title: An alternative discourse of productive aging: A self-restrained approach in older Chinese people in Hong Kong.
abstract: While Western discourses regarding productive aging emphasize individuals' contributions to economic productivity, the Confucian cultural heritage of the Chinese community may provide an alternative perspective. This qualitative study explores interpretations of what constitutes productive aging, based on a series of in-depth interviews with older Chinese people in Hong Kong. It shows that some of these individuals adopted a passive and indirect interpretation of productive aging, distinct from that found in Western countries. The Confucianism-based, collectivist, normative order underpinning Hong Kong society disposed these older people to adopting a self-restrained attitude with the aim of avoiding becoming a burden to others, especially family members. Such a tendency toward self-restraint or avoidance also encompassed a compromise between ideals and reality, with the older people opting to compromise their expectations of the younger generation as a whole, their adult children in particular, in terms of respect and reciprocity.
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, 2/F, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Electronic address: lauralmx@connect.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Minxia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, 5/F, Jockey Club Tower, The Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Electronic address: ernest@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Ernest Wing-Tak
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Chui
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Chinese culture; Hong Kong; Productive aging; Productive engagement