Fertility and Later-Life Mental Health: Evidence on Transfers and Instrumental Assistance From Adult Children in Indonesia.

ObjectiveThis study examined whether completed fertility shapes later-life mental health in Indonesia and whether adult children's support explains this relationship.MethodsUsing the 2007 and 2014 Indonesian Family Life Survey, we instrumented fertility with differential exposure to Village Contraceptive Distribution Centers and estimated 2SLS and instrumental-variables mediation models.ResultsAn additional child reduced CES-D score and probability of elevated depressive symptoms. Financial and material transfers formed a protective pathway, while the remaining component outside measured trans