Correlated factors with filial piety expectations of older Koreans and Korean-Americans

ABSTRACT

Changing filial piety expectations have been examined from the viewpoint of younger generations. However, research on older adults’ perspective of this cultural phenomenon is virtually absent from the empirical literature. In an effort to address the changing family life circumstances of Korean and Korean-American families, this study explores older adults’ filial expectations from their own children and correlated factors associated with the expectation. The cross-sectional survey study with 449 older adults found that the majority of respondents still believe that adult children should assume responsibility for the care of their parents. Several factors such as age, education, income, living arrangements, self-rated health, year of immigration, and social support were significantly correlated with filial expectations among older Korean-Americans. Only satisfaction with social support received from family and friends was significantly related to older Koreans’ expectations. Implications for social work practice are discussed and further research directions are suggested.     

Minority Adolescents' Future Orientation: The Case of Arabs Living in Israel

This study examines Arab adolescents' future orientation toward their education, family plans, economic status, and social adjustment. Arab adolescents' future orientation is of interest since, presently, Israel is experiencing major internal and external political changes. The Arabs in Israel are a non-assimilating minority. They differ from the Jewish majority in language, religion, and nationality. Previous research has shown that Arab adolescents express hope for peace and fear of war between the two peoples living in Israel. With the new peace initiatives in Israel, the future is being painted in different colors, and it is interesting to explore how Arab adolescents perceive their future, both as adolescents and as Arabs. The sample consists of 662 twelfth-grade students from seven high schools throughout Israel. The questionnaire used is a version of the Offer Self-image Questionnaire (Offer, Ostrov, & Howard, 1981), but only the findings on future orientation are analyzed in the present study. These findings show significant differences in Arab adolescents' future orientation across gender, family size, level of religiosity, and father's education. The significance of the findings is discussed in relation to the literature pertaining to adolescents' future orientation, particularly among minority groups, as well as the social, cultural, and educational transformation which the Arab population living in Israel is currently undergoing.     

Intergenerational Exchanges of Middle‐Aged Adults With Their Parents and Parents‐In‐Law in Korea

The authors investigated patterns of support exchanges between Korean adult children and their parents and parents‐in‐law, gender differences in these patterns, and implications of children's marital quality for exchange patterns. Data were from a nationally representative sample of married adults (N = 920, age 30–59 years) with at least 1 living parent and 1 living parent‐in‐law. Latent class analysis was applied to 12 indicators of exchanges (financial, instrumental, emotional support given to and received from parents and parents‐in‐law). Five classes of exchanges were identified, 3 showing balanced patterns of exchanges with parents and parents‐in‐law across three types of support and 2 classes with unbalanced patterns (e.g., giving instrumental and financial but not emotional support). The findings revealed variability in intergenerational exchange patterns, with a mix of patrilineal traditional and balanced patterns. Significant associations of exchange patterns with adult children's marital quality suggest the importance of balanced exchanges with parents for marriage.     

Social Support,Unfulfilled Expectations,and Affective Well‐being on Return to Employment

We conducted a longitudinal study to investigate how social support from the partner is related to mothers' affective well‐being during their return to employment after maternity leave and whether expectations of that support have an additional impact. We differentiated four forms of support and their respective expectation discrepancies: emotional, instrumental, informational, and companionship. Further, we included the impact of meeting specific support expectations. A convenience sample of 288 women filled out questionnaires 2 weeks before reentry and then 1 month and 2 months afterward. Social support was associated with well‐being, with emotional support having the strongest positive impact. Informational and instrumental support either were not related or were negatively related to affective well‐being. Expectations had an additional influence but were inconsistently associated with affect. They became more important over time.     

The Jewish community in Iraq, 1920–50: A failed attempt at integration

At the end of the First World War, the Iraqi Jewish community numbered about 85,000. With the establishment of the Arab Iraqi state in 1920, the leaders of the community advocated the integration of Iraqi Jewry into the national Arab society. Jews held important positions in all fields ‐ economic, social and cultural. Compared to Israel, Iraq was for them a paradise. There they hoped to build their future, which then promised to be bright. Arab Iraqi society, too, expected the Jewish minority to become a part of it and to contribute its talents to the consolidation and strengthening of the state.

The pogrom of 1941 was a turning point in the history of Iraqi Jewry, leading to the establishment of a Jewish underground. The worsening situation in Palestine prompted the Iraqi government to adopt a policy of repression and discrimination against the Jews, putting an end to the attempt by the Jewish minority to integrate into Arab Iraqi society. Jews began to seek ways to leave the country. The underground proved instrumental in helping some 121,000 Jews to flee Iraq and make their way to Israel.     

Perceptions of the narrative of the ‘other’ among Arab and Jewish adolescents in Israel: between peace talks and violent events

One of the major challenges for the process of peace building is to overcome the rigid structure of the socio‐psychological repertoire that accompanies it. Our longitudinal study examined one element of this repertoire among Jewish and Arab adolescents in Israel: the cognitive legitimacy and the emotional reactions toward the historical narrative of the opponent. We focused our question on the impact of the socio‐political context and the role of the violent reality in the development of these perceptions among youth. Data were collected in four stages (1999–2000, 2002, 2004, and 2007) among various samples of Arab and Jewish high school students (10th and 12th graders). The results showed that among the Jewish adolescents, the readiness to legitimate Palestinian narratives significantly decreased during violent periods. Among the Arab students, the impact of their difficult status as a Palestinian minority in the State of Israel is reflected in their relatively high level of readiness to accept both narratives. The results are discussed from social, cultural, and developmental perspectives with a focus on the role of the conflictual reality itself in the development of the socio‐psychological repertoire among youth.     

Intergenerational Relations: The Views of Older Jews and Arabs

The aim of the current qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of older Jews and Arabs on intergenerational family relations. Interviews were conducted with 20 men and women, 10 in each group, ages 65 and older. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: family is the major component of meaning of life; two dimensions of intergenerational relations: solidarity and ambivalence; intergenerational communication; filial expectations; and home and family as sources of honor and respect. Similarities and differences between the two groups were identified and explained, using modernization theory and cultural context.     

Residential Differences in Filial Responsibility Expectations Among Older Persons1

Abstract This study examines variation in filial responsibility expectations-the extent to which adult children are expected to assist and care for their aging parents-among a sample of 440 older persons. The analysis focuses on the relationship of filial responsibility expectations to residential location and tests the hypothesis that older rural residents have higher expectations for assistance from their children than do older urbanites. Current residential location is found to have little impact on expectations, but older persons who were raised in rural areas, particularly on farms, have significantly higher expectations for filial assistance than do older persons from urban backgrounds. Possible consequences of these patterns for the transmission of expectations from parents to children are discussed.     

The Structure of Intergenerational Relations in Rural China: A Latent Class Analysis

Most existing typology studies of intergenerational relations have used samples in North America and Europe. The present study expands on previous research by determining whether similar family relation typologies could be found using a sample of Chinese rural elders. The data were derived from a survey of 1,224 older adults in China's rural Anhui province in 2009. Latent class analysis revealed 5 types of intergenerational relations in rural Chinese families: (a) tight‐knit, (b) nearby but discordant, (c) distant discordant, (d) distant reciprocal, and (e) distant ascending. The authors argue that the distant ascending ties reflect the strong filial obligations that Chinese adult children have toward their parents and that the distant reciprocal ties reflect collaborative and mutually beneficial parent–child relations in rural China in the context of massive rural‐to‐urban migration. The findings of this study demonstrate how family relations in contemporary China are shaped by the larger economic, geographic, and cultural contexts.     

Extending the Intergenerational Stake Hypothesis: Evidence of an Intra‐individual Stake and Implications for Well‐being

The intergenerational stake hypothesis suggests that parents are more invested in their children and experience better quality parent–child ties than do their children. In this study the authors examined variation in reports of relationship quality regarding parents and children intra‐individually (do people report better quality ties with their children than with their parents?) and whether within‐person variations have implications for well‐being. Participants age 40–60 (N = 633) reported on their relationship quality (importance, positive quality, and negative quality) with their parents and adult children. Individuals reported their relationships with children were more important and more negative than relationships with parents. Individuals with feelings that were in the opposite direction of the intergenerational stake hypothesis (i.e., greater investment in parents than children) reported poorer well‐being. The findings provide support for the intergenerational stake hypothesis with regard to within‐person variations in investment and show that negative relationship quality may coincide with greater feelings of investment.     

Perceived Need for Home- and Community-Based Services: Experiences of Urban Chinese Older Adults With Functional Impairments

Guided by Cantor’s social care model, this study identified individual, family, and social support factors that influence urban older adults’ need for home- and community-based services, including medical and rehabilitation, instrumental care and support, and psychosocial services. The data were extracted from the Sample Survey on Aged Population in Urban/Rural China conducted by the China Research Center on Aging in 2006. Results from multiple logistic regression show that older adults’ need for medical and rehabilitation services is significantly related to instrumental activities of daily living, depression, not having filial children, friend support networks, and having a confidant. Older adults’ need for instrumental care and support is related to their educational attainment, financial strain, instrumental activities of daily living, not living with children, and friend support networks. Finally, older adults’ need for psychosocial services is significantly related to educational attainment, depression, not being married, friend support networks, and having a confidant. Implications for social service development are discussed.     

Negotiating Inequality Among Adult Siblings: Two Case Studies

Qualitative instrumental case study analysis of adult siblings from 2 families explores how socioeconomic inequality among them affects their relationships to one another. Eight middle‐aged siblings’ observations of childhood, parental expectations, work and family history, lifestyle, and current sibling ties indicate that childhood interdependence, parallel parental treatment, similar intergenerational mobility, greater success of the younger rather than older siblings, and economic success due to other than individual effort facilitate smoother negotiations of material inequality and enhance the negotiation of sibling relationships as important sources of support. These new insights on negotiating sibling ties over time are related to various forms of capital, a life course perspective, and ambivalence, and point to fresh avenues for future research and theory.     

Intergenerational support and functional limitations among older Chinese immigrants: Does acculturation moderate their relationship?

ABSTRACT

Using a purposive sample of 236 older Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, this study investigated the association between intergenerational support and functional limitations and the potential moderating effect of acculturation in such a relationship. The results of multiple regression analyses showed that receiving financial support from children and coresiding with offspring were significantly correlated with more limitations in instrumental activities of daily living. Perceived emotional cohesion with children was significantly correlated with fewer such limitations. The relationship between different dimensions of intergenerational support and functional limitations varied by acculturation. To prevent or reduce functional limitations, interventions need to consider acculturation.     

Parental involvement in school: A test of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model among Jewish and Arab parents in Israel

Parental involvement in children's schooling has been repeatedly shown to be positively and significantly correlated with a number of positive child outcomes. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995) proposed a multivariate model of parental involvement. There are indications that the model should be adjusted to include mediating effects of parental role constructions. Further, this model has not been tested in educational systems and cultural contexts outside the US. The goals of the present study were to model factors associated with parental involvement in schools in Israel, and compare model fit among two populations representing different cultures.A survey was conducted with 5999 parents of junior- and senior-high school students in Israel. Data were collected on the extent of parental involvement, parental role construction, invitation for involvement from school, homeroom teacher and the child, availability of resources such as time, energy, skills, and knowledge, parents' ethnic affiliation, and the socio-economic status of the school's local authority. Data were analyzed using SEM, Sobel test for mediation, and multivariate hierarchical regression.The findings support the original theoretical model. Findings also revealed significant but very weak mediating effect of parental role construction. The model had a similar fit for both Jewish and Arab samples. Little of the variance in parental involvement was explained by ethnic/cultural affiliation and socio-economic status. Implications for parental involvement interventions with diverse populations are discussed.     

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

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.     

Parental financial support and filial responsibility in emerging adulthood: a comparative study between the United States and South Korea

Why do parents provide considerable financial support to their children in college? How do college students feel about their parental financial support and how does it differ between American and Korean cultural contexts? Based on multiple group analysis, we tested the impact of family income and parents’ education on parental tuition and living expenses supports, which in turn affects college students’ perception of filial responsibility across the United States and South Korea. Participants included 179 American college (AC) students from Syracuse University and 268 Korean college (KC) students from Yonsei University Wonju. We found that family income was significantly related to an increase in parental tuition and living expenses supports for both AC and KC students. However, parents’ education was significantly related to an increase in parental tuition and living expenses supports for AC students, but not for KC students. In addition, parental tuition support was related to an increase for filial responsibility, and parental living expenses were related to a decrease in filial responsibility in KC students, but not for AC students. These results indicate that the association between parental financial support and college students’ perception of filial responsibility differs across American and Korean cultural contexts.     

Geographic distance and intergenerational relationships in Chinese migrant families

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effect of adult Chinese migrants’ geographic distance from home on their intergenerational relationships with parents who remain behind. We compared monetary and family care support as well as emotional relationships among four parent-child groups: older adults and international migrant children, older adults and internal migrant children (who migrated to other cities in China), older adults and coresiding children, and older adults and local children (living in the same city as their parents). Data were derived from 332 older adults in Beijing, China, with at least one child who migrated to another country or city. Results from chi-square tests, anaylsis of variance (ANOVA) tests, and regression analyses indicate that international and internal migrant children maintain similar intergenerational relationships with their parents, and that both of those groups are less likely than coresiding and local children to have family care exchanges and emotionally close relationships with their parents. The results may help professionals develop supportive services and policies for older adults in migrant families.     

Performative family: homosexuality,marriage and intergenerational dynamics in China

Using in‐depth interview data on nominal marriages – legal marriages between a gay man and a lesbian to give the appearance of heterosexuality – this paper develops the concept of performative family to explain the processes through which parents and their adult children negotiate and resolve disagreements in relation to marriage decisions in post‐socialist China. We identify three mechanisms – network pressure, a revised discourse of filial piety and resource leverage – through which parents influence their gay offspring's decision to turn to nominal marriage. We also delineate six strategies, namely minimizing network participation, changing expectations, making partial concessions, drawing the line, delaying decisions and ending the marriage, by which gay people in nominal marriages attempt to meet parental expectations while simultaneously retaining a degree of autonomy. Through these interactions, we argue that Chinese parents and their gay adult children implicitly and explicitly collaborate to perform family, emphasizing the importance of formally meeting society's expectations about marriage rather than substantively yielding to its demands. We also argue that the performative family is a pragmatic response to the tension between the persistent centrality of family and marriage and the rising tide of individualism in post‐socialist China. We believe that our findings highlight the specific predicament of homosexual people. They also shed light on the more general dynamics of intergenerational negotiation because there is evidence that the mechanisms used by parents to exert influence may well be similar between gay and non‐gay people.     

Intergenerational Support and Depression Among Elders in Rural China: Do Daughters‐In‐Law Matter?

This study examined the influence of intergenerational assistance with household chores and personal care from sons, daughters, and daughters‐in‐law on the depressive symptoms of older adults in rural China. The sample derived from rural Anhui Province, a region with a strong hierarchy of support preferences that leads with sons and their families. We used data from a random sample of 1,281 adults aged 60 and over, who were interviewed in 2001 and 2003. Analyses indicated that depressive symptoms were usually reduced by assistance from daughters‐in‐law and increased sometimes when such support was from sons. These relationships held most strongly when mothers coresided with their daughters‐in‐law. This research suggests that the benefits of intergenerational support are conditional on culturally prescribed expectations.     

Jewish-Arab relations in Israel: Perceptions,emotions, and attitudes of university students of education

This study reports on the perceptions, emotions and attitudes of 172 Jewish and Arab undergraduate and graduate students of education concerning their own national identity, the intergroup relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel, and the desired political solution for the Arab minority in Israel. Against the background of the continuously changing political situation that involves advances and drawbacks in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the perceptions, emotions and attitudes of future educators concerning the Jewish-Arab conflict seem important as a foundation for strengthening pupils' orientation towards equality and pluralism. Results are presented concerning four domains: identity markers of students in the two groups, intergroup perceptions and emotions manifested in indicators of social distance, Jewish students' attitudes towards cultural autonomy of the Arab minority, and opinions concerning a desired political solution. The findings are discussed in light of the characteristics of the sample, in relation to previous studies that asked similar questions, and in relation to the processes taking place in the region in the last few years.