A comparative analysis of intergenerational relations in East Asia

Abstract

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French

Due to rapid aging of populations in East Asia, intergenerational relations are changing. This study examines these changes in four East Asian societies, chosen for their shared cultural background of patriarchy: China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Data were taken from the 2006 East Asian Social Survey. The authors’ analyses show that in these four East Asian societies, contemporary intergenerational relations reveal both continuity and change. Despite changing family structures, co-residence between generations remains clearly patriarchal, and the main flow of intergenerational support is still from adult children to parents. The dominant patriarchal culture also expresses itself in the continuing influence of filial norms on intergenerational relations, in that sons tend to perform various filial duties much more than daughters. However, the emergence of prolonged co-residence of young, unmarried and less educated adult children with their parents implies that the traditional pattern of intergenerational support in East Asia is changing. In addition, while filial norms remain strong the actual practice of filial responsibility may be shared among adult siblings with various resources. The study concludes that intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan share similar features, in that both change and continuity of relational patterns are observed.

Keywords

Co-residence East Asia filial norm intergenerational exchanges intergenerational relations

Introduction

In recent decades, the East Asian societies of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan have experienced steadily declining fertility and increased life expectancy. As a result of the changing population structure, the elderly dependency ratio has accelerated. While these societies are vastly different in size, the demographic trend has been quite similar, except for Japan, where the population is aging at one of the fastest rates in the world. On the other hand, among these East Asian societies, with a shared cultural heritage of strong filial piety, support of elderly parents has become a highly significant yet sensitive issue in the face of a drastically aging population. Although a three-generational household or the co-residence of adult children with elderly parents is considered the ideal realization of filial piety, the actual co-residence between adult children and elderly parents has continued to decline (Yasuda et al., 2011). Recent literature has predicted that the interplay of filial norms and the emerging nuclearization of family structure will produce complicated intergenerational relations. Against this background, this study attempts to compare changing intergenerational relations in East Asia with a focus on the potential impact of filial norms on the family dynamics in contemporary East Asian families. Under the influence of Confucianism, the traditional family system in East Asia emphasizes filial piety as a core family value. As a consequence, elderly support in the typical definition involves the uni-dimensional dependency of elderly parents on adult children. Previous studies also confirm that the intergenerational support behavior from adult children fulfills the expected filial duties to elderly parents (Yi and Lin, 2009). This is opposite to the patterns reported in the West. However, perhaps due to the strong emphasis on children’s filial duties, the emotional and reciprocal aspects, as well as resource exchanges between generations, tend to be overlooked (Lin, 2000). This article intends to fill the gap by exploring various essential dimensions proposed by the intergenerational family solidarity model (Bengtson and Schrader, 1982). In particular, we have analyzed and compared possible effects of filial norms held by adult children in East Asia on various aspects of intergenerational relations so as to illustrate the dominant cultural influence in the region.

It should be noted that although China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan share similar patriarchal norms, the differences in economic development and welfare policies across these societies lead to possible variation in patterns of intergenerational relations by individual society. Therefore, analyzing intergenerational relations among the four East Asian countries not only allows us to highlight the differences between the East and the Western societies, it also helps delineate potential differences among the four countries. Two research questions were thus proposed. First: as populations age rapidly, what are contemporary patterns of intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan? Do these four East Asian societies demonstrate similar or different patterns? We focused on gender differences pertaining to structural arrangement (co-residence), associational intensity (face-to-face contact) and functional exchanges (mutual support) between generations as illustrated by the solidarity model. Second, what influences do filial norms in relation to personal characteristics and parental needs have on the intergenerational relations between adult children and their parents? It is expected that with a more comprehensive framework incorporating significant aspects documented in the literature, the present study will enable us to better understand the changing intergenerational relations in East Asia.

The intergenerational solidarity model

Bengtson and Schrader (1982) proposed a model of intergenerational family solidarity as a multi-dimensional construct with six elements of solidarity: associational, affectual, consensual, functional and normative solidarity, as well as family structure. The model has been continuously developed and expanded by utilizing data of the Longitudinal Study of Generations (Bengtson and Harootyan, 1994; Silverstein and Bengtson, 1997). Although family life is programmed for positive interactions, the probability of negative interactions is also high. Thus, in recent years Bengtson and colleagues advocate that intergenerational solidarity can exhibit high levels of both solidarity and conflict (Bengtson et al., 2002). On the other hand, based on postmodern and feminist theories of the family, intergenerational ambivalence has been proposed as an alternative to the solidarity paradigm in studying parent–child relations in later life (Lüscher and Pillemer, 1998). Although this study only uses the solidarity framework, solidarity, conflict and ambivalence are not in competition with each other, but are all maintained in close family relations, as Bengtson et al. (2002) pointed out. In general, the solidarity paradigm has been widely adopted to guide intergenerational studies over the past few decades and has been successfully applied to various cross-national contexts. Overall, the utility of the solidarity model has been repeatedly confirmed despite emergent family diversification resulting in greater complexity in intergenerational relations.

In East Asia, the norm of filial piety not only constitutes the core element of intergenerational solidarity, but also sets the standard for intergenerational interaction. Therefore, an attempt will be made to examine both the filial norm and other functional aspects derived from the solidarity model in order to delineate various patterns of intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. To be specific, filial norms as well as relevant cultural factors are considered significant mechanisms accounting for the various dimensions of intergenerational relations. It is expected that the findings will enable us to better capture the ongoing family dynamics in East Asian societies undergoing rapid social change. Since comparative cross-societal research on intergenerational relations in this region remains scarce, this study will provide important information on intergenerational relations by analyzing the interplay between traditional family norms and resources factors in a contemporary non-Western setting.

Intergenerational relations in East Asia

Co-residence in East Asia

The three-generational family structure, whereby adult children and aging parents live together, is a major characteristic of families in East Asian societies. Multigenerational co-residence fulfills the cultural ideal of filial piety because it prescribes that children be caregivers, while allowing them to demonstrate deference, commitment and self-sacrifice to the older generation of the family. Nevertheless, the rate of intergenerational co-residence continues to drop in these four East Asian societies. Different reasons are proposed for the declining co-residence between generations which coincide with and reflect the demographic, historical, economic and structural diversity in the region.

In China, since the one-child policy was launched in 1979, families with a single child have become the overwhelming majority in cities, with ‘four-two-one’ being the most prevalent type of three-generational family structure (Li, 2007). In addition, due to the rapid decline in the number of family members, adult children are faced with the heavy burden of looking after their parents single-handedly (Sheng and Settles, 2006). Coupled with adult children’s shifting emphasis onto their own offspring, elderly parents in need of care are affected by the changes taking place in modern Chinese societies (Liu, 2005). Deutsch (2006) conducted a survey on college students born under the one-child policy in China and found that the likelihood of young adults living with aging parents in the near future depends on family structure. Students with siblings tended to live independently from their parents, although they were willing to live in the same city as their parents. As for the rural areas in China, Silverstein et al. (2006a) contended that the absence both of a universal public pension and of long-term care programs creates the necessity for such action on the part of adult children. But as economic development in China continues unabated, labor-related migration within the rural working-age population has resulted in greater geographic separation between members of different generations.

Studies in Taiwan have shown that filial piety is still highly valued and that filial acts are essential in daily life (Yeh, 1997). However, while the filial obligation of looking after aging parents is unchallenged, less willingness to live with elderly parents and stronger desire to cover or contribute financially toward parents’ living expenses are reported (Yi and Chang, 2008). Co-residence between adult children and elderly parents has been gradually declining; the ratio now amounts to approximately one-third of households, while the number of single elderly as well as elderly conjugal households has increased noticeably (Tseng et al., 2006). In rural Taiwan, a type of living arrangement known as ‘rotation’ was once commonly in practice. Adult children shared caregiving responsibilities in the form of rotating among siblings the responsibility for provision of meals and residence to elderly parents; this usually occurred after household division. But using nationwide longitudinal data collected in 1993, Chang and Chang (2010) found that less than 5% of the elderly rotate their living arrangement with their children. In most present-day families, elderly parents are reluctant to rotate to live with their sons (Lin, 2000). The rotation arrangement may go against parental desire to live with a particular child or avoid moving around. Furthermore, meal and residence rotation leaves the elderly less leverage in bargaining for care arrangements, and consequently, rotation may reduce their emotional well-being.

The traditional living arrangement of the Japanese elderly is the patrilineal, patrilocal stem family. Historically, the eldest son and his wife were expected to live with and provide care to aging parents, and, in return, his family received the family inheritance and family business (Koyano, 1996). Change in the laws of inheritance, increasing numbers of working women and rapid economic development in the second half of the twentieth century have contributed to the renegotiation of elder care in Japan (Long et al., 2009). However, the amount of intergenerational co-residence has also changed. Intergenerational co-residence is now a minority, and when it does occur, it is often a response to or in anticipation of the need for care after a period of living separately (Takagi et al., 2007). Japan started public long-term care insurance (LTCI) under the slogan ‘From Care by Family to Care by Society’ on 1 April 2000. The LTCI scheme covers a wide range of community care and institutional care services, and is based on the concept of ‘socializing’ care, which recognizes that the care of the elderly should no longer be left solely to the family but should be supported by the entire society through an increase in services (Campbell and Ikegami, 2000). This marks a radical shift in Japanese policy which is producing subsequent changes pertaining to demographic profile, family structure, women’s employment and attitudes on caring for aged parents (Eto, 2001).

In Korea, declining intergenerational co-residence is observed. The percentage of elders living alone or with a spouse increased from 26.7% in 1990 to 45.4% in 2000 (National Bureau of Statistics and Economic Planning Board of Korea, 1990, 2000). Studies have pointed out that in addition to intergenerational co-residence being a common practice in present-day Korea, the reciprocal provision of resources between generations has been a prevalent pattern (Park et al., 2005). Because of the increasing female labor force participation, more and more of the younger generation choose to live with their parents so as to receive assistance with domestic chores and childcare. Whether the co-residence remains with paternal parents or changes to maternal parents due to the household demand from the daughter’s side will be an interesting subject to investigate. Findings will allow us to delineate the impact of the changing patriarchal culture in Korea as well as in the rest of East Asia.

Based on previous findings, it is clear that intergenerational co-residence is a product of social norms, availability of resources and demands of parents. In East Asian societies, since adult children tend to endorse the traditional ideal of taking care of one’s parents as they age, it will be important to explore patterns of intergenerational relations for those who are unable to practice co-residence owing to personal reasons such as inadequate economic resources, younger birth order, etc. Needless to say, gender differences need to be emphasized in the context of changing patriarchal culture.

Mutual support between generations in East Asia

In traditional East Asian patriarchal societies, sons bear the primary responsibility for continuing the descent line. Although a daughter ‘belongs’ to her birth family before marriage, she joins the descent line of her husband’s family upon marriage (Wolf, 1972). In general, sons provide parents with instrumental and financial support as well as the task of caregiving. In Western families, it is generally the daughter who maintains kinship networks and provides assistance, especially instrumental support (Rosenthal, 1985). The opposite flow of intergenerational support in East Asia has been documented (Park et al., 2005; Yi and Lin, 2009). As a consequence, types and patterns of intergenerational support relations in the East and the West are very different.

Perhaps the most noticeable intergenerational patterns in East Asia are the gender differences. Sons, under the patriarchal culture, are expected to assume the major support role. In China, sons have traditionally been the major providers of financial support to parents, while their spouses provided emotional support and caregiving (Guo and Liu, 2007). In Taiwan, the majority of elderly parents live with sons. Couples are 23.5 times more likely to reside with the husband’s parents than the wives’ parents (Yasuda et al., 2011). In addition, earlier reports have indicated that sons provide instrumental and financial support and take up the main tasks of caregiving (Lin et al., 2003). But recent data point out that sons and daughters play different roles in terms of intergenerational support: compared to daughters, sons give more financial and domestic assistance and receive more help with household chores from parents, while daughters exchange more emotional support with parents (Lin, 2012). It appears sons and daughters are culturally assigned differing filial expectations, in that sons are undoubtedly the major support providers, but daughters are encouraged to exercise their filial duty by performing the emotionally supportive role in intergenerational relations. Since most literature focuses on Chinese societies, it will be significant to find out if the pattern can be generalized to other East Asian societies.

Another salient factor to be considered in the provision of support is parental needs. Parental needs involve several different aspects. Studies in the West document that the general needs of aging parents affect the amount and types of assistance that adult children provide. In particular, divorced and single parents receive more help from adult children (Hogan et al., 1993; Silverstein et al., 2006b). Corresponding findings are presented in a Korean study which found that the economic, health and marital status of elderly parents has a significant impact on intergenerational relations. Specifically, when income is lower or health status worse, and for those who have lost their spouses, less mutual support between generations is reported (Park et al., 2005). However, inconsistent results are derived from different Chinese societies. In Taiwan, recent studies show that parent’s healthcare needs determine the support provided to them (Lin and Yi, 2011). In China, Lee and Xiao (1998) pointed out that low-income parents received more financial support than did their better-off counterparts. Parental education is also positively related to the amount received. Lee and Xiao suggest that this may be due to the narrower gap in values and attitudes and closer ties between generations, with parents being higher educated. As the economy continues to grow and the economic status of elderly Chinese improves, strategic behavior among adult children may become more likely, and intergenerational economic relationships will be more diverse. In other words, various factors of parental needs may produce inconsistent or contrary effects on intergenerational relations. Based on the above discussion, we propose patriarchal influence as a fundamental guiding principle in intergenerational relations. Another powerful explanation may come from the social exchange perspective, which applies quite well to these seemingly contradictory results. According to social exchange theory, intergenerational support reflects the resource exchanges between adult children and aging parents. Reciprocity in support exchanges has been documented to be a very important motivation for and predictor of well-being for all family members across generations (Lowenstein et al., 2007). Although Lee et al. (1994) argued that the older generation tends to take prospective exchange as a strong bargaining element in family assistance patterns, the anticipation of financial reward undoubtedly serves as an important incentive for adult children. Thus, in this self-interest exchange model, adult children are assumed to provide more assistance to parents with more resources in the hope of receiving rewards at a later stage. There are several relevant reports from the Taiwanese context. A study of the elderly in agricultural villages showed that the better finances aging parents have, the more assistance they receive from their children (Lin, 2000). As for the impact of children’s resources on intergenerational support, the more resources adult children have, the more assistance they provide to parents (Lin and Yi, 2007). Furthermore, the division of labor among sons is noticed. The son with the most resources often provides the highest financial support in order to avoid having to co-reside with parents (Lee et al., 1994). Hence, intergenerational relations indicated by support patterns or functional interaction may be looked at from the cultural normative expectation and as the outcome of a resources exchange.

Method

Data and sample

Data were derived from the 2006 East Asian Social Survey (EASS) (East Asian Social Survey Data Archive, 2009). The EASS is a biennial social survey project composed of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), the Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS), the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) and the Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS). The 2006 module was designated ‘Families in East Asia’. The family modules of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan consisted of, respectively, 3208, 2130, 1605 and 2102 adult subjects aged 18 years and above who were randomly chosen and interviewed through the multi-stage stratified sampling method. As intergenerational relations were the subject matter of this study, only subjects with at least one parent (G1) still living during the research period were included. After eliminating invalid subjects, the total amounted to 1849 valid subjects from China, 1137 from Japan, 1130 from Korea and 1430 from Taiwan.

Measures

Dependent variables

1. Intergenerational structure (living arrangements)

Living arrangement types were divided into two categories: co-residence or non-co-residence with parents.

2. Intergenerational contact

In order to measure the frequency of face-to-face contact between adult child and parents, a seven-point scale was applied to score the result, ranging from ‘1’ for ‘not at all or once a year’ to ‘7’ for ‘almost every day’.

3. Intergenerational support

Two dimensions of assistance were distinguished – financial and household chores. For each of these dimensions, support giving and support receiving were measured separately. A four-item scale asked: ‘How frequently did you do each of the following things for your parents during the past 12 months?’ (a) provided financial support, (b) took care of household chores. The converse was: ‘How frequently did your parents do each of the following things for you during the past 12 months?’ (a) provided financial support, (b) took care of household chores. Respondents rated each item on a five-point Likert-type scale corresponding to the following categories: not at all, seldom, sometimes, often and very frequently.

Independent variables

1. Personal characteristics

The following characteristics of adult children were considered: gender (0 = female, 1 = male), age in years, marital status (0 = unmarried, 1 = married), total years of schooling and number of siblings.

2. Parental needs

Parental needs included three variables: parent’s age, marital status and health status. Two dummy variables were used for marital status: married and unmarried (0 = unmarried, 1 = married). Regarding parent’s health status, respondents were asked to evaluate each parent’s health status. A score of 1 to 4 was given to ‘one parent healthy and one deceased,’ or ‘both healthy’; ‘one in poor health and one healthy’; ‘one in poor health and one deceased’; and ‘both parents in poor health’, with higher scores denoting the poorer state of health of parents.

3. Filial norms

In a traditional Confucian culture, the provision of financial support to parents by adult children is regarded as an act of filial piety. This study operationalized intergenerational norms as the adult child’s perception of the obligation to provide financial support to parents. The norm was measured by a four-item scale. The items were: (a) an unmarried adult man ought to provide financial support to his parents; (b) an unmarried adult woman ought to provide financial support to her parents; (c) a married adult man ought to provide financial support to his parents; and (d) a married adult woman ought to provide financial support to her parents. The items were administered in a Likert-type scale with seven options ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7), so that high scores represent high perceptions pertaining to the obligation to provide filial support.

See Table 1 for a description of the analytic variables.

Table 1.

Description of analytic variables.

	Range	China (n = 1849)	Japan (n = 1137)	Korea (n = 1130)	Taiwan (n = 1430)
Adult child’s characteristics
Age	18–78	36.14(10.56)	42.16(12.61)	36.12(10.19)	37.09(11.82)
Gender (% male)		46.0	44.5	44.4	49.6
Marital status (% married)		78.5	68.4	63.9	55.8
Gender and marital status
Married son		34.1	29.5	25.4	26.2
Married daughter		44.4	38.9	38.5	19.6
Unmarried son		11.9	15.0	19.0	23.4
Unmarried daughter		9.6	16.6	17.1	20.8
Years of schooling	0–23	9.53(3.67)	13.08(2.06)	13.31(2.75)	12.42(3.27)
No. of siblings	1–13	3.58(1.86)	2.77(1.15)	3.89(1.81)	4.11(1.80)
Parental needs
Age of parent	37–105	65.00(11.41)	71.47(11.90)	66.13(10.94)	66.35(12.25)
Parent’s marital status (% married)		66.5	57.8	61.7	62.2
Parent’s health status	1–4	1.53(.977)	1.59(.95)	1.93(1.12)	1.71(1.05)
Filial norms	1–7	5.29(.94)	4.45(1.13)	5.32(.99)	5.52(1.01)
Intergenerational relations
Structure (living arrangement)
(% co-residence)		24.0	31.6	23.5	47.4
Associational (face-to-face contact)^a	1–7	4.80(1.44)	4.09(1.65)	5.48(1.21)	4.82(1.62)
Functional
Give financial support	1–5	2.71(1.07)	2.06(1.12)	2.78(1.09)	2.86(1.34)
Give household chores aid	1–5	2.69(1.08)	2.39(1.16)	2.78(1.05)	2.89(1.22)
Receive financial support	1–5	2.04(1.14)	2.29(1.19)	2.54(1.35)	1.95(1.30)
Receive household chores aid	1–5	2.37(1.27)	2.48(1.44)	2.65(1.43)	2.68(1.56)

Non-co-residence sample, n = 3799 (China = 1405; Japan = 778; Korea = 864; Taiwan = 752).

Results

Descriptive results

In the first section of the data presentation, we described the three dimensions of intergenerational relations — structural arrangement (co-residence), associational intensity (face-to-face contact) and functional exchanges (mutual support) between generations (Table 2). Of particular interest here is the investigation of gender differences in structural, associational and functional exchanges among the four societies. Sons and daughters were respectively analyzed and compared. In addition, we compare the intergeneration relations among China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Table 2.

Gender difference in the intergenerational relations in four Asian societies: Comparing China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan (mean (SD)).

		China (n = 1849)				Japan (n = 1137)				Korea (n = 1130)				Taiwan (n = 1430)
		Total	Sons	Daughters	χ²/ or t-test	Total	Sons	Daughters	χ²/t-test	Total	Sons	Daughters	χ²/t-test	Total	Sons	Daughters	χ²/t-test
Structure
Co–residence (%)		24.0	36.8	13.1	141.495***	31.6	38.9	25.7	22.851***	23.5	29.9	18.5	20.177***	47.4	61.1	34.0	105.228***
Associational Face–to–face contact ^a		4.80(1.44)	4.98(1.51)	4.69(1.38)	3.717***	4.09(1.65)	3.64(1.55)	4.39(1.64)	–6.373***	5.48(1.21)	5.43(1.28)	5.53(1.16)	–1.186	4.80(1.62)	4.64(1.80)	4.89(1.51)	–1.915
Functional
Aid provided	Total	2.70(.84)	2.79(.85)	2.62(.83)	4.348***	2.22(.94)	2.27(.94)	2.19(.94)	1.450	2.78(.82)	2.84(.85)	2.73(.79)	2.207*	2.87(.97)	2.98(.98)	2.77(.95)	4.105***
	Financial	2.71(1.07)	2.84(1.10)	2.60(1.04)	4.823***	2.06(1.12)	2.25(1.16)	1.90(1.07)	5.141***	2.78(1.09)	2.87(1.12)	2.71(1.06)	2.507*	2.86(1.34)	2.98(1.42)	2.73(1.26)	3.538***
	Household chores	2.69(1.08)	2.74(1.10)	2.64(1.07)	1.975*	2.39(1.16)	2.29(1.11)	2.47(1.19)	–2.626**	2.78(1.05)	2.81(1.07)	2.76(1.03)	0.88	2.89(1.22)	2.97(1.20)	2.80(1.23)	2.626**
Aid received	Total	2.21(1.05)	2.36(1.06)	2.07(1.03)	5.872***	2.39(1.16)	2.40(1.12)	2.37(1.19)	.416	2.59(1.24)	2.72(1.25)	2.50(1.22)	2.963**	2.32(1.21)	2.50(1.19)	2.13(1.20)	5.825***
	Financial	2.04(1.14)	2.10(1.15)	1.99(1.13)	1.905	2.29(1.19)	2.22(1.13)	2.34(1.23)	–1.632	2.54(1.35)	2.66(1.38)	2.44(1.32)	2.711**	1.95(1.30)	2.03(1.32)	1.87(1.27)	2.312*
	Household chores	2.37(1.27)	2.62(1.32)	2.15(1.19)	7.993***	2.48(1.44)	2.58(1.44)	2.41(1.44)	1.995*	2.65(1.43)	2.77(1.44)	2.55(1.42)	2.579**	2.68(1.56)	2.97(1.52)	2.40(1.54)	7.139***

Non-co-residence sample, n = 3799.

p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Living arrangements and contact

In China, 24% of adult children lived with their parents, and the percentage of sons (36.8%) in intergenerational co-residence was significantly higher than that of daughters. As for those who didn’t live with their parents, sons saw their parents in person much more often than did daughters. In Japan, 31.6% of the adult children lived with their parents, and the percentage of sons doing so (38.9%) was significantly higher than that of daughters. For adult children who lived apart from parents, daughters met with their parents more often than sons did. In Korea, 23.5% of adult children lived with their parents, and the percentage of sons (29.9%) doing so was significantly higher than daughters. In Taiwan, nearly 50% of the adult children lived with their parents, and the percentage of sons doing so was significantly higher than that of daughters.

Taking all four countries into account, the percentage of intergenerational co-residence in East Asian societies stood between 23.5% and 47.4%. Taiwan has the highest rate of co-residence, and the percentages of co-residence in China and Korea are the lowest among the four countries. However, the living arrangement pattern is quite similar. With more sons living with parents than daughters, this suggests that the four societies seem to maintain patriarchal norms. In addition, intergenerational contact was frequent in all four societies. In China, sons were in more face-to-face contact with their parents than daughters; but in Japan, it was daughters who met with parents more. In Korea and Taiwan, the frequency of intergenerational visits was not different between sons and daughters.

Mutual support

In China, sons provided more financial support and household chores assistance than did daughters, and they also received help with household chores from parents. Overall, in Chinese families, sons, rather than daughters, were the ones to carry out the major tasks involved in intergenerational support. In Japan, also, sons more frequently provided financial support to parents; and they more frequently received assistance with household chores from them. Daughters provided parents with more help with domestic tasks than did sons. In Korea, sons provided financial support to parents more often than did daughters, and they also more frequently received financial support and domestic tasks assistance from parents. In Taiwan, sons provided financial and domestic support more often than did daughters, and they received financial support and assistance with domestic tasks from parents more often than did daughters, too. Overall, in Taiwan, sons exchanged intergenerational support with parents more than daughters did.

With regard to intergenerational support, both the frequency of financial support and household chores assistance from adult children to parents in Japan were the lowest among the four places. As to the flow of intergenerational exchange in East Asian families, in China, Korea and Taiwan, adult children provided more assistance to their parents than they received from them. Only adult children in Japan received more assistance from parents than they provided. Overall, sons, rather than daughters, performed most of the mutual exchange with parents in East Asia, which conforms to the traditional behavioral pattern in patriarchal families.

Multivariate analysis

The impact of filial norms, personal resources and parental needs on the intergenerational relations was explored through a series of logistic regression and multiple regression analyses for the pooled sample including China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Intergenerational living arrangements and contact

Table 3 represents the results of logistic regression analysis on the predictors of intergenerational living arrangements. In Model 1, which contains the country variables only, the countries were represented as dummy variables, with Japan as the reference case. Model 1 shows that the probability of adult children living with their parents was highest in Taiwan and lowest in Korea. In Model 2, the filial norms variable was added. The filial norms had a positive impact on the odds of co-residence. Adult children who endorsed filial responsibilities were more likely to live with their parents. In Model 3, we added the adult children’s personal characteristics and parental needs variables. Unmarried sons and unmarried daughters were more likely to co-reside with their parents than were married sons. Married daughters were least likely to live with their parents. Young and less educated adult children had a higher probability of co-residence with their parents. The number of children in a family had a negative impact on the odds of co-residence. The more siblings adult children had, the less likely they were to co-reside with parents. As to parental demands, older members of the generation, and widowed parents, were more likely to live with their adult children.

Table 3.

Logistic regression and multiple regression analysis predicting intergenerational relations (N = 5546).

Model (β)	Co-residence^a			Contact^b (non-co-residence)			Support provision
Model (β)							Financial				Household chores
	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
Countries (ref. Japan)
China	.685***	.580***	.554***	.222***	.204***	.276***	.258***	.196***	.264***	.254***	.124***	.070***	.130***	.180***
Korea	.667***	.561***	.396***	.378***	.362***	.383***	.243***	.187***	.191***	.203***	.140***	.092***	.111***	.113***
Taiwan	1.954***	1.592***	1.760***	.183***	.165***	.219***	.292***	.218***	.230***	.193***	.191***	.127***	.153***	.187***
Filial norms		1.219***	1.087*		.046**	.039*		.169***	.173***	.166***		.147***	.133***	.105***
Gender and marital status (ref. married son)
Married daughter			.121***			.064***			–.127***	–.100***			–.041**	–.003
Unmarried son			4.216***			–.036*			–.091***	–.092***			.030	–.031
Unmarried daughter			3.308***			.012			–.099***	–.091***			.092***	.040*
Age of child			.925***			–.013			.101***	.113***			–.088**	.008
Total years of schooling			.940***			.156***			.128***	.123***			.034*	.037*
No. of siblings			.817***			–.094***			.053**	.053**			–.071***	–.032*
Age of parent			1.034***			–.038			–.018	–.018			.106***	.137***
Health status of parents			1.005			–.040*			.014	.019			.023	.040**
Marital status of parents (ref. unmarried)			.565***			.046**			–.058***	–.051***			–.065***	–.079***
Receive financial support										–.237***				.140***
Receive household chores support										.252***				.276***
R²				8.8	9.0	14.6	6.1	8.6	13.4	19.0	2.3	4.2	6.5	15.0
ΔR²				8.8	0.2	5.7	6.1	2.5	4.8	5.6	2.3	1.9	2.3	8.5
F				121.8***	93.5***	49.9***	119.6***	130.1***	66.0***	86.5***	44.0***	61.0***	29.7***	65.3***
χ²	242.4***	286.8***	2444.6***

Ref = non-co-residence; logistic regression analysis, odds ratios.

Non-co-residence sample, n = 3799.

p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

For predictors of intergenerational contact, OLS regression analyses were used. Table 3 presents standardized estimates; Model 1 shows that China, Korea and Taiwan differed from Japan, where respondents reported lower frequency of contact between adult children and non-co-resident parents. Model 2 shows that filial norms played a role in the face-to-face contact between non-co-residing generations. The more adult children endorsed filial norms, the more likely they were to have face-to-face contact with their parents. In Model 3, the adult child’s personal characteristics and parental needs variables were further added. Compared to married sons, married daughters had higher frequency of face-to-face contact with their parents. Highly educated adult children met with their parents more frequently than did less educated ones. The more siblings that adult children had, the less frequently they had contact with parents. When taking into account parental demands variables, healthy and non-widowed parents had higher frequency of face-to-face contact with their adult children.

Intergenerational support provision

It was found that overall, in East Asian families, adult children provided more assistance to their parents than they received from them, so we focused on the support provision from adult children to parents. Furthermore, since most studies had either focused on financial support provision (e.g. Lee et al., 1994) or investigated amounts of different types of support given to parents (e.g. Silverstein et al., 2006b), it is difficult to ascertain the exact factors affecting intergenerational financial and other support. In this study, financial support and household chores assistance were therefore analyzed separately using OLS regression analysis in order to predict support provision. For each form of support, computations were performed for each of four models: Model 1 only included country variables; Model 2 added filial norms; in Model 3, the adult children’s personal characteristics and parental needs variables were added; Model 4, the full model, added the support received from parents (Table 3).

Model 1 shows that China, Korea and Taiwan differed from Japan, where respondents reported lower levels of financial support provision. In Model 2, adult children who endorsed filial responsibilities tended to provide greater financial support to their parents. In Model 3, all the adult children’s personal variables were significant. They include gender and marital status (married son), age (older), number of siblings (more) and education (higher). Regarding parental needs, widowed parents received financial support more often. Model 4 shows that the more support in terms of household chores adult children received from their parents, the more financial support they provided in return. On the other hand, the more financial support adult children received from their parents, the less financial support they provided in return.

The analytical result of household chores assistance followed the same hierarchical sequence used to predict financial support. Model 1 shows that adult children in Japan reported the lowest levels of household chores assistance. Model 2 shows that strong acknowledgment on the part of adult children of filial responsibilities was positively influential on the provision of household chores assistance from children to parents. Model 3 demonstrates that unmarried daughters provided the most household chores assistance to parents. Married daughters provided the least household chores assistance among all the listed groups. Adult children who were younger, had a higher education level and had fewer siblings more often provided household chores assistance to their parents. As for parental needs, children provided more support to widowed parents as well as to the older members of their parents’ generation. In Model 4, where variables reflecting receipt of support from parents were added, help received was positively influential to the provision of physical assistance from children to parents.

Discussion

In the face of a rapidly aging population in East Asia, intergenerational relations have become a widely discussed subject. Inspired by the solidarity model, this study examined key issues such as co-residence, contact and mutual exchanges between generations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Our focus was to ascertain the dominant cultural influence in the family context. In particular, typical patriarchal components indicated by gender differentials as well as filial norms were delineated so as to ascertain the change and the continuity of intergenerational relations in this region.

It was clear that the intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan shared important similarities. Gender and generation as prescribed by the patriarchal culture demonstrated salient effects. Sons were more likely than daughters to co-reside with their parents and to engage in functional exchanges with parents. The flow of providing financial aid and household chores between generations was basically from adult children to their parents. This corresponds with the filial expectation, and thus deviates from the Western pattern. Furthermore, the results also reveal subtle differences among the four countries. In Japan, adult children are least likely to provide support to parents; conversely, they are more likely to receive support from parents. Japanese adult daughters were more likely to provide household help to parents as compared with sons. Since Japan has the most advanced economy and social welfare system in East Asia, in that Japanese elderly receive pensions and domestic care from the government, intergenerational relations in Japan need to take into account the policy provision in addition to cultural norms.

The most noticeable structural difference between East Asian families and their Western counterparts is perhaps the co-residence between adult children and elderly paternal parents. Our results show that the percentage of intergenerational co-residence in the four societies ranges from 23.5% to 47.4%. While parents with greater need such as widowed parents tend to live with adult children, most co-residence occurs among married sons and their parents – a typical, traditional patriarchal family structure. On the other hand, we should point out an emerging trend. Young, unmarried and less educated adult children have a higher likelihood of co-residing with their parents. Some research on Japanese families (Takagi and Silverstein 2006; Takagi et al., 2007) has also found that younger parents who own property are more likely to live with single children. Although some Japanese social critics (e.g. Yamada, 1999) have labeled single children living with their parents as ‘parasite singles’. Takagi and Silverstein (2006) suggested that regardless of whether adult children or their parents are the ‘dependent’ parties in the household, this emerging family form is a sign of intergenerational solidarity, albeit one based more on pragmatic than on ideological imperatives.

With regard to the effects of filial norms on intergenerational relations, our results confirm the expected significant positive effect in East Asia. The more adult children endorsed filial norms, the more likely they were to provide support to elderly parents, irrespective of other relevant factors. In other words, the filial concept an individual holds does produce salient effects on actual intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Also, both parental needs and children’s resources were shown to affect functional exchanges between generations. In particular, adult children were more likely to help with domestic chores if parents were widowed or ill. As to the resources availability, while highly educated children provided more financial support to their parents, those who received financial aid from parents did not return the financial support to parents in general. The latter may be owing to the lack of financial need of parents.

Another important factor accounting for the intergenerational relations in East Asia was the number of siblings an adult has. Our analysis indicated that adult children with more siblings were less likely to co-reside with parents, less likely to visit parents (if not co-residing) and more likely to provide financial support than physical assistance to parents. Hence, in East Asia, the filial responsibility of elderly parental support appears to be shared among adult children with more siblings. Those with more siblings practiced their filial act either by co-residing with parents or by providing financial support to parents, while their siblings assumed other filial duties. This result echoes in part the earlier findings by Bengtson et al. (1990), who analyzed data of seven countries and concluded that the number of family members is predicative of intergenerational contact or support. On the other hand, historically, the eldest son was expected to live with and provide care to aging parents in East Asian societies. However, the effect of sibling rank on co-residence, contacts and intergenerational support exchange are non-significant (not shown in Table 3).

To sum up, our study documents that in four East Asian societies – China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan – intergenerational relations are characterized by both change and continuity. The analysis shows that the shared dominant patriarchal culture expresses itself by the continuing influence of filial norms on intergenerational relations between adult children and their parents. Sons tend to perform various filial duties much more than daughters. However, changes have taken place, in that the prolonged co-residence of young, unmarried and less educated adult children with their parents constitutes a substantial proportion of the contemporary family structure in East Asia. The phenomenon of adult children leaving home later implies that the traditional ‘three-generational co-residence’ in East Asia, where elderly parents are taken care of by adult children, is changing in nature. It demonstrates that the composition of multigenerational households has changed based on not only personal circumstances but also socioeconomic contexts of the society. To what extent filial norms will remain a significant mechanism accounting for the future pattern of intergenerational relations in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan requires further investigation.

There are a few limitations to this study, such as a lack of items in the EASS regarding intergenerational affection as well as conflict between adult children and their parents. In the West, various studies have indicated that affection is crucial to intergenerational solidarity (e.g. Swartz, 2009). The emotional exchange between daughters and parents has gained more attention in East Asian families as well (Yi and Lin, 2009). In addition, since intergenerational ambivalence may coexist with the traditional filial norms, it will greatly contribute to our understanding of the future family dynamics if emotional factors are considered in studying East Asian families.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Author biographies

Ju-Ping Lin is a professor of human development and family studies at the National Taiwan Normal University. Her research focuses on aging within the context of family life, such as intergenerational relations, grandparenting, and the family life education program toward families in the middle and later years.

Chin-Chun Yi is a research fellow at the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. She has published in the area of family sociology and youth studies. Dr Yi is an active member of the ISA and also serves on the editorial board of several sociological journals.

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