Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: A gendered extended family perspective

Ageing and Society

Volumn 32, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 425-450

  Cong, Zhen ^a   Silverstein, Merril ^b  

^a TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

caring for grandchildren; emotional support; financial support; intergenerational support; rural China

Indexed keywords

CHILD CARE; FINANCIAL PROVISION; INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFER; PARENTAL CARE; RURAL AREA; RURAL SOCIETY;

ANHUI; CHINA;

EID: 84858249488     PISSN: 0144686X     EISSN: 14691779     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X11000420     Document Type: Review

References (64)

1. Agree, E. M., Biddlecom, A. E. and Valente, T. W. 2005. Intergenerational transfers of resources between older persons and extended kin in Taiwan and the Philippines. Population Studies, 5g, 2, 181-95. (Pubitemid 40974427)
2. Allison, P. D. 2001. Missing Data. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.
3. Altonji, J. G., Hayashi, F. and Kotlikoff, L. 2000. The effects of income and wealth on time and money transfers between parents and children. In Mason, A. and Tapinos, G. (eds), The Effects of Income and Wealth on Time and Money Transfers Between Parents and Children. Oxford University Press, New York, 306-45.
4. Alwin, D. F. 1990. Historical changes in parental orientations to children. In Mandell, N. and Cahill, S. (eds), Sociological Studies of Child Development. Volume 3, JAI Press, Greenwich, Connecticut, 65-86.
5. Bai, N. and Song, H. 2002. Return or Stay: The Return Flow of Out-migrants from Rural China. China Finance and Economy Press, Beijing. (In Chinese).
6. Becker, G. 1974. A theory of social interactions. Journal of Political Economy, 82, 6, 1063-93.
7. Bengtson, V. L. and Lowerstein, A. (eds) 2003. Global Aging and the Challenge to Families. Walter de Gruyter, New York.
8. Cai, F. (ed.) 2006. Report on China's Population and Labor: Demographic Transition and its Social and Economic Consequences. Social Sciences Documentation Publishing House, Beijing.
9. Chao, P. 1983. Chinese Kinship. Kegan Paul International, Boston, Massachusetts.
10. Chaohu Statistical Bureau 2001. Chaohu Statistical Annals. Chaohu Statistical Bureau, Chaohu, China.
11. Checkovich, T.J. and Stern, S. 2002. Shared caregiving responsibilities of adult siblings with elderly parents. The Journal of Human Resources, 37, 3, 441-78.
12. Chen, F., Short, S. E. and Entwistle, B. 2000. Impact of grandparental proximity on maternal childcare in China. Population Research and Policy Review, 19, 6, 571-80.
13. China Research Center on Aging 2003. Data Analysis ofthe Sampling ofSurvey ofthe Aged Population in China. China Biaozhun Publication, Beijing.
14. Cohen, M. L. 1998. North China rural families changes during the communist era. Etudes Chinoises, 17, 1/2, 59-154.
15. Cong, Z. and Silverstein, M. 2008a. Intergenerational time-for-money exchanges in rural China: does reciprocity reduce depressive symptoms of older grandparents? Research in Human Development, 8, 1, 6-25.
16. Cong, Z. and Silverstein, M. 2008. Intergenerational support and depression among elders in rural China: do daughters-in-law matter? Journal of Marriage andFamily, 70, 3, 599-612.
17. Cong, Z. and Silverstein, M. 2010. Which sons live with their older parents in rural China? The role of migration and intergenerational exchanges. Family Sciences, 1, 1, 67-71.
18. Cong, Z. and Silverstein, M. 2011. Intergenerational exchange between parents and migrant and nonmigrant sons in rural China. Journal of Marriage andFamily, 73, 1, 93-104.
19. Cox, D. 1987. Motives for private income transfers. Journal ofPolitical Economy, 85, 3, 508-46.
20. Davis-Friedmann, D. 1881. Long Lives: Chinese Elderly and the Communist Revolution. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
21. Feldman, M. W., Tuljapurkar, S., Li, S., Jin, X. and Li, N. 2007. Son preference, marriage and intergenerational transfer in rural China. In Gauthier, A. H., Chu, C.Y. C. and Tuljapurkar, S. (eds), Son Preference, Marriage and Intergenerational Transfer in Rural China. Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 139-62.
22. Fingerman, K. L., Hay, E. L. and Birditt, K. S. 2004. The best of ties, the worst of ties: close, problematic, and ambivalent social relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 3, 792-808. (Pubitemid 39146098)
23. Frankenberg, E., Lillard, L. and Willis, R.J. 2002. Patterns of intergenerational transfers in southeast Asia. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 3, 627-41.
24. Giarrusso, R., Feng, D. and Bengtson, V. 2004. The intergenerational- stake phenomenon over 20 years. In Silverstein, M. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), The Intergenerational-stake Phenomenon Over 20 Years. Springer, New York, 55-76.
25. Guo, M., Aranda, M. P. and Silverstein, M. 2009. The impact of out-migration on the inter-generational support and psychological wellbeing of older adults in rural China. Ageing & Society, 29, 7, 1085-104.
26. Hermalin, A. I. 2002. Well-being of the Elderly in Asia: A Four-country Comparative Study. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
27. Hillcoat-Nallétamby, S. and Dharmalingam, A. 2006. Maintaining solidarity across generations in New Zealand: support from mid-life adult to ageing parent. New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 1, 2, 185-202.
28. Inglehart, R and Baker, W. E. 2000. Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 1, 19-51.
29. Joseph, A. E. and Phillips, D. R. 1999. Ageing in rural China: impacts of increasing diversity in family and community resources. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 14, 2, 153-68.
30. Konrad, K. A, KüNemund, H., Lommerud, K. E. and Robledo, J. R 2002. Geography of the family. American Economic Review, 82, 4, 981-98.
31. Lee, G. R, Netzer, J. K. and Coward, R T. 1994. Filial responsibility expectations and patterns of intergenerational assistance. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 3, 559-65.
32. Lee, Y. and Xiao, Z. 1998. Children's support for elderly parents in urban and rural China: results from a national survey. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 13, 1, 39-62.
33. Li, S., Feldman, M. W. and Jin, X. 2004. Children, marriage form, and family support for the elderly in contemporary rural China: the case of songzi. Research on Aging, 26, 3, 352-84. (Pubitemid 38490039)
34. Li, S., Song, L. and Feldman, M. W. 2009. Intergenerational support and subjective health of older people in rural China: a gender-based longitudinal study. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 28, 2, 81-6.
35. Liu, Q. and Reilly, B. 2004. Income transfers of Chinese rural migrants: some empirical evidence from Jinan. Applied Economics, 36, 12, 1295-313. (Pubitemid 39033083)
36. Mangen, D., Bengtson, V. L. and Landry, P. H. Jr (eds) 1988. The Measurement of Intergenerational Relations. Sage, Beverly Hills, California.
37. McGarry, K. and Schoeni, R. F. 1995. Transfer behavior in the Health and Retirement Study: measurement and the redistribution of resources within the family. Journal of Human Resources, 30, supplement, 81, 84-226.
38. Mercier, J. M., Shelley, M. C. II and Wall, B. 1997. Quality of adult child-aging parent relationships: a structural equations approach using merged cross-generational data. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 26, 2, 160-92.
39. Merrill, D. M. 2007. Mothers-in-law and Daughters-in-law: Understanding the Relationship and What Makes Them Friends or Foe. Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut.
40. Pang, L. 2004. Working till you drop: the elderly in rural China. China Journal, 52, 1, 73-94.
41. Pillemer, K. and Suitor, J.J. 2008. Collective ambivalence: considering new approaches to the complexity of intergenerational relations. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 63, 6, S394-6.
42. Rabe-Hesketh, S. and Skronda, A. 2008. Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata. Stata Press, College Station, Texas.
43. Rossi, A. S. and Rossi, P. H. 1990. Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations Across the Life Course. Aldine de Gruyter, New York.
44. Secondi, G. 1997. Private monetary transfers in rural China: are families altruistic? Journal of Development Studies, 33, 4, 487-511.
45. Shapiro, A. 2004. Revisiting the generation gap: exploring the relationships of parent/adult-child dyads. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 58, 2, 12-46.
46. Shi, L. 1993 Family financial and household support exchange between generations: a survey of Chinese rural elderly. Gerontologist, 33, 4, 468-80. (Pubitemid 23225075)
47. Silverstein, M., Cong, Z. and Li, S. 2006. Intergenerational transfers and living arrangements of older people in rural China: consequences for psychological well-being. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61B, 5, S256-66. (Pubitemid 44496770)
48. Statacorp 2009. Stata Statistical Software: Release 11. Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas. State Council of the People's Republic of China 2000. Statistics of Rural and Nonrural Residents of Each Province. Available online at http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/renkoupucha/200opucha/ html/toi05.htm accessed i8January 2010.
49. Sun, R. 2002. Old age support in contemporary urban China from both parents' and children's perspectives. Research on Aging, 24, 3, 337-59. (Pubitemid 34298724)
50. Sun, R 2004. Worry about medical care, family support, and depression of the elders in urban China. Research on Aging, 26, 5, 559-85. (Pubitemid 39031421)
51. Sung, K. T. 1998. Exploration of actions of filial piety. Journal of Aging Studies, 12, 4, 369-86.
52. van Gaalen, R. I., Dykstra, P. A. and Flap, H. 2008. Intergenerational contact beyond the dyad: the role of the sibling network. European Journal of Ageing, 5, 1, 18-29.
53. van Gaalen, R I., Dykstra, P. A. and Komter, A. E. 2010. Where is the exit? Intergenerational ambivalence and relationship quality in high contact ties. Journal of Aging Studies, 24, 2, 105-14.
54. Ward, R. A. 2008. Multiple parent-adult child relations and well-being in middle and later life. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 63, 4, S239-47.
55. White-Means, S. I. 2008. Parent caregiving choices of middle-generation blacks and whites in the United States. Journal of Aging and Health, 20, 5, 560-82. (Pubitemid 351951635)
56. Whyte, M. K. (eds) 2001. China's Revolutions and Intergenerational Relations. Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
57. Yan, S., Chen, J. and Yang, S. 2003. Living arrangements and old-age support. In Whyte, M. K. (eds), Living Arrangements and Old-age Support. University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 143-66.
58. Yan, Y 2003. Private Life Under Socialism: Love, Intimacy, andFamily Change in a Chinese Village, i/f-i. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
59. Yang, H. 1996. The distributive norm of monetary support to older parents: a study in China. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 2, 404-15. (Pubitemid 126410547)
60. Zhang, H. 2005. Bracing for an uncertain future: a case study of new coping strategies or rural parents under China's new birth control policy. The China Journal, 54, 53-76.
61. Zhang, H. 2007. China's new rural daughters coming of age: downsizing the family and firing up cash-earning power in the new economy. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 32, 3, 671-98.
62. Zhang, W., Li, S. and Silverstein, M. 2005. The effects of inter-generational support on the mortality of older people in rural China. Asian Population Studies, 1, 3, 325-38.
63. Zimmer, Z. 2005. Health and living arrangement transitions among China's oldest-old. Research on Aging, 27, 5, 526-55. (Pubitemid 41161429)
64. Zimmer, Z. and Kwong, J. 2003. Family size and support of older adults in urban and rural China: current effects and future implications. Demography, 40, 1, 23-44. (Pubitemid 38762425)