Becoming a Self-reliant Elder: Fading Intergenerational Reciprocity and Pursuing Active Aging among Middle-class Seniors in Urban China

Min Zhang and Qianyun Cheng

SAGE Open, 2024, vol. 14, issue 2, 21582440241259161

Abstract: The aging population is China’s most daunting challenge of the coming decades and has brought about profound consequences for Chinese society. Drawing upon the ethnographic work conducted in Guangzhou city from 2020 to 2023, the present study aims to show some most recent development regarding intergenerational reciprocity among older adults’ aging experience in urban China. The ethnographic accounts reveal the emergence of a concept termed “self-reliant elders†(çœ å¿ƒè€ äºº), which represents a departure from traditional cultural norms that emphasize grandchild care as the primary source of psychological and economic well-being for the elderly. Instead, these individuals prioritize independence in their later years and actively seek alternatives to family care, such as engaging in social activities and pursuing employment, to maintain a sense of being cared for and to uphold their self-worth. Concurrently, they also invest efforts in fostering harmonious relationships with younger generations through family-oriented activities and online communication. As China faces the challenges posed by its aging population, it becomes crucial to implement practical measures that enhance access to elderly care resources and support the self-reliance of older adults in order to address the emerging trend of aging.

Keywords: grandchild care; intergeneration reciprocity; good aging; elderhood; urban China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440241259161 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:21582440241259161

DOI: 10.1177/21582440241259161

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in SAGE Open
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().