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

Share

COinS