Intergenerational relations in China are affected not only by cultural traditions and the impacts of social and economic modernization, but also by unique conditions resulting from state policy. These state policy conditions include population control policies (specifically, the one child family), housing scarcity, and policies affecting women's employment, collective services, and pensions. The proposed work examines intergenerational relations in urban China to evaluate the relative impacts of these forces on the Chinese family. Specific aspects of intergenerational relations to be studied include: co-residence, residential proximity, frequency of contact, and assistance in daily routines. Two sources of data are a random survey of older people in nine Chinese cities conducted in 1988 with a total sample size of 7,000) and a 1993 random sample survey of all adults in two major cities with samples of approximately 1,050 in each. Family relations are conceived as reciprocal, with support flowing both upward and downward through generations, and dependent on the needs and resources of both parents and children. Multivariate analyses will include characteristics of various family members including parents, adult children, and others.
| Bian, F; Logan, J R; Bian, Y (1998) Intergenerational relations in urban China: proximity, contact, and help to parents. Demography 35:115-24 |
