<p>Many older adults in the developing world rely on their adult children for financial, instrumental, and emotional support. The People's Republic of China (PRC), which will experience rapid population aging in the current century, is no exception. Many scholars and policy-makers are concerned that rapid economic, social, and demographic change in China is leading to a decline in traditional support for aging parents. This study examines the impact of family ties and economic resources on the receipt of support and the health of older adults across communities in China at different levels of economic development.</p><p> I analyze data from the 2002 and 2008 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) as well as the 2000 and 2005 1% Chinese Census. Initiated in 1998, the CLHLS interviewed older adults residing in a random sample of counties and cities in 22 provinces and municipalities of China. Additionally, in 2002 a subset of adult children of CLHLS respondents were also interviewed in a separate survey. Furthermore, the 2008-2009 wave collected additional data from middle-aged and older adults residing in specially designated "longevity areas" in China. In addition to the standard questionnaire and health exam, samples of blood and urine were also collected by medical personnel. </p><p> The first empirical chapter of this dissertation examines the association between filial piety/altruism and financial transfers to aging parents from adult children using factor analysis, binary logistic regression, and linear regression. The second paper looks at the socioeconomic-status health gradient using biomarker data among older adults residing in longevity areas using binary logistic regression analysis. The third paper examines both individual-level and community-level determinants of non-normative intergenerational coresidence - living with an adult daughter instead of an adult son-- through multilevel binary logistic models analyzing both survey and census data. </p><p> I find that (1) adult children's attitudes towards filial piety and family values are associated with both presence and amount of financial transfers to older parents, net of controls for adult child's socioeconomic status, parental need, parents' earlier life transfers to children, and whether elderly parents' provide instrumental support to adult children. (2) Similar to previous research in middle-income countries, many biomarkers were not associated with socioeconomic status but those that were demonstrated a reversed gradient - higher socioeconomic status was associated with worse health. (3) Greater numbers of daughters, higher levels of individual socioeconomic status, and residing in a more developed community was associated with greater likelihood of coresidence with adult daughters versus adult sons.</p> / Dissertation
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DUKE/oai:dukespace.lib.duke.edu:10161/8064 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Sereny, Melanie Dawn |
| Contributors | O'Rand, Angela M |
| Source Sets | Duke University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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