TY - JOUR
T1 - Family support and preparation for future care needs among urban Chinese baby boomers
AU - Song, Yajun
AU - Sörensen, Silvia
AU - Yan, Elsie C.W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Nan Lu, Dr. Hao Luo, Dr. Gloria Wong, Prof. Daniel Lai, and Prof. Terry Lum for their support in the initial versions of the paper. Y. Song planned the study, performed the data analysis, and wrote and revised the paper. S. Sörensen helped revise the manuscript. E. C. W. Yan helped plan the study and revise the manuscript. This research was approved by the research ethics committee of The University of Hong Kong (Reference No. EA450413). This research was self-funded.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Objectives: Little is reported about the family's role in preparation for future care (PFC) before the onset of care needs. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between PFC and different types of family support exchanged with generations both above and below. Method: Path analysis was conducted on 516 Chinese baby boomers aged 45-65 to examine the associations between PFC (care expectation, awareness, information gathering, and decision making) and 4 types of family support (instrumental support, financial assistance, information and appraisal, and emotional support) when the covariates were controlled for. Results: The current planning status and planning paths are consistent with those of the U.S. and European populations. Providing instrumental support to a parent was positively associated with awareness of care needs. Providing emotional support to a child was negatively associated with information gathering. In general, receiving support from a child facilitated PFC. Although those receiving emotional support from an adult child had less awareness of care needs, they displayed more information gathering. Discussion: The role of family support in PFC is more subtle than simply increasing and decreasing resource volumes. Future research is needed to better understand this complexity.
AB - Objectives: Little is reported about the family's role in preparation for future care (PFC) before the onset of care needs. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between PFC and different types of family support exchanged with generations both above and below. Method: Path analysis was conducted on 516 Chinese baby boomers aged 45-65 to examine the associations between PFC (care expectation, awareness, information gathering, and decision making) and 4 types of family support (instrumental support, financial assistance, information and appraisal, and emotional support) when the covariates were controlled for. Results: The current planning status and planning paths are consistent with those of the U.S. and European populations. Providing instrumental support to a parent was positively associated with awareness of care needs. Providing emotional support to a child was negatively associated with information gathering. In general, receiving support from a child facilitated PFC. Although those receiving emotional support from an adult child had less awareness of care needs, they displayed more information gathering. Discussion: The role of family support in PFC is more subtle than simply increasing and decreasing resource volumes. Future research is needed to better understand this complexity.
KW - Elder care preparation
KW - Family support exchange
KW - Parents of only-children
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015917174&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbw062
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbw062
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27222520
AN - SCOPUS:85015917174
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 73
SP - 1066
EP - 1076
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 6
ER -