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“I Am the Only Child of my Parents:” Perspectives on Future Elder Care for Parents among Chinese only-Children Living overseas

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Abstract

The 1979 One­Child Policy in China created a generation of only children, leading to increased elder care dilemmas for this generation and its aging parents, particularly for young adults studying or working abroad. The current study used in-depth, semi­structured interviews with Chinese young adults who were currently studying or working in Montreal, Canada (N = 20), whose parents still lived in China. The interviews focused on the following topics: elder care patterns of respondents’ grandparents; family values and expectations; perceptions of professional long-term care institutions (in China and Canada); and future plans for taking care of aging parents. Respondents described their grandparents’ care as following traditional elder care patterns with multiple familial caregivers, which they appreciated as a positive model that defined their own obligations towards parents. Respondents reported being very close to their parents. Some planned to settle down in Canada and bring their parents, others planned to go back to China. Citing the tradition of filial piety, they expected to take care of their parents in the future, but they also considered the dilemmas involved in caring for aging parents without siblings to share the task, potentially requiring them to find compromises between their personal lives and caring for older parents. Those who planned to settle in Canada raised additional concerns about the challenges of bringing over their parents, including acculturation and access to and communication with health and long-term care providers. The results are discussed in the context of contemporary demographic, economic, and policy concerns about aging, family care, and immigration.

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Notes

  1. The World Band data, retrieved from: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?

  2. In late 1970s, Chinese government started its economic reforms, aimed to transform China’s economy system from planned and socialist economy to market oriented economy. The reforms involved the decollectivization of agriculture, opening door to foreign investments, encouraging private businesses, etc. Accordingly, these economic reforms also brought profound social change.

  3. Relevant provisions can be found in Marriage Law, Elderly Rights Law, etc.

  4. The data is retrieved from the website http://www.chinabgao.com/reports/56315.html, consulted on December 2, 2011.

  5. The time difference between Montreal and Beijing is 12 h in summer and 13 h in winter.

  6. In Chinese, this proverb is written as “树高千尺,落叶归根,” which means that in one’s old age, one should return to one’s hometown.

  7. The Hukou system (户籍制度) is a record system of household registration that imposes limits on citizens changing their permanent place of residence. Since the residence permit is associated with political, economic, and cultural rights, the Hukou system has long been criticized because of the inequality that it has brought.

  8. In Chinese, this proverb is written as “养儿防老,” which means that one of the most important reasons for one to have and raise children is that children could provide physical care and financial support in one’s older age.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, 3219 Turlington Hall, PO Box 117330, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7330, USA

    Tianhan Gui & Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox

Authors
  1. Tianhan Gui
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  2. Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox
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Correspondence to Tianhan Gui.

Appendix

Appendix

Interview guide

Personal information:

  1. 1.

    How old are you?

  2. 2.

    How long have you been in Canada?

  3. 3.

    What do you do right now in Canada?

  4. 4.

    Do your parents still work or are they retired?

  5. 5.

    How old are they?

  6. 6.

    Do they have siblings?

Main questions:

  1. 1.

    Since your parents still live in China, then do they live in the same city with your grandparents?

  2. 2.

    How frequently do your parents visit your grandparents?

  3. 3.

    For your parents and their siblings, is there anyone who mainly takes care of your grandparents or lives with them?

  4. 4.

    How old are your grandparents and how is their health condition?

  5. 5.

    (If grandparents’ health condition is not good) Do they live and will your parents let them live in some long-term care institutions and why?

  6. 6.

    How frequently do you contact with your parents and how?

  7. 7.

    Do you have any trauma these years because you are abroad and cannot accompany your parents?

  8. 8.

    A. (If plan to stay in Canada in the future) How do you plan to take care of your parents in the future? Will you bring them to Canada and why?

B. (If plan to go back to China) Will you work and live in the same city with your parents? How do you plan to take care of them in the future?

  1. 9.

    How do you see those long-term care institutions in Canada?

  2. 10.

    How do you see those long-term care institutions in China?

  3. 11.

    How do you see Canadian older people’s life? Is there any difference between their life style and Chinese older people’s life style?

  4. 12.

    If in the future, you are too busy with your work but your parents are old and need long-term care, can you accept sending them to those long-term care institutions? Why?

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Gui, T., Koropeckyj-Cox, T. “I Am the Only Child of my Parents:” Perspectives on Future Elder Care for Parents among Chinese only-Children Living overseas. J Cross Cult Gerontol 31, 255–275 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-016-9295-z

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