Intergenerational Contact in Chinese Families: Structural and Cultural Explanations

• Published date: 01 June 2017
• Author: Rob J. Gruijters
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12390
• Date: 01 June 2017

R J. G University of Oxford

Intergenerational Contact in Chinese Families:

Structural and Cultural Explanations

Although the determinants of intergenerational

contact have been well documented in Western

countries, we know virtually nothing about the

situation in China, a country that has recently

experienced unprecedented socioeconomic and

demographic change. This study analyzed the

frequency of (a) visits and (b) other contact

(phone, text message, etc.) in a representative

sample of 16,715 adult child–parent dyads,

focusing in particular on the role of migration

as well as children’s gender, marital status,

and education level. Adult children generally

maintained intensive social relations with par-

ents, although distance was a major barrier to

face-to-face contact. Sons visited more often

than daughters, but daughters were more likely

to stay in touch by other means. Moreover, the

strength of parent–daughter ties was strongly

dependent on education level. These ndings

suggest that women’s empowerment and the

spread of mobile technology have created new

opportunities for intergenerational solidarity.

China’s recently revised Elderly Rights Law

attracted international attention by requiring

children to pay regular visits to their aged par-

ents (Hatton, 2013). Merely a few decades ago

such a requirement would have been consid-

ered preposterous: Virtually all parents lived

Department of Sociology, Universityof Oxford, Manor

Road Building, OX1 3UQ, U.K.

(rob.gruijters@sociology.ox.ac.uk).

Key Words: Asian/Pacic Islander families, families in mid-

dle and later life, gender, intergenerational relations, kin-

ship, social support.

in multigenerational households, and norms

of lial piety ensured strong lifelong ties with

sons in particular (Whyte, 2003). In recent

years, however, mass internal migration has

increased geographic distance between gen-

erations, and rapid socioeconomic change has

raised concerns about the erosion of traditional

Confucian family values. The perceived decline

in intergenerational family solidarity and the

high prevalence of loneliness and depression

among “left-behind” elders are important issues

in the Chinese public and private discourse

(Silverstein, Cong, & Li, 2006; Yang & Victor,

2008).

Against this backdrop, a number of studies

have addressed the current state of the family

support system in China (e.g., Guo, Chi, & Sil-

verstein, 2012; Song, Li, & Feldman, 2012),

but none of them focused on social contact

specically. Social contact has a number of

advantages as an indicator of the strength of fam-

ily ties or intergenerational solidarity (Bengt-

son & Roberts, 1991). First, social contact (or

associative solidarity) can be assumed to be

an important element of parent–child relations

throughout the life course, contrary to other indi-

cators such as caregiving, which are generally

needs based. Second, contact is an objective

behavioral indicator that can be measured in a

relatively reliable way (Steinbach, 2013). Third,

frequent social interaction is strongly correlated

with the receipt of care and other types of sup-

port from children at the time of need (Lye,

1996). The latter is particularly important in the

Chinese context because public assistance for

older people is often unavailable or insufcient.

758 Journal of Marriage and Family 79 (June 2017): 758–768

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12390