Foster Care Experiences During Childhood and Health During Older Age: Evidence From China

Objective: Improving the health of older individuals is the primary approach to dealing with the challenges of an aging population. Experiences during childhood can have a continual influence on individual health conditions. Consequently, understanding whether foster care experiences during childhood influence an individual's health during older age is relevant. Method: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, 2014, were collected. The influence of foster care experiences during childhood on health during older age was analyzed using the least-squares method. The mediating effects of childhood health status, education opportunities, and nutritional level were analyzed using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method. Results: Foster care experience during childhood was associated with reduced self-rated health status during older age due to adverse effects on (a) childhood health status, (b) childhood education opportunities, and (c) childhood nutritional level. Conclusions: The influences of early life factors on the health status of older adults should be analyzed from the perspective of the lifecycle to provide positive interventions for health improvement. The outcomes from such a study could help to improve the health condition of elderly citizens.