The Role of Children's Education for the Mental Health of Aging Migrants in Europe

Abstract

In this study, using SHARE data we examined whether adult children’s education is associated with depressive symptoms (EURO-D caseness) for older immigrants and non-immigrants in Europe. After controlling for possible confounders, we found that the education of adult children has independent effects on the mental health of their parents, and that having children with upper secondary or tertiary levels of education significantly lessen the odds of immigrants experiencing depressive symptoms. Furthermore, regular contact between parents and their adult children exerts a positive influence as well as amplifying the relationship between children’s education and mental health. Taken together, the results demonstrate that, were it not for family social capital, older immigrants might experience much worse mental health outcomes.