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Article
Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: a gendered extended family perspective
Ageing and Society (2011)
  • Zhen Cong, Texas Tech University
  • Merril D Silverstein, University of Southern California
Abstract

This investigation examines how support from adult children is affected by their parents’ involvement in grandchild care. Instead of focusing on dyadic interactions, we adopt a gendered extended family perspective to examine how financial and emotional support from children was influenced when their siblings received help with child care from their elder parents. The data were from a two-wave (2001, 2003) longitudinal study of 4,791 parent–child dyads with 1,162 parents, aged 60 and older, living in rural areas of Anhui Province, China. Random effects regression showed that emotional support from both sons and daughters was strengthened when parents provided more child care for their other adult children; in addition, daughters were more emotionally responsive than sons under this situation. Concerning dyadic parent–child relationships, daughter and sons increased their financial support, and sons increased their emotional support when they themselves received help with child care from parents. We suggest taking a gendered extended family perspective when studying intergenerational relationships in rural China.

Keywords
  • caring for grandchildren,
  • emotional support,
  • financial support,
  • intergenerational support,
  • rural China.
Disciplines
Publication Date
May, 2011
Publisher Statement
Copyright (2011) . This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and Ageing and Society. The article may be found at http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2F4183_5AF80CD1FF2E47C34764F372845FC5C6_journals__ASO_ASO32_03_S0144686X11000420a.pdf&cover=Y&code=c0d0f481f57f7cc9559d97c60a9e146d
Citation Information
Zhen Cong and Merril D Silverstein. "Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: a gendered extended family perspective" Ageing and Society Vol. 32 Iss. 3 (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/merril_silverstein/10/