Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren

描述(申请人提供)：这个职业发展奖将集中在祖父母照顾孙子孙女的问题上。现有的研究报告对祖父母的幸福有积极和消极的影响。但证据并不确凿，主要是由于数据和研究设计方面的限制。这项拟议中的研究重点放在中国身上，在这个场景中，祖父母为孙子孙女提供日常照顾是很正常的。我将使用一个纵向数据集，中国健康与营养调查，这是一个小组调查，数据来自中国的八个省份。这项调查包括有关儿童保育和一系列健康措施的详细数据。这项拟议的工作应该会增进我们对祖父母照顾影响祖父母健康的过程的理解。我的具体目标如下： 目的1：描述《中国》中祖父母照顾的范围，包括祖父母照顾子女的比例和祖父母的照顾责任水平。 目的2：考察中国中与祖父母照顾相关的因素，包括母亲的工作负荷强度、祖父母的特征以及各种结构性和情境性因素。 目的3：评价《中国》中祖父母养育与健康的关系，包括祖父母养育对各种健康结果的近期和长期影响。 目的4：设计测量方法，收集中国老人心理健康的原始数据，进一步记录祖父母养老与其幸福感之间的关系。 在获奖期间，我建议发展人口、健康和老龄化领域的知识和分析技能。通过与该领域的领导者密切合作，我希望获得复杂数据分析方面的专业知识，发展成功竞争未来研究资金所需的技能，并成为一名独立的研究科学家。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This career development award will focus on issues of grandparent care-giving for grandchildren. Existing research reports both positive and negative effects on the well-being of grandparents. But the evidence is inconclusive, owing mainly to limitations in data and research design. The proposed research focuses on China, a setting where it is normative for grandparents to provide routine care for grandchildren. I will use a longitudinal dataset, the China Health and Nutrition Survey, a panel survey with data from eight provinces in China. The survey includes detailed data on childcare and a wide range of health measures. The proposed work should enhance our understanding of the process through which grandparent care-giving influences the health of grandparents. My specific aims are as follows: Aim 1: Describe the scope of grandparent care-giving in China; including the proportion of children cared for by grandparents and the level of care-giving responsibilities of grandparents. Aim 2: Examine factors associated with grandparent care-giving in China, including the intensity of the mother's work load, grandparents' characteristics, and various structural and contextual factors. Aim 3: Evaluate the relationship between grandparent care-giving and health in China, including both immediate and long-term consequences of grandparent care-giving on various measures of health outcomes. Aim 4: Design measures and collect original data on mental health of elderly in China, with the purpose of further documenting the relationship between grandparents care-giving and their well-being. During the award, I propose to develop knowledge and analytical skills in the field of demographic, health and aging. By working closely with leaders in the field, I hope to gain expertise in complex data analysis, to develop the skills required to successfully compete for future research funding, and to become an independent research scientist.