Domestic Generative Acts and Life Satisfaction among Supplementary Grandparent Caregivers in Urban China: Mediated by Social Support and Moderated by Hukou Status

Urban China is witnessing a growth of migrant grandparents apart from the prevalent local grandparent caregiving. However, the health consequences and influencing factors of grandparent caregiving remain largely unknown among migrant and local grandparent caregivers. This study examined informal and formal social support’s mediation roles between domestic generative acts and life satisfaction, as well as investigating Hukou’s (household registration system) moderation effect. Our sample compromised 1013 grandparent caregivers (Migrant = 508, Local = 505) from 12 kindergartens with a multistage clustered random sampling from Eastern China. Migrant grandparent caregivers had significant lower informal social support (M = 4.000, L = 4.355, p < 0.001), formal social support (M = 1.787, L = 2.111, p < 0.001), and life satisfaction (M = 3.323, L = 3.574, p < 0.001) than local ones. Structural equation modeling results indicated that domestic generative acts positively associated with life satisfaction (b = 0.085, p < 0.05), informal (b = 0.223, p < 0.001) and formal social support (b = 0.080, p < 0.05); informal (b = 0.379, p < 0.001) and formal social support (b = 0.138, p < 0.001) positively associated with life satisfaction. In addition, both informal (β = 0.084, CI [0.039, 0.101], p < 0.001) and formal social support (β = 0.011, CI [0.001, 0.018], p < 0.05) mediated the relationship between domestic generative acts and life satisfaction. Furthermore, Hukou status moderated the indirect path from domestic generative acts to life satisfaction via informal social support (p < 0.01), but not formal social support (p > 0.05). Migrant grandparent caregivers, with limited formal social support resources, were found to be more dependent on informal social support than locals. The findings revealed social support and wellbeing disparities among migrant and local grandparent caregivers in urban China. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

The Role of Formal Social Support to Students in the Context of the Social Dimension of Higher Education / Uloga formalne socijalne podrške studentima u kontekstu socijalne dimenzije visokoga obrazovanja

This paper aims to present the development of the social dimension of higher education and the importance of developing social support through competent and professional counselling for students. The establishment of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the social dimension of higher education dedicated to student support, ensued from the acknowledged need to advance higher education in the European Union. Along with different measures of student support (such as financial aid, streamlined administrative requirements for admission, institutional support in housing, transportation, food, and health care), social support services, such as guidance and counselling, equally represent a significant aspect of the social dimension. Dedicated institutional structures provide formal social support such as student counselling centres, which offer individual or group counselling and support students in overcoming the challenges of the academic experience. Finally, the activities concerning the social dimension of higher education focus on vulnerable groups, as well as the role and the importance of further developing counselling support at higher education institutions in Croatia.Keywords: counselling, higher education system; students --- Cilj je rada prikazati razvoj socijalne dimenzije visokoga obrazovanja te važnost razvoja socijalne podrške kroz stručno i profesionalno savjetovanje namijenjeno studentima. Svijest o potrebi unaprjeđenja visokoga obrazovanja u Europskoj uniji vodila je utemeljenju jedinstvenoga područja europskoga obrazovanja tzv. EHEA (European High Educatian Area) i unutar njega, posebnoga područja koje se bavi podrškom studiranju kroz tzv. socijalnu dimenziju visokoga obrazovanja. Uz različite mjere pomoći studentima u vidu financijskih potpora, jednostavnijih i olakšanih administrativnih pravila upisa, institucijske podrške u vidu stanovanja, prijevoza, hrane i zdravstvene pomoći. Važan dio te socijalne dimenzije odnosi se na usluge pružanja socijalne podrške u smislu usmjeravanja i savjetovanja. Formalna socijalna podrška ostvaruje se preko specijaliziranih institucionalnih usluga kao što su studentska savjetovališta koja nude usluge individualnoga ili grupnoga savjetovanja i pomagana studentima u prevladavanju izazova na koje nailaze u akademskom životu. Zaključno rad kroz socijalnu dimenziju visokoga obrazovanja stavlja fokus na ranjive skupine te ulogu i važnost daljnjega razvoja savjetovališne podrške na visokim učilištima u Hrvatskoj.Ključne riječi: savjetovanje; studenti; sustav visokoga obrazovanja

A Challenge From Longevity: Study on the Care Provider of the Chinese Oldest-Old at the End of Life

The study aimed to investigate the changing pattern of care for the oldest-old at the end of life in China. Data were used from the Chinese Longitudinal Longevity survey from 1998 to2018. The results indicate significant changes in the care providers of older adults at the end of life from 1998 to 2018: grandchildren played an increasing important role in providing care to the oldest-old in China. The study highlights an important role of grandchildren who replace children as main caregivers. Longevity changes the traditional pattern of end-of-life care, and increase the diversity in the pattern of care for the Oldest-old, due to different life course of families compared with general aging families, and the limited role of formal social support system in providing end-of-life care for the oldest-old. We discuss implications in the context of increasing population of the oldest-old, and its challenges to formal social support system.

Older Lesbians, Gay Men and the ‘Right to Die’ Debate

This article considers the ‘right to die’ debate from the perspectives of older lesbians and gay men, drawing upon data gathered for a PhD in law. My argument is that older lesbians and gay men are multiply disadvantaged (a) by an increased risk of feeling that life is not worth living due to affective inequalities (inadequate informal and formal social support) and (b) by a denial of access to the right to die both under such circumstances and/or if they wish to resist the normativities associated with a passive, medicalized death. I argue for the need to distinguish between a wish to die because of deficiencies in the care system and a wish to die in order to control how, when and where one’s life ends. My analysis highlights the contextual contingencies of ‘vulnerability’ in relation to the right to die and interrogates the heterosexist and disciplinary reproductive normativities underpinning the notions of ‘natural’ deaths.

Trauma and social support: The association between informal social support, formal social support, and psychological well-being among terror attack survivors

This study aimed to examine the role that informal and formal social support play with psychological well-being as reflected in positive and negative emotions of injured terror survivors in Israel. A total of 150 survivors who were eligible for social support and assistance by government agencies completed questionnaires that examined positive and negative emotions, informal social support, and formal social support from public government agencies provided by professional trained social workers. A hierarchal regression demonstrated that informal social support is associated with improved psychological state. However, formal social support, although provided by professional agencies, failed to demonstrate such an association. Theoretical, clinical, and policy implications of the findings are discussed.