Parental son preference and later-life depressive symptoms among Chinese women: A life-course perspective

Parental son preference has been recognized as a potential risk factor for the mental health of female adults in later life; however, the underlying mechanisms involved in this association have not been extensively explored. This study aims to investigate the mediating effects of parental affection and discipline, as well as the moderating effects of social engagement. A nationally representative sample of 6,458 female respondents (mean age = 60.01 years, SD = 9.06) was drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. This study adopted a cross-sectional analytic design based on retrospective reports of childhood experiences from the 2014 wave and mental health outcomes measured in the 2018 wave. Data analysis revealed that parental son preference was positively associated with depressive symptoms in later life (b = 0.132, p = 0.030). Bootstrap analyses indicated significant indirect effects through lower parental affection (b = 0.050, 95% CI [0.026, 0.076]) and stricter parental discipline (b = 0.020, 95% CI [0.010, 0.032]). Social engagement significantly moderated the association between parental son preference and later-life depressive symptoms (interaction b = −0.168, p = 0.006). These findings enhance our understanding of how parental son preference during childhood may be associated with women’s mental health in later life and have implications for the development of gender-sensitive policies and interventions.