Family care-giving and living arrangements of functionally impaired elders in rural China

Bibliographic Data

ID11201405
AuthorsRob J Gruijters (0000-0003-0599-5046, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume37
Issue3
Pages633-655
Publication date2017-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x15001397
OpenAlexW2226923675
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited50

China has seen a rapid decline of the traditional multi-generational household and an increase in rural-to-urban migration, raising concerns about a possible breakdown of the informal support system. Against this background, the paper looks at family care-giving (or the absence thereof) to parents in three different living arrangements: with any child or child-in-law (co-resident); independent with at least one child living in the same community (networked); and without any children in either the household or the community (isolated). It also compares the care-giving arrangements of single elders to those living with a spouse. The sample, which is derived from the comprehensive China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), contains data on 887 functionally impaired individuals aged 60 and above. The findings suggest that married parents are mostly cared for by their spouse, even if they co-reside with adult children. Proximity to children is particularly important for single elders, who are more likely to lack a care-giver when living independently. There appears to be a hierarchy in family care responsibilities, where children step in as care-givers only when the spouse is no longer able to fulfil this role. While these findings imply a significant deviation from traditional practices and norms of ‘filial piety’, they can be interpreted as a rational adaptation to the changed economic circumstances in rural China

China · Cohabitation · Demographic economics · Economics · Extended family · Filial piety · Longitudinal data · Longitudinal study · Political science · Rural community · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Spouse · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Gerontology

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