Persistence and challenges to filial piety and informal support of older persons in a modern Chinese society : a case study in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Aging Studies
Publication Date
5-1-2002
Volume
16
Issue
2
First Page
135
Last Page
153
Publisher
Pergamon Press
Abstract
Social support networks, consisting principally of family members, neighbors, and friends, can provide various support functions to older persons. As societies modernize, changes in family structure might alter this supportive ability, and changes in traditional values affect the nature of the network and support provided. This may especially be so in rapidly modernizing societies as in the Asia-Pacific region where the traditional role of the family and especially children's duty of care for parents ("filial piety" may be weakening. This proposition was investigated by a qualitative study in a modern new town (Tuen Mun) in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews with 50 older persons in public housing estates were triangulated with data from focus groups and key informants. Living arrangements, geographical proximity, and the quality of relationships between potential caregivers and receivers affected needs for and provision of support, and there were interactions between various components of informal support. An important finding, which also has policy implications, is that traditional Confucian filial piety may be undergoing modification, perhaps erosion, implying ongoing changes in intergenerational relations in this modernizing Asian society.
DOI
10.1016/S0890-4065(02)00040-3
Print ISSN
08904065
E-ISSN
1879193X
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Ng, A. C. Y., Phillips, D. R., & Lee, W. K.-m. (2002). Persistence and challenges to filial piety and informal support of older persons in a modern Chinese society: A case study in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Journal of Aging Studies, 16(2), 135-153. doi: 10.1016/S0890-4065(02)00040-3