Parenting style, resilience, and mental health of community-dwelling elderly adults in China

Given the increasing elderly population worldwide, the identification of potential determinants of successful ageing is important. Many studies have shown that parenting style and mental resilience may influence mental health; however, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underpin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC geriatrics 2016-07, Vol.16 (1), p.135-135, Article 135
Main Authors: Zhong, Xue, Wu, Daxing, Nie, Xueqing, Xia, Jie, Li, Mulei, Lei, Feng, Lim, Haikel A, Kua, Ee-Heok, Mahendran, Rathi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adaptation, Psychological - physiology
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - psychology
Behavior
China - epidemiology
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - psychology
Depression - rehabilitation
Depression, Mental
Families & family life
Female
Geriatrics
Humans
Male
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Mental health care
Middle Aged
Older people
Parenting
Parenting - psychology
Parents & parenting
Prevalence
Social aspects
Stress
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Summary:Given the increasing elderly population worldwide, the identification of potential determinants of successful ageing is important. Many studies have shown that parenting style and mental resilience may influence mental health; however, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underpin this relationship. The current study sought to explore the relationships among mental resilience, perceptions of parents' parenting style, and depression and anxiety among community-dwelling elderly adults in China. In total, 439 community-dwelling elderly Chinese adults aged 60-91 years completed the Personal and Parents' Parenting Style Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Elderly adults whose parents preferred positive and authoritative parenting styles had higher levels of mental resilience and lower levels of depression and anxiety. Elderly adults parented in the authoritarian style were found to have higher levels of depression and anxiety, with lower mental resilience. The findings of this study provide evidence related to successful ageing and coping with life pressures, and highlight the important effects of parenting on mental health. The results suggest that examination of the proximal determinants of successful ageing is not sufficient-distal factors may also contribute to the 'success' of ageing by modifying key psychological dispositions that promote adaptation to adversity.
ISSN:1471-2318
1471-2318
DOI:10.1186/s12877-016-0308-0