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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Intergenerational transfers and living arrangements of older people in rural China
— consequences for psychological well-being | | Author(s) | Merril Silverstein, Zhen Cong, Shuzhuo Li |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 61B, no 5, September 2006 |
| Pages | pp S256-S266 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Family relationships ; Multi generation families ; Living patterns ; Well being ; Rural areas ; Social surveys ; China. |
| Annotation | The migration of working-age adults from rural to urban China has altered traditional patterns of living arrangements and intergenerational support among older people who remain in rural regions. This investigation used data from a 2001 survey of 1561 people aged 60+ living in rural Anhiu Province to examine how household composition and support exchanges with adult children influenced older parents' psychological well-being in rural China. The authors used multiple regression to estimate the effects of multigenerational living arrangements and intergenerational transfers of financial, instrumental and emotional support on older parents' depression and life satisfaction. Older people living in three-generation households or with grandchildren in skipped generation households had better psychological well-being than those living in single generation households. Receiving greater remittances from adult children increased well-being and explained why living with grandchildren was beneficial. Stronger emotional cohesion with children also improved well-being. These results suggest that traditional family arrangements are beneficial in rural Chinese society as they represent the fulfilment of a cultural ideal. Implications are discussed in the context of the corporate Chinese family, characterised by mutual aid and interdependence across generations and its adaptation to social change. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070504231 A |
| Classmark | DS:SJ: SJC: K7: D:F:5HH: RL: 3F: 7DC |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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