Grandparenting, filial piety, and well-being of Chinese-American older adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212110592
Author(s):  
Jeung Hyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Chinese American ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Grandparent Caregiving

This study explores the association between grandparent caregiving by Chinese-American older adults and their perception of filial care and respect (i.e. filial piety) received from their adult children. Drawing on arguments regarding norms of altruism and reciprocity based on social exchange theory in the context of intergenerational relationships, this study examines whether more active engagement in grandparenting results in higher levels of filial piety among adult children and whether that in turn results in better well-being through reducing loneliness. It uses data from Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago, a survey of the well-being of Chinese-American older adults in Chicago. The results show that more hours of grandparent caregiving relate to higher amounts of filial piety in the view of older parents. However, more pressure to take care of a grandchild from adult children reduces perceived filial piety. Furthermore, grandparent caregiving can reduce loneliness among older adults, and receipt of filial piety mediates the association. Discussion focuses on how grandparent caregiving can strengthen intergenerational relationships while contributing to psychological well-being among older Chinese-American adults. This research contributes to the discussion of normative aspects of the intergenerational solidarity theory and holds policy implications for the promotion of well-being among Chinese-American older adults based on their grandparenting practices.

scholarly journals Grandparenting and the Receipt of Filial Piety From Adult Children in Chinese American Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 345-346
Author(s):  
Jeung Hyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Chinese American ◽  
Chinese American Families ◽  
Grandparent Caregiving ◽  
American Families

Abstract The current study explores the association between grandparent caregiving by Chinese American elders and their perceived receipt of filial support from their adult children, called filial piety (xiao). Many studies find a correlation between grandparent caregiving and filial behaviors from their adult children, which is notably higher among minority families, especially among Asians than among white families, stimulated by the norm of reciprocity, familism, and extended kinship. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational relationships, social exchange theory, and the role theory, this study questions whether a more active engagement in grandparenting renders higher levels of filial piety returns from adult children. It uses the PINE data, a survey on the wellbeing of Chinese American elders in Chicago. The results show that more hours of grandparent caregiving relate to higher returns of filial piety perceived by older parents. Correspondingly, though with a marginal significance, more pressures to take care of a grandchild from adult children reduce the elders’ perception of filial piety receipt. No interaction effect is found between the grandparenting hours and the pressure from adult children. Additionally, Chinese American elders possessing higher levels of education, mastery, and longer stays in the US perceive lower levels of filial piety receipt from adult children. Discussion will focus on how grandparent caregiving can be mutually beneficial and strengthen intergenerational relationships among Chinese American families.

Intergenerational Relationships and Self-Rated Health Trajectories Among Older Adults in Rural China

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Lu ◽  
Vivian W. Q. Lou ◽  
Dongmei Zuo ◽  
Iris Chi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Growth Mixture Model ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Growth Mixture ◽  
And Gender

The present study examined trajectory patterns of self-rated health (SRH) among older rural Chinese adults and gender differences in the relationship between intergenerational relationships and SRH trajectories. Using data from four waves of a longitudinal study on the well-being of older adults in Anhui province, a general growth mixture model was estimated to examine the SRH trajectory patterns and antecedents of SRH trajectory class memberships. A two-class model was selected to interpret the SRH trajectory patterns. The two classes were labeled remaining poor and good but declining. Intergenerational relationships were a significant antecedent of SRH trajectory class memberships among men but not women. Gender differences in the cumulative effects of intergenerational relationships on the health of older adults were identified in rural China. Policy implications regarding how to help rural families support their elderly members are discussed.

scholarly journals INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG OLDER ADULTS AND ADULT CHILDREN: AMBIVALENT FEELINGS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S179-S179
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
Isabel Leal
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Objectives: The relationship of older adults with their adult children involves great emotional complexity and the quality of these relationships is associated with older adults’ well-being. This qualitative study aims to examine how older adults conceptualize intergenerational relationships with adult children. Methods: The present study on qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews was conducted with English and Portuguese older adults living in the community, designed to address their perspectives on intergenerational relations with adult children. 316 older adults participated in our study. The mean age of this group was 71.2 years. 65.3% were women, and a majority (54.7%) had a partner. Results: Content analysis generated four themes: affection and integration; satisfaction in the relationship; privacy and boundaries; financial support. Conclusions: Intergenerational relationships are experienced by older adults with ambivalence and and stress the contradictory expectations of older adults with grandchildren.

scholarly journals Grandparenting and Well-Being of Hong Kong Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Intergenerational Relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 370-371
Author(s):  
Daniel W L Lai ◽  
Jessica J Li ◽  
Vincent Lee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Intergenerational Relationship ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Grandparenting and intergenerational relationship play important roles in some older adults‘ later life, especially older people of Chinese culture. This study investigated the relationship between grandparenting activities, intergenerational relationship, and psychosocial well-being of Hong Kong Chinese older adults. A representative sample of 507 grandparents (aged 55+) were telephone surveyed in June to July 2019. Level of involvement in grandparenting activities was measured. Resilience and happiness were measured by Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale. Two single-item instruments were adapted to capture the relationships between older adults and adult children, and between grandparents and grandchildren, respectively. A series of linear regressions and mediation tests with bootstrap approach were performed to examine the relationships between grandparenting activities, intergenerational relationship, and resilience and happiness. After controlling for socio-demographics, the frequency of grandparenting activities correlated positively with resilience and happiness. The relationship was partially mediated by inter-generational relationships including the relationships with adult children and grandchildren. The findings have concluded that grandparenting involvement and satisfactory intergenerational relationship are protective factors of health and wellbeing. Future healthy aging policy-making or programming should expand the scope from focusing on individual older adults to strategies of achieving the family-friendly goal so that intergenerational relationships could be better nurtured, benefiting not just the family as a functional unit but also the older adults’ healthy aging.

scholarly journals Intergenerational Relationships, Social Support, and Psychological Well-Being Among Korean Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 498-498
Author(s):  
Yooumi Lee ◽  
Janet Wilmoth
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being

Abstract This study investigates whether intergenerational relationships and social support improve the psychological well-being of Korean older adults. We examine whether intergenerational relationships and social support directly influence psychological well-being and the extent to which they mediate the distressing consequences of life events such as declining health and recent widowhood. Using longitudinal data from the 2006 to 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, we explore depression trajectories among individuals who are 60 or older with at least one living adult child at baseline. Specifically, we converted data from 5,383 older adults into a person-period file with 24,726 observations over a ten-year period. Then we estimated linear growth curve models of depression trajectories separately for men and women using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results from the hierarchical linear models indicate that declining health and recent widowhood are positively related to depressive symptoms. Satisfactory intergenerational relationships and social support in the form of personal interactions and proximate living arrangements with adult children decrease depressive symptoms of older parents, especially among women. We conclude that the psychological benefits of intergenerational relationships and social support are contingent upon the vulnerability of older adults and discuss the implications for public policy.

scholarly journals Family Solidarity, Social Support, Loneliness, and Well-Being Among Older Adults in Rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 319-320
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Zhang ◽  
Merril Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
National Bureau ◽  
Subjective Well Being

Abstract China is experiencing a large increase in elderly population. In 2019, China’s population aged 60 and above had reached 253 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2020). By 2050, the number of adults aged 60+ would be up to 430 million, reaching one third of the total population (Du, Zhai & Chen, 2005). Considering such a rapid aging process and the existing large number of older adults in China, it becomes imperative to investigate how psychosocial factors affect this group’s subjective well-being. This study proposed that, among older adults, higher support received from each of the three relational sources (adult children, family and friends) were associated with reduced loneliness and improved well-being. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a sample of rural adults aged 60 and older (N= 1142) from the 2018 wave of data from the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China. Findings indicated that support from adult children directly and indirectly decreased older adults’ depression and improved their life satisfaction through loneliness; while support from family members directly decreased depression but did not directly improve life satisfaction or indirectly improve well-being through loneliness. Although support from friends did not have a significant impact on older adults’ well-being, it indirectly improved well-being through reduced loneliness. Findings have implications for programs or interventions targeting both parent -adult-child support and friends support and reducing rural older adults’ loneliness.

scholarly journals Convoys of social support in Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R. Fuller-Iglesias ◽  
Toni Antonucci
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Frequent Contact ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
The Social

The Convoy Model suggests that at different stages of the lifespan the makeup of the social support network varies in step with developmental and contextual needs. Cultural norms may shape the makeup of social convoys as well as denote socio-demographic differences in social support. This study examines the social convoys of adults in Mexico. Specifically, it examines whether social network structure varies by age, gender, and education level, thus addressing the paucity of research on interpersonal relations in Mexico. A sample of 1,202 adults (18–99 years of age) was drawn from the Study of Social Relations and Well-being in Mexico. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated older adults had larger, more geographically proximate networks with a greater proportion of kin but less frequent contact. Women had larger, less geographically proximate networks with less frequent contact. Less educated individuals had smaller, more geographically proximate networks with more frequent contact and a greater proportion of kin. Age moderated gender and education effects indicated that younger women have more diverse networks and less educated older adults have weaker social ties. This study highlights socio-demographic variation in social convoys within the Mexican context, and suggests implications for fostering intergenerational relationships, policy, and interventions. Future research on Mexican convoys should further explore sources of support, and specifically address implications for well-being.

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