Abstract
Although most older Chinese parents live with an adult son or daughter, most adult offspring do not live with parents. We examine the relations of these noncoresident offspring with parents in terms of proximity, frequency of contact, and exchange of help. Based on a 1993 random sample survey conducted in two major Chinese cities, we find that although rates of coresidence are high, noncoresident sons and daughters live close to parents, have frequent contact with their parents, and provide regular help to parents. Relationships with noncoresident sons and daughters are unaffected by whether parents coreside with another child. There is some evidence of closer relationships with sons than with daughters, but parents without a son receive as much help from all children as do parents with sons. The effects of these and other predictors are estimated in multivariate analyses, and results are interpreted in terms of the persistence or change of traditional family norms.
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
References
Bumpass, L.L. (
1994
). A Comparative Analysis of Coresidence and Contact with Parents in Japan and the United States
. In L.-J. Cho, & M. Yada (Eds.), Tradition and Change in the Asian Family
(pp. 221
–46
). Honolulu
: East-West Center
.Choe, C.-S. (
1987
). Family and Kinship Organization
Introduction to Korean Studies
(pp. 690
–690
). Seoul
: National Academy of Sciences
.Davis-Friedmann, D. (
1991
). Long Lives: Chinese Elderly and the Communist Revolution
. Stanford, CA
: Stanford University Press
.Freedman, M. (
1958
). Lineage Organization in Southeastern China
. London
: The Athlone Press
.Freedman, M. (
1966
). Chinese Lineage and Society: Fukien and Kwangtung
. New York
: Humanities Press
.Herrnalin, A.I., M.B. Ofstedal, and L. Chi. 1992. “Kin Availability of the Elderly in Taiwan: Who is Available and Where are They?” Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia No. 92-18. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan.
Hermalin, A.I., M.B. Ofstedal, and M.-L. Lee. 1992. “Characteris of Children and Intergenerational Transfers.” Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia No. 92-21. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan.
Hu, R., & Ye, N. (
1991
). The Elderly Survey of Nine Chinese Cities in 1988
. China
: Tianjin Education Press
.Ikels, C. (
1993
). Settling Accounts: The Intergenerational Contract in an Age of Reform
. In D. Davis, & S. Harrell (Eds.), Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era
(pp. 307
–34
). Berkeley
: University of California Press
.Knodel, J., N. Chayovan, and S. Siriboon. 1992. “The Familial Support System of Thai Elderly: An Overview.” Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia No. 92-13. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan.
Koyama, T. (
1970
). Rural-Urban Comparison of Kinship Relations in Japan
. In R. Hill, & R. Koning (Eds.), Families in East and West
(pp. 318
–37
). Paris
: Mouton
.Lavely, W., & Ren, X. (
1992
). Patrilocality and Early Marital Coresidence in Rural China, 1955–85
. China Quarterly
, 130
, 378
–91
. 10.1017/S0305741000040789Lee, Y-J., Parish, W.L., & Willis, R.J. (
1994
). Sons, Daughters, and Intergenerational Support for the Elderly in Taiwan
. American Journal of Sociology
, 99
, 1010
–41
. 10.1086/230370Levy, M. (
1949
). The Family Revolution in Modern China
. Cambridge
: Harvard University Press
.Lillard, L.A., & Willis, R.J. (
1997
). Motives for Intergenerational Transfers: Evidence from Malaysia
. Demography
, 34
, 115
–34
. 10.2307/2061663Logan, J.R., & Bian, Y. (
1993
). Inequalities in Access to Community Resources in a Chinese City
. Social Forces
, 72
, 555
–76
. 10.2307/2579861Logan, J.R., F. Bian, and Y Bian. Forthcoming. “Tradition and Change in the Urban Chinese Family: The Case of Living Arrangements.” Social Forces.
Logan, J.R., & Spitze, G. (
1996
). Family Ties: Enduring Relations Between Parents and Their Adult Children
. Philadelphia
: Temple University Press
.Long, S.O. (
1987
). Family Change and the Life Course in Japan
. Ithaca, NY
: China-Japan Program, Cornell University
.Martin, L.G. (
1990
). Changing Intergenerational Family Relations in East Asia
. Annals of the American Association of Political and Social Science
, 510
, 102
–14
. 10.1177/0002716290510001008Martin, L.G., & Tsuya, N.D. (
1991
). Interactions of Middle-Aged Japanese with Their Parents
. Population Studies
, 45
, 299
–311
. 10.1080/0032472031000145456Morioka, K. (
1968
). Life History and Social Participation of the Families Living in a Public Housing Project in a Tokyo Suburb
. Journal of Social Sciences (Japan)
, 7
, 199
–275
.Okamura, K. (
1984
). Reciprocities between Elderly Mothers and Their Middle Aged Daughters in Separated Households
. Social Gerontology
, 19
, 106
–97
.Pan, Y., & Lin, N. (
1987
). “Zhongguo Chengshi Xiandai Jiating Moshi” (A Model of Contemporary Chinese Urban Families)
. Shehuixue Yanjiu (Sociological Research)
, 3
, 61
–61
.Spitze, G., & Logan, J. (
1990
). Sons, Daughters, and Intergenerational Social Support
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 52
, 420
–30
. 10.2307/353036Stacey, J. (
1983
). Patriarchy and Socialist Revolution in China
. Berkeley
: University of California Press
.Sun, I.-H., & Liu, Y-H. (
1994
). Changes in Intergenerational Relations in the Chinese Family: Taiwan’s Experience
. In L.-T. Cho, & M. Yada (Eds.), Tradition and Change in the Asian Family
(pp. 319
–61
). Honolulu
: East-West Center
.Unger, J. (
1993
). Urban Families in the Eighties: An analysis of Chinese Surveys
. In D. Davis, & S. Harrell (Eds.), Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era
(pp. 25
–49
). Berkeley
: University of California Press
.Wolf, M. (
1972
). Women and the Family in Rural Taiwan
. Stanford, CA
: Stanford University Press
.Yang, H. (
1996
). The Distributive Norm of Monetary Support to Older Parents: A Look at a Township in China
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 58
, 404
–15
. 10.2307/353505© Population Association of America 1998
1998
