Older Parents Benefit More in Health Outcome From Daughters' Than Sons' Emotional Care in China.

Objective: To examine whether older parents in China would benefit more from daughters' care than from sons' emotional care.

Method: Analysis of the unique data sets of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2002, 2005, and 2008-2009 in 22 provinces.

Results: As compared with having son(s), having daughter(s) is significantly more beneficial at older ages in China, with regard to maintaining higher cognitive capacity and reducing mortality risk.