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End-of-Life Co-residence of Older Parents and Their Sons in Rural China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2015

Zhen Cong  and
Merril Silverstein
Zhen Cong
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University
Merril Silverstein*
Affiliation:
Syracuse University
*
†La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Merril Silverstein, Ph.D. Syracuse University – Aging Studies Institute 314 Lyman Hall Syracuse, NY 13244 United States ([email protected])
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Abstract

This study examined how intergenerational exchanges with sons and daughters predicted older parents’ likelihood of co-residing with a son prior to death in a rural area of China’s Anhui Province. Our investigation drew on theories of contingent co-residence, modernization, and social exchange, conceptualizing co-residence as having practical and symbolic importance in rural Chinese culture. The sample included 470 older parents, reported as deceased during 2001–2009, and their posthumous informants. We used logistic regression to assess intergenerational support and cohesion as predictors of co-residence with a son just prior to death. Older parents who provided instrumental support to, and received instrumental support from, sons and had better emotional relationships with sons were more likely than their counterparts to co-reside with a son at the end of life. Living with sons demonstrates filial piety for older parents at the end of life, but its realization is sensitive to intergenerational transactions.

Résumé

Cette étude a examiné comment les échanges intergénérationnels avec des fils et des filles prédit la probabilité des parents âgés vivant ensemble avec un fils avant de mourir, dans une zone rurale de la province de l'Anhui de la Chine. Notre enquête puise des théories de la co-résidence dépendante, la modernisation et l'échange social; il a conceptualisé la co-résidence comme ayant une importance pratique et symbolique dans la culture chinoise rurale. L'échantillon comprenait 470 parents âgés qui ont été rapportés défunts au cours de la période 2001-2009, et leurs informateurs posthumes. Nous avons utilisé la régression logistique pour évaluer le soutien et la cohésion intergénérationnel entre les générations comme facteurs prédictifs de la co-résidence avec un fils juste avant la mort. Les parents âgés qui ont fourni soutien matériel à, et ont reçu soutien matériel de leur fils, et avait de meilleures relations affectives avec leurs fils, étaient plus susceptibles que leurs homologues de vivre avec un fils à la fin de la vie. Vivre avec les fils démontre la piété filiale pour les parents âgés à la fin de la vie, mais sa réalisation est sensible aux échanges entre les générations.

Keywords

agingaging familiesChinese familiesco-residenceintergenerational supportliving arrangementsvieillissmentfamilles vieillissantesfamilles chinoisesco-residencesoutien intergénérationnelmodes de vie
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 34 , Special Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 331 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2015 

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