Informal care provided by family has been the cornerstone for older persons in Hong Kong. Changes in the structure of Hong Kong family alter this supportive function, and changes in traditional filial piety values affect the nature of the care and support provided. This proposition was investigated by a quantitative study involving structural survey interviews of 390 older persons in Hong Kong. The findings show that there are discrepancies between expected and actual caring functions. Living arrangements and geographical proximity affect the needs for and provision of informal support. Financial support has compensated for inadequate personal care by adult children. There is evidence to show that informal support for the older persons is changing. Traditional Confucian filial piety is undergoing modification, perhaps erosion, implying ongoing changes in intergenerational relations in this modernized Asian society.
Cultural aspects of aging have great importance on how older women and men are being treated, in particular in Asia where patriarchal practices dominate. Further, changes in the structure of the Chinese family alter this supportive function, and changes in traditional values affect the nature of the care and support provided to older women and men. This proposition was investigated by a quantitative study involving a survey of 390 older persons in Hong Kong. There are great discrepancies in informal support for older women and men. Older women are less likely to live with adult children; more likely to need financial assistance; and more likely to receive poor informal support. There is evidence that informal support for the elderly is changing in Hong Kong, and older women are being disadvantaged, experiencing insufficient and unavailability of informal support.
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