The Relationship between Family Structure and Intergenerational Support Patterns among Rural Older Adults in Guangxi, China

HRMARS - This study examines the influence of co-residence with children and the number of children on intergenerational support (financial support, daily care, emotional support) among elderly people in rural areas of Guangxi, China. Using cross-sectional data from 3,308 respondents aged 65 and above, multivariate logistic regression was employed for data analysis. The results revealed different patterns: living together significantly predicted all three types of support, with the greatest impact on daily care (OR = 1.94–2.55, p < 0.001); the number of children significantly predicted economic support and high-level emotional support, but not daily care. Incremental contribution analysis indicated that increasing living together significantly improved the model fit of all results (LR ?² = 13.30–85.88, p < 0.001), while the number of children only improved economic support (LR ?² = 16.07, p = 0.003) and emotional support (LR ?² = 11.07, p = 0.026). These research findings challenge the single-dimensional concept of family structure and indicate that in rural China, living convenience is more influential on functional support than the number of children. This study contributes to the field of family sociology, distinguishing the spatial and network dimensions of family structure and having implications for rural aging policies.