Living arrangements and mental health of the elderly in Taiwan (China)

This study examines various groups of elderly in Taiwan who differ in their levels of personal resources---socioeconomic status (SES) and health status---and the way in which these personal resources affect their mental health (life satisfaction and depression) through different living arrangements. The data of the 1996 Survey of Health and Living Status in Taiwan was analyzed by using multiple comparisons of means and multivariate regression. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that personal resources interact with living arrangements in determining the mental health of the elderly in Taiwan. That is, the effect of living arrangements is influential in the mental health of elder persons who have fewer personal resources (low SES and poor health status). Nevertheless, for those elders who are affluent in personal resources (high SES and good health status), living arrangements become less significant in affecting their mental health.; Counter to the observations of modernization theorists, this study shows that the role of the traditional Chinese family in Taiwan in caring for the aged and frail persists regardless of the social change. This is supported by the findings that those older parents with low personal resources who coresided with a married son experienced the optimal mental health outcomes (lowest depression and highest life satisfaction), even after controlling for demographic variables and social support networks. Those living alone with affluent personal resources did not appear to have poorer outcomes than those who had coresidence.