Intergenerational contacts and depressive symptoms among older parents in Eastern Europe

Objective: We investigate the association between parent-child contact frequency and changes in older parents’ depressive symptoms in Bulgaria, Georgia and Russia. These are countries in which societal transformations may mean that psychological feelings of security engendered by having children in close contact may have particularly important implications for the mental health of older parents. Methods: We analysed data from two waves of the Generation and Gender Surveys conducted three years apart and took account of relationships with more than one child. Analyses were performed using OLS regression models, adjusted for depressive symptoms at baseline. Results: Among mothers increases in depressive symptoms were greater for those who lacked at least weekly contact with any child than for those with frequent contact with at least one child (b = 0.64; p