The proposed research aims to extend our current cross-cultural comparative analysis of well-being in the U.S. and Japan to Chinese societies including the Chinese mainland and Taiwan by: 1. Examining cross-cultural comparability in measurement specification of well-being in the U.S., Japan, Chinese mainland, and Taiwan; 2. Evaluating structural variations of measurement specification in terms of dimensions such as age and sex among the Chinese and contrasting these results with similar analyses of the American and Japanese elderly; 3. Comparing linkages among dimensions of well-being found in the Chinese aged with those uncovered in the American and Japanese elderly; and 4. Analyzing longitudinal data within each culture and across cultures to examine change and stability in the structure of well-being. The basic design calls for a two-wave panel study of a sample of 5,000 aged persons in Hubei Province, China, over a period of five years. In addition, efforts will be made to coordinate the proposed research with a survey of some 4,000 elderly people in Taiwan planned by the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning. Data on the American elderly will come form secondary sources and an ongoing longitudinal study undertaken by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Data on the Japanese elderly will be obtained from another project currently being implemented y the PI. The research strategies include a combination of structural equation modeling, survey research, secondary data analysis, replication design, back translation, and random probes. The proposed research may serve as the foundation of a systematic coordination and integration of gerontological research involving the U.S. and many Asian countries.
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