{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T13:07:52Z","timestamp":1793020072389,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Against the backdrop of China\u2019s accelerating population aging, the geographic separation of older adult parents from their adult children has become increasingly common. While intergenerational proximity is widely assumed to benefit older adults\u2019 well\u2011being, empirical evidence on the optimal distance and its underlying mechanisms remains inconclusive. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of intergenerational residential distance on the mental health of Chinese older adults, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of financial support and contact\u2011based emotional support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We utilized data from the 2023 China Longitudinal Study of Aging Social Survey, a nationally representative sample of community\u2011dwelling older adults. Intergenerational residential distance was categorized into four levels: cohabitation, same village\/neighborhood committee, same city (different neighborhood), and different cities\/provinces. Mental health was measured using a validated composite scale of depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Mediation analyses were conducted via structural equation modeling, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and social network variables.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Contrary to the conventional proximity assumption, older adults whose children lived in the same city (but not in the same household or immediate neighborhood) reported significantly better mental health than those in cohabitation or very close proximity. The mediation analysis revealed that children\u2019s financial support exerted a robust positive mediating effect, whereas contact\u2011based emotional support showed a negative mediating effect. Notably, the negative indirect effect through emotional support was substantially larger in magnitude than the positive indirect effect through financial support, offsetting the total benefit of proximity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings suggest that a moderate degree of intergenerational separation\u2014sufficient to reduce daily frictions and role conflicts, yet close enough for practical assistance\u2014may be more conducive to older adult mental health than over\u2011closeness. The stronger negative mediation via emotional support implies that frequent in\u2011person interactions, when accompanied by intergenerational disagreements or excessive caregiving demands, can undermine psychological well\u2011being. For older adults with adequate self\u2011care capacity, maintaining a moderate residential distance appears to preserve emotional bonding while minimizing daily conflict. Policy implications include the need for differentiated community\u2011based services that cater to diverse living arrangements, alongside targeted financial subsidy programs to offset the costs of separate residence, thereby supporting healthy and active aging in China\u2019s rapidly changing demographic landscape.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1829724","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T04:40:47Z","timestamp":1784695247000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The closer, the better? The impact of generational residential distance on older adults\u2019 mental health: evidence from China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Shuaishuai","family":"Feng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Administration, Hunan Normal University","place":["Changsha, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengyue","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Administration, Hunan Normal University","place":["Changsha, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shandong","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Philosophy and Historical Culture, Xiangtan University","place":["Xiangtan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"P262","DOI":"10.1093\/geronb\/61.5.p262","article-title":"Filial piety and psychological well-being in well older Chinese","volume":"61","author":"Cheng","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"95","article-title":"Dynamics of family and elderly living arrangements in China: new lessons learned from the 2000 census","volume":"3","author":"Zeng","year":"2000","journal-title":"China Rev"},{"key":"ref3","first-page":"70","article-title":"Residential arrangements, filial expectations, and mental health among older adults","volume":"9","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Zhejiang Soc Sci"},{"key":"ref4","first-page":"58","article-title":"Trends in empty-nesting among Chinese elderly households and characteristics of empty-nesting 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