0.02, 0.74], p = 0.040) and the Distant–Disconnected profile (B = 0.28, 95% CI [0.11, 0.44], p = 0.001) were associated with higher depressive symptom scores. The profile-by-caste interaction was significant (adjusted Wald F(6, 19,878) = 3.56, p = 0.002). Caste-specific contrasts showed that, relative to the Co-residence–Physical Exchange profile, the Distant–Disconnected profile was associated with higher depressive symptom scores among Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Class respondents, but not among Scheduled Tribe or No/Other Caste respondents. These findings indicate that associations between intergenerational relationship patterns and depressive symptoms vary across broad caste categories and should be interpreted within this study’s observational and social context.