Chinese Migrant Workers’ Care Experiences: A Model of the Mediating Roles of Filial Piety

Abstract

Filial piety is a highly relevant cultural mechanism that mediates the impacts of caregiving experiences on Chinese adult children, worldwide but perhaps especially in rural China. We undertook qualitative research with 24 migrant workers who were caring for an elderly parent diagnosed with terminal cancer. Research aims included building a comprehensive explanatory theoretical model for filial piety’s mediating role in caregivers’ lived experiences. We undertook a culturally sensitive Foucauldian discourse analysis of data, which showed that filial piety can not only function as a positive resource but also (mainly) translate to a requirement for secrecy, including about an ill parent’s prognosis and the need for support for caregivers. The findings challenge the extent of this secrecy and the burdens it places on caregivers. Policy makers should take account of the importance of filial piety and its mediating role both as a resource and hindrance to providing support to caregivers.

Older cancer survivors living with financial hardship in China: A qualitative study of family perspectives

“…Adult children often put their parent's survival above everything else. They hoped the patient would stay alive, even with incurable cancer, which did not evenly balance survival benefits against their family's future financial stability 16,19 . Simultaneously, older patients did not want to impose a burden on their child; thus, they often eventually made the decision to forgo cancer treatment.…”

“…Generally, older adults with cancer and their family caregivers are presented with complex information regarding the risks and benefits of cancer treatment, but financial concerns are not thoroughly discussed with health care professionals 14,15 . In addition, filial piety is a crucial mechanism that affects the cancer care of older parents in Chinese Confucian culture 16 . Patients' family caregivers (spouses and adult children) are critically important in providing supportive care and decision‐making during and after cancer treatment 17,18 .…”

What Makes Chinese Adult Children Behave Differently during Parents’ End of Life: A Discriminant Analysis of Macao Chinese

“…Higher filial responsibility was found to be associated with worse self-rated health [37]. This could be attributed to the implementation of more filial duties that may be burdensome for the children and lead to burnout [11,38]. Empirical studies have revealed that Chinese people generally consider the provision of direct bedside care, being responsible for medical expenses, decision-making of treatment for critically ill parents, and forgoing their own wishes to satisfy parents' FP representations toward end-of-life parents [6,39,40].…”

Mediating Effect of Filial Piety Between the Elderly’s Family Resource Contribution and Their Family Power: Evidence from China

“…Therefore, investigating the relationship among filial piety, resource contributions to family, and the family status of the elderly is crucial. In other studies of family relations, such as parental autonomy support and adolescents’ life satisfaction ( Tan et al, 2021 ), caregiving burden and gain among adult–children caring for parents with dementia ( Yu et al, 2016 ), migrant workers’ socioeconomic status and care for their parents diagnosed with terminal cancers ( He and Van Heugten, 2020 ), and so on, filial piety culture is often studied as a mediating variable. Therefore, it is interesting to explore whether or not filial piety culture also plays an intermediary role in the relationship between family resource contribution and family status in modern society.…”