Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
12-2004
Abstract
This study uses national data from the 1996 Life History and Social change in Contemporary China survey (N = 3,087) to gauge the effect of the economic transition on parent-adult child coresidence in urban China. Previous studies find that, thanks to state actions, traditional patterns in coresidence persisted in post-Mao urban China. This study still finds high levels of coresidence. China's aging population, coupled with an underdeveloped social security system, means that the traditional role of family will remain strong. It also uncovers three new patterns, however, best explained as caused by changes in the economic realm. First, the coresidence pattern changes over parents' life course, shifting from child-centered to parent-centered as parents age. Second, class differentials begin to emerge, most notably seen in the unique patterns of the entrepreneurial class. Last, gender differentials remain significant, but the tilt toward sons has strengthened.
Keywords
aging, Chinese family, class, coresidence, gender, intergenerational relations, intergenerational relations
Discipline
Asian Studies | Family, Life Course, and Society
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Journal of Marriage and Family
Volume
66
Issue
5
First Page
1231
Last Page
1245
ISSN
0022-2445
Identifier
10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00089.x
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
ZHANG, Qian Forrest.(2004). Economic transition and new patterns of parent-adult child coresidence in urban China. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(5), 1231-1245.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/275
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00089.x