The number of parents who have lost their only child (PLOCs) has increased annually with the implementation of the birth control policy in mainland China. This study aimed to investigate the mental health status of PLOCs and the influence of social support and resilience. Study 1 recruited 100 PLOCs and 88 nonbereaved parents, and compared differences in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Study 2 investigated the influence of social support and resilience on the mental health of PLOCs via a mediating model. Results indicate that PLOCs reported more anxiety and depression symptoms than nonbereaved counterparts. Perceived close family support, objective support, and resilience negatively predicted anxiety and depression. In addition, perceived close family support was found to influence mental health via resilience. The current findings reveal that losing an only child has long-term negative impacts on the mental health of PLOCs. However, perceived close family support and objective support can protect their mental health either directly or indirectly via resilience.

According to self-determination theory (SDT), the satisfaction of the universal needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is important in order to enhance autonomous motivation, which in turn promotes psychological well-being (PWB), regardless of age or culture. In contrast, some cross-cultural perspectives challenge SDT's universalistic viewpoint, especially SDT's view that autonomy yields universal positive effects across Western and Eastern societies. To test these theoretical frameworks across cultures, with special focus on the field of aging, this study examined the contribution of satisfying basic psychological needs to elderly people's PWB from Eastern and Western cultures (China and France). Elderly retired people living at home (N_China = 510, M_age = 68.49 years; N_France = 170, M_age = 71.19 years) were invited to complete surveys assessing these variables and providing demographic information. Consistent with the hypothesis of SDT, results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that needs satisfaction facilitates autonomous motivation, which in turn promotes PWB in both elderly Chinese and French. Moreover, the finding from subsequent moderation analysis confirmed the moderating effect of culture in the relationship between competence satisfaction and PWB, with the contribution of competence satisfaction on PWB being stronger among elderly Chinese than elderly French (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that, the broad applicability of SDT notwithstanding, attending to cultural differences in elderly care remains important.

Background: Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders among older people. Consistent with the Marital Discord Model of Depression (MDMD), research in Western cultures has found that marital distress is one of the risk factors for depression among older adults. However, the effect of marital distress on depression among older adults has not been examined in a collectivistic society, such as China. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms in a sample of Chinese older adults. Considering the dyadic nature of the data, the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model was used to test for the actor and partner effects. Methods: The study investigated 139 older couples who were recruited from communities in Beijing, the capital of China. The Lock–Wallace Marital Adjustment and the CES-D scales were administered to the participants. Results: The results indicated that neither of the actor effects was significant. One of the partner effects was significant, with the husbands’ marital satisfaction predicting their wives’ depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The MDMD was only partially supported among older couples in China. An asymmetrical pattern of cross-spouse effects was found, suggesting that the husbands’ perception of marital dissatisfaction could significantly predict their wives’ depressive symptoms.

Are gender differences in emotion culturally universal? To answer this question, the current study compared gender differences in emotional arousal (intensity) ratings for negative and positive pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) across cultures (Chinese vs. German culture) and age (younger vs. older adults). The raters were 53 younger Germans (24 women), 53 older Germans (28 women), 300 younger Chinese (176 women), and 126 older Chinese (86 women). The results showed that gender differences in arousal ratings were moderated by culture and age: Chinese women reported higher arousal for both negative and positive pictures compared with Chinese men; German women reported higher arousal for negative pictures, but lower arousal for positive pictures compared with German men. Moreover, the gender differences were larger for older than younger adults in the Chinese sample but smaller for older than younger adults in the German sample. The results indicated that gender differences in self-report emotional intensity induced by pictorial stimuli were more consistent with gender norms and stereotypes (i.e., women being more emotional than men) in the Chinese sample, compared with the German sample, and that gender differences were not constant across age groups. The study revealed that gender differences in emotion are neither constant nor universal, and it highlighted the importance of taking culture and age into account.

Because of the spread of smartphones, older adults enjoy the assistance of smartphones. However, fewer mobile applications are designed for older adults. Smartphone user interface (UI) serves as an external brain to capture information, and older adults may have memory complaints that affect self-confidence and lead to memory decline. Non-declarative memory requires more effort. Therefore, this study aims to design and evaluate a to-do list application to help older adults encode, store, and retrieve non-declarative memory, such as tasks they plan to do. We recruited 15 participants (5 men and 10 women) aged 60 to 75 years old (SD = 5.32). They were asked to complete nine usability tasks, and to answer a user experience questionnaire (UEQ) and a few interview questions. Sixty percent of users completed with only one or two attempts (median = 2.80, SD = 1.63). We found three usability issues and proposed an iteration plan. The application has attractiveness, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, novelty, and good perspicuity for older adults. The product was rated excellent except for perspicuity, which met the users’ expectations. This indicates that the user is satisfied with the application prototype. The results of this measurement can be utilized as a benchmark for the next model for developing mobile to-do list applications on user experience.