Meal and residence rotation of elderly parents in contemporary rural northern China.
This study examines the shared caregiving responsibilities of adult children in the form of long-existing practice of meal and residence rotation of elderly parents in rural China in the post-reform era. Based on the analysis of qualitative data collected in two northern Chinese villages in 2007, the study goes beyond the usual focus on inter-generational relations and a discussion of living arrangements at a particular point in time, and it stresses the role of intra-generational relations in mediating inter-generational relations and shaping arrangements for care of the elderly. The study demonstrates that adult sons as well as daughters-in-law play important roles in negotiating elderly care arrangements. It argues that the new economic restructuring reshapes both inter- and intra-generational relations, with members of the younger generation actively negotiating among themselves and with their elderly parents to fulfill their perceived cultural roles in elderly care.
Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, 725 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 2J4, Canada. weiguo.zhang@utoronto.ca
Weiguo
W
Zhang
Yuesheng
Y
Wang
D032721:Adult Children; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers; D002681:China; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D011157:Population Dynamics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012944:Social Support