The Influence Of Intergenerational Support Of Children On Mental Health Of The Elderly

China has entered an aging society,and the elderly has become a social group that cannot be ignored.Existing policies and existing studies show that China pays more and more attention to the mental health of the elderly.In China,which is deeply influenced by traditional cultural thought,the family elderly-care model is still the mainstream,and the elderly depend on their children.In order to promote active aging and successful aging,this paper attempts to study the internal mechanism affecting the mental health of the elderly from the perspective of intergenerational support of children,to explore the intermediary role of self-aging attitude and social activity participation in the process,and to better understand the psychological mechanism affecting the mental health of the elderly.And through qualitative longitudinal research,the paper further demonstrated the effects of children’s intergenerational support,the self-aging attitude,and the participation in social activities on the mental health of the elderly,and analyzed the psychological mechanisms of the protection and promotion of the elderly’s mental health.As a quantitative study,study I administered a test on the elderly people over the age of 60 and collected 321 sets of data.The results show that:(1)Children’s intergenerational support positively predicts the positive self-aging attitude,social activity participation,and mental health of the elderly;(2)Self-aging attitude and social activity participation play an intermediary role between children’s intergenerational support and the mental health of the elderly;(3)Age negatively predicts the social activity participation and mental health of the elderly,but positively predicts negative self-aging attitude;(4)Socio-economic status positively predicts the mental health of the elderly,negatively predicts negative self-aging attitude.As a qualitative study,study Ⅱ conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 people over the age of 60 and follow-up interviews at intervals of 3 to 4 months.The results show that:(1)The economic support,emotional communication and life care provided by children can have a positive effect on the mental health of the elderly,the intergenerational support of children can improve the positive aging attitude of some elderly people,and the participation of the elderly in social activities can further improve their level of mental health.(2)The results of the follow-up interviews further confirms that children’s intergenerational support,self-aging attitude,and participation in social activities are the guarantee and promotion factors of mental health of the elderly.This study examined the psychological mechanism of the influence of children’s intergenerational support on the mental health of the elderly by combining quantitative and qualitative methods.This helps to regulate the relationship between the elderly and themselves,family and society,and provides strong support for building a harmonious and stable society.It can also provide some reference value for future community work and social security system and intervention measures to improve the mental health level of the elderly,and better promote active aging and healthy aging.