Changing Attitudes toward Elderly Parental Support in Taiwan: Effects of Individual Resources and Cultural Norms

抄録

With urgent demand of elderly care in Taiwan, family as major care provider has confronted with various challenges in the process of social changes. This study intends to explore attitudes toward elderly parental support by focusing on the relative influence of individual resources, cultural norms and family care demand. Drawing from the Taiwan Social Change Survey, parental support is indicated by “living arrangement” and “financial support” which is further delineated by “from parent’s perspective” versus “from children’s perspective.” We first present the trend of changing attitudes on parental support from 1991 to 2016. A consistent picture shows that parental autonomy in living arrangement and in living expenses has been a preferred type from the parent’s perspective, while dependence on children, especially on sons, is considered a better choice from the children’s viewpoints. The impact of filial norm is suspected to affect children’s stand and thus produces the opposing patterns. Multivariate analyses point out cultural norms having the most salient effects, followed by individual resources and much less by care demand at home. Filial piety contributes to the expected attitudes on co-residence between generations and financial provision to parents from both perspectives. Future studies need to examine the emerging change on gender norms in elderly parental support.