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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Giving help in return
— family reciprocity by older Singaporeans | | Author(s) | Lois M Verbrugge, Angelique Chan |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 28, part 1, January 2008 |
| Pages | pp 5-34 |
| Source | http://www.journals.cambridge.org/ASO |
| Keywords | Family care ; Family relationships ; Parents ; Children [offspring] ; Assets [elderly] ; Housework ; Cross sectional surveys ; Singapore. |
| Annotation | Reciprocity is a powerful principle in social ties. The ethos of family reciprocity is especially strong in Asian societies. The authors study contemporaneous family exchanges, hypothesising that the more more current help older Singaporeans receive from family, the more they give in return. Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken of data from two national Singaporean surveys conducted in 1995 and 1999. The help received by older people is measured by income and cash support, payment of household expenses by others, having a companion for away-from-home activities, and having a principal carer. The help given by older people is measured by baby-sitting, doing household chores, giving financial help to children, and advising on family matters. Multivariate models are used to examine the factors that affect an older person's ability and willingness to give help. The results show that the more financial support Singapore seniors received from kin, the more baby-sitting and chores they provided. In their swiftly modernising society, Singaporean seniors are maintaining family reciprocity by giving time in return for money. The authors discuss how during the coming decades, reciprocity in Southeast and East Asian societies may shift from instrumental to more affective behaviours. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-071221001 A |
| Classmark | P6:SJ: DS:SJ: SR: SS: JD: GH6: 3KB: 7XD |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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