The present meta-analysis integrates the results from 168 empirical studies on differences between caregiving spouses, adult children, and children-in-law. Spouses differ from children and children-in-law significantly with regard to sociodemographic variables; also, they provide more support but report fewer care recipient behavior problems. Spouse caregivers report more depression symptoms, greater financial and physical burden, and lower levels of psychological well-being. Higher levels of psychological distress among spouses are explained mostly—but not completely—by higher levels of care provision. Few differences emerge between children and children-in-law, but children-in-law perceive the relationship with the care recipient as less positive and they report fewer uplifts of caregiving.

Spouses, adult children, and children-in-law as caregivers of older adults: a meta-analytic comparison.

Prevailing beliefs suggest that Eastern cultures hold older adults in higher esteem than Western cultures do, due to stronger collectivist traditions of filial piety However, in modern, industrialized societies, the strain presented by dramatic rises in population aging potentially threatens traditional cultural expectations Addressing these competing hypotheses, a literature search located 37 eligible papers, comprising samples from 23 countries and 21,093 total participants, directly comparing Easterners and Westerners (as classified per UN conventions) in their attitudes toward aging and the aged Contradicting conventional wisdom, a random-effects meta-analysis on these articles found such evaluations to be more negative in the East overall (standardized mean difference = -031) High heterogeneity in study comparisons suggested the presence of moderators; indeed, geographical region emerged as a significant moderating factor, with the strongest levels of senior derogation emerging in East Asia (compared with South and Southeast Asia) and non-Anglophone Europe (compared with North American and Anglophone Western regions) At the country level, multiple-moderator meta-regression analysis confirmed recent rises in population aging to significantly predict negative elder attitudes, controlling for industrialization per se over the same time period Unexpectedly, these analyses also found that cultural individualism significantly predicted relative positivity-suggesting that, for generating elder respect within rapidly aging societies, collectivist traditions may backfire The findings suggest the importance of demographic challenges in shaping modern attitudes toward elders-presenting considerations for future research in ageism, cross-cultural psychology, and even economic development, as societies across the globe accommodate unprecedented numbers of older citizens

Modern Attitudes Toward Older Adults in the Aging World: A Cross-Cultural Meta-Analysis

This study examined the effects of filial piety on the appraisal of caregiving burden by Chinese-Canadian family caregivers. A quantitative telephone survey was used as the research design for this study. A total of 339 randomly selected Canadian-Chinese family caregivers of elderly were interviewed by telephone. A hypothesized model denoting both the direct and indirect effects of filial piety on caregiving burden was tested using structural equation modeling. While stressors and appraisal factors reported direct predicting effects on caregiving burden, filial piety indirectly affected caregiving burden by altering appraisals of the caregiver role. Filial piety served as a protective function to reduce the negative effects of stressors and to enhance the positive effect of appraisal factors on caregiving burden.

Filial Piety, Caregiving Appraisal, and Caregiving Burden

This article investigates the importance of household context to subjective well-being among the oldest old (aged 80 years and older) in China. Using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, the authors find that living arrangements have strong implications for elderly emotional health. First, living alone is associated with lower subjective well-being. Second, coresidence with immediate family (spouse or children) is associated with positive subjective well-being. Third, compared to living with a son, the traditionally dominant type of living arrangement, coresidence with a daughter appears positively linked to the emotional health of the oldest old. Results highlight the importance of family and cultural context to subjective well-being of the oldest old. They also suggest that the gendered nature of caregiving merits further attention in China and other patrilineal societies.

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Household Context and Subjective Well-Being Among the Oldest Old in China

China's economic reforms over the past three decades have dramatically changed the mechanisms for allocating goods and labour in both market and non-market spheres. This article examines the social and economic trends that intensify the pressure on the care economy, and on women in particular in playing their dual roles as care givers and income earners in post-reform China. The analysis sheds light on three critical but neglected issues. How does the reform process reshape the institutional arrangements of care for children and elders? How does the changing care economy affect women's choices between paid work and unpaid care responsibilities? And what are the implications of women's work–family conflicts for the well-being of women and their families? The authors call for a gendered approach to both social and labour market policies, with investments in support of social reproduction services so as to ease the pressures on women.

Harsh choices: Chinese women's paid work and unpaid care responsibilities under economic reform.

The authors explore the changing dynamics of gendered familial caregiving in urban China within the context of economic reforms and the continued cultural influence of xiao (filial piety). Data collected in China through interviews with 110 familial caregivers were used to examine cultural and structural influences on the caregiving behavior of adult children. Results from multiple regression analyses provide evidence of a gendered division of parental care tasks, a decline in the patrilocal tradition of caregiving, and a strong social pressure that influences caregiving behavior. Structural factors linked to caregiving performance included family size, lack of pensions for elders, and caregivers’ employment status and income. Findings portend deleterious effects for the women who are now caregivers as they are likely to live longer but be more financially dependent and have fewer children available to help them.

Gender And Elder Care In China: The Influence of Filial Piety and Structural Constraints

To understand different pathways leading to older adults' sense of home in residential care environments in China.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/ajag.13143

Heying Jenny Zhan

Papers

Gender And Elder Care In China: The Influence of Filial Piety and Structural Constraints

Path towards home: Exploring pathways to the development of a sense of home in residential care settings in China