GENDER AND ELDER CARE IN CHINA The Influence of Filial Piety and Structural Constraints HEYING JENNY ZHAN Georgia State University RHONDA J.V MONTGOMERY University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee The authors explore the changing dynamics of gendered familial caregiving in urban China within the context ofeconomic reforms and the continued cultural influence of xiao (filial piety).Data collected in China through interviews with 110 familial caregivers were used to examine cultural and structural influences on the caregiving behavior of adult children.Results from multiple regression analyses pro- vide evidence of a gendered division of parental care tasks,a decline in the patrilocal tradition of caregiving,and a strong social pressure that influences caregiving behavior.Structural factors linked to caregiving performance included family size,lack of pensions for elders,and caregivers'employment status and income.Findings portend deleterious effects for the women who are now caregivers as they are likely to live longer but be more financially dependent and have fewer children available to help them. Keywords:elder care:gender:culture;China This article focuses on the changing dynamics of gendered family caregiving in China within the context of economic reform and the continued cultural influence of xiao(filial piety).Specifically,the article examines the relative influence of cul- tural beliefs and structural constraints-in the form of family resources-on the elder care practices among a sample of urban-dwelling adult children in interior China.Until recently,patterns of familial caregiving for elders in China(Davis 1993:Davis-Friedmann 1983:Sher 1984)had not varied significantly despite dra- matic demographic,economic,and political changes during the past 2,000 years, particularly in the last century.Children were raised for the security of old age Sons,in particular,were important for passing on the family name,continuing ancestor worship,and providing physical and financial care for their parents(Ikels AUTHORS'NOTE:We would like to acknowledge the support of a Fulbright Hays Dissertation Research Grant for the research abroad.We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers and editors of the special issue for their insightful and helpful comments on the earlier versions of this article. REPRINT REQUESTS:Heying Jenny Zhan,Sociology Department,Georgia State University.Atlanta, GA 30303:e-mail:sochjz@langate.gsu.edu. GENDER SOCIETY,Vol.17 No.2.April 2003 209-229 D0:10.11770891243202250734 2003 Sociologists for Women in Socicty 209 Downloaded from gas.sagepub.com at UCSF LIBRARY CKM on January 27.201510.1177/0891243202250734 GENDER & SOCIETY / Zhan, Montgomery / GENDER AND ELDER CARE IN CHINA April 2003 ARTICLE GENDER AND ELDER CARE IN CHINA The Influence of Filial Piety and Structural Constraints HEYING JENNY ZHAN Georgia State University RHONDA J. V. MONTGOMERY University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The authors explore the changing dynamics of gendered familial caregiving in urban China within the context of economic reforms and the continued cultural influence of xiao (filial piety). Data collected in China through interviews with 110 familial caregivers were used to examine cultural and structural influences on the caregiving behavior of adult children. Results from multiple regression analyses pro￾vide evidence of a gendered division of parental care tasks, a decline in the patrilocal tradition of caregiving, and a strong social pressure that influences caregiving behavior. Structural factors linked to caregiving performance included family size, lack of pensions for elders, and caregivers’ employment status and income. Findings portend deleterious effects for the women who are now caregivers as they are likely to live longer but be more financially dependent and have fewer children available to help them. Keywords: elder care; gender; culture; China This article focuses on the changing dynamics of gendered family caregiving in China within the context of economic reform and the continued cultural influence of xiao (filial piety). Specifically, the article examines the relative influence of cul￾tural beliefs and structural constraints—in the form of family resources—on the elder care practices among a sample of urban-dwelling adult children in interior China. Until recently, patterns of familial caregiving for elders in China (Davis 1993; Davis-Friedmann 1983; Sher 1984) had not varied significantly despite dra￾matic demographic, economic, and political changes during the past 2,000 years, particularly in the last century. Children were raised for the security of old age. Sons, in particular, were important for passing on the family name, continuing ancestor worship, and providing physical and financial care for their parents (Ikels 209 AUTHORS’ NOTE: We would like to acknowledge the support of a Fulbright Hays Dissertation Research Grant for the research abroad. We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers and editors of the special issue for their insightful and helpful comments on the earlier versions of this article. REPRINT REQUESTS: Heying Jenny Zhan, Sociology Department, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303; e-mail: sochjz@langate.gsu.edu. GENDER & SOCIETY, Vol. 17 No. 2, April 2003 209-229 DOI: 10.1177/0891243202250734 © 2003 Sociologists for Women in Society Downloaded from gas.sagepub.com at UCSF LIBRARY & CKM on January 27, 2015