Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-hfldf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T10:17:41.667Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Self-reliance first, children's care-giving second’: older adults' experience and conceptualisation of ageing-in-place in rural China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2024

Lin Chen Open the ORCID record for Lin Chen [Opens in a new window] ,
Xupeng Mao Open the ORCID record for Xupeng Mao [Opens in a new window] ,
Eva Kahana  and
Wenlu Zhao
Lin Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Xupeng Mao*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Eva Kahana
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
Wenlu Zhao
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
*
Corresponding author: Xupeng Mao; Email: xupmao@ecust.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Ageing-in-place has become an internationally favoured policy and practice response to population ageing. However, limited literature has sought to understand this concept from Chinese older adults' perspectives, especially in rural China. The purpose of this study is to explore how older adults in rural China conceptualise ageing-in-place. This study took a qualitative approach by carrying out in-depth interviews with snowball-sampled older adults from a rural village in Shandong Province, China (N = 30). Participants conceptualised their ageing-in-place as consisting of two phases: first, when they felt self-reliant, these older adults preferred to live independently in the village; and second, when their capability declined, they would expect care-giving from their children. Autonomy was essential to participants' decision to age in place. The village offered both a physical and social environment in which participants could sustain their self-identity. This decision to age in place independently also related to participants' proactive adaptation to their children's evolving practices of filial piety. Still, had their capabilities declined, they reported they would expect their children's care-giving and move in with their children. Our findings suggest that older adults in rural China conceptualise ageing-in-place as a dynamic process that evolves as they age and experience changes in their needs and capabilities. This perception expands critical notions of ageing-in-place by highlighting rural older adults' flexible conceptualisation of the ‘place’ in which they plan to age. This study sheds light on socioculturally nuanced understandings of ageing-in-place while providing evidence to inform tailored policy and practice development in rural China.

Keywords

ageing-in-placeadult childrenautonomyfilial pietyproactivityrural Chinarural gerontologyself-reliance
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , First View , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahn, M, Kang, J and Kwon, HJ (2020) The concept of aging in place as intention. The Gerontologist 60, 50–59.Google ScholarPubMed
Alley, D, Liebig, P, Pynoos, J, Banerjee, T and Choi, IH (2007) Creating elder-friendly communities: preparations for an aging society. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 49, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bigonnesse, C and Chaudhury, H (2020) The landscape of ‘aging in place’ in gerontology literature: emergence, theoretical perspectives, and influencing factors. Journal of Aging and Environment 34, 233–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buffel, T, Verté, D, De Donder, L, De Witte, N, Dury, S, Vanwing, T and Bolsenbroek, A (2012) Theorising the relationship between older people and their immediate social living environment. International Journal of Lifelong Education 31, 13–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) Healthy Places Terminology: Aging in Place. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/terminology.htm.Google Scholar
Chang, W and Kalmanson, L (2010) The Confucian tradition – an evolving narrative. In Chang, W and Kalmanson, L (eds), Confucianism in Context: Classic Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, East Asia and Beyond. New York, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 1–8.Google Scholar
Chen, L, Ye, M and Kahana, E (2020) A self-reliant umbrella: defining successful aging among the old-old (80+) in Shanghai. Journal of Applied Gerontology 39, 242–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, SH and Lou, VW (2023) Residential reasoning: how childless older adults choose between ageing in place (AIP) and institutionalisation in rural China. Ageing & Society 43, 516–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, CK and Kwan, AY-H (2009) The erosion of filial piety by modernisation in Chinese cities. Ageing & Society 29, 179–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, YJ (2022) Understanding aging in place: home and community features, perceived age-friendliness of community, and intention toward aging in place. The Gerontologist 62, 46–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, T and Wiles, J (2020) Being with objects of meaning: cherished possessions and opportunities to maintain aging in place. The Gerontologist 60, 41–49.Google ScholarPubMed
Cong, Z and Silverstein, M (2008) Intergenerational support and depression among elders in rural China: do daughters-in-law matter? Journal of Marriage and Family 70, 599–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corbin, J and Strauss, A (2008) Basics of Qualitative Research, 3rd Edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Creswell, JW and Poth, CN (2017) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th Edn. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Cutchin, MP (2009) Geographical gerontology: new contributions and spaces for development. The Gerontologist 49, 440–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duay, DL and Bryan, VC (2006) Senior adults’ perceptions of successful aging. Educational Gerontology 32, 423–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilleard, C, Hyde, M and Higgs, P (2007) The impact of age, place, aging in place, and attachment to place on the well-being of the over 50s in England. Research on Aging 29, 590–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimmer, K, Kay, D, Foot, J and Pastakia, K (2015) Consumer views about aging-in-place. Clinical Interventions in Aging 10, 1803–1811.Google ScholarPubMed
Guest, G, MacQueen, KM and Namey, EE (2011) Applied Thematic Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Guo, Q, Gao, X, Sun, F and Feng, N (2020) Filial piety and intergenerational ambivalence among mother–adult child dyads in rural China. Ageing & Society 40, 2695–2710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
He, L, van Heugten, K, Perez-Y-Perez, M and Zheng, Y (2021) Issues of elder care among migrant workers in contemporary rural China: filial piety redefined from a Foucauldian perspective. Journal of Aging & Social Policy 35, 554–574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hrybyk, R, Rubinstein, RL, Eckert, JK, Frankowski, AC, Keimig, L, Nemec, M, Peeples, A, Roth, E and Doyle, PJ (2012) The dark side: stigma in purpose-built senior environments. Journal of Housing for the Elderly 26, 275–289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, H, Cao, Q, Shi, Z, Lin, W, Jiang, H and Hou, Y (2018) Social support and depressive symptom disparity between urban and rural older adults in China. Journal of Affective Disorders 237, 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iecovich, E (2014) Aging in place: from theory to practice. Anthropological Notebooks 20, 21–33.Google Scholar
James, K, Holder-Nevins, D, Morris, C, Eldemire-Shearer, D, Powell, J and Laws, H (2012) Ageing in place: implications of morbidity patterns among older persons – findings from a cross-sectional study in a developing country (Jamaica). Australasian Journal on Ageing 31, 170–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, N, Lou, VW and Lu, N (2018) Does social capital influence preferences for aging in place? Evidence from urban China. Aging & Mental Health 22, 405–411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahana, E (1982) A congruence model of person–environment interaction. In Lawton, MP, Windley, PG and Byerts, TO (eds), Aging and the Environment: Theoretical Approaches. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 97–121.Google Scholar
Kahana, E, Kahana, B and Lee, JE (2014) Proactive approaches to successful aging: one clear path through the forest. Gerontology 60, 466–474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahana, E, Kelley-Moore, J and Kahana, B (2012) Proactive aging: a longitudinal study of stress, resources, agency, and well-being in late life. Aging & Mental Health 16, 438–451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahana, E, Lovegreen, L, Kahana, B and Kahana, M (2003) Person, environment, and person–environment fit as influences on residential satisfaction of elders. Environment and Behavior 35, 434–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keating, N and Phillips, J (2008) A critical human ecology perspective on rural ageing. In Keating, N (ed.), Rural Ageing: A Good Place to Grow Old? Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 1–10.Google Scholar
Lawton, MP (1990) Residential environment and self-directedness among older people. American Psychologist 45, 638–640.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, MP and Simon, B (1968) The ecology of social relationships in housing for the elderly. The Gerontologist 8, 108–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, C and Buffel, T (2020) Aging in place and the places of aging: a longitudinal study. Journal of Aging Studies 54, 100870.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, Z and Chen, F (2018) Evolving parent–adult child relations: location of multiple children and psychological well-being of older adults in China. Public Health 158, 117–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, Z and Tang, D (2021) Separated kin: location of multiple children and mental health trajectories of older parents in rural China. Aging & Mental Health 27, 425–433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luo, B and Zhan, H (2012) Filial piety and functional support: understanding intergenerational solidarity among families with migrated children in rural China. Ageing International 37, 69–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mai, DT (2015) Sustaining Family Life in Rural China: Reinterpreting Filial Piety in Migrant Chinese Families (Doctoral dissertation). Oxford University, Oxford.Google Scholar
Mao, X and Han, WJ (2018) Living arrangements and older adults’ psychological well-being and life satisfaction in China: does social support matter? Family Relations 67, 567–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milbourne, P (2012) Growing old in rural places. Journal of Rural Studies 28, 315–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milbourne, P and Doheny, S (2012) Older people and poverty in rural Britain: material hardships, cultural denials and social inclusions. Journal of Rural Studies 28, 389–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2021 a) Zhong guo tong ji nian jian 2021 [China Statistical Yearbook 2021]. Beijing: China Statistics Press.Google Scholar
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2021 b) Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census. Available at http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html.Google Scholar
Pani-Harreman, KE, Bours, GJ, Zander, I, Kempen, GI and van Duren, JM (2021) Definitions, key themes and aspects of ‘ageing in place’: a scoping review. Ageing & Society 41, 2026–2059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patton, MQ (2002) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C and Scharf, T (2005) Rural and urban perspectives on growing older: developing a new research agenda. European Journal of Ageing 2, 67–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulin, LI, Skinner, MW and Hanlon, N (2020) Rural gerontological health: emergent questions for research, policy and practice. Social Science & Medicine 258, 113065.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogers, M, Barr, N, O'Callaghan, Z, Brumby, S and Warburton, J (2013) Healthy ageing: farming into the twilight. Rural Society 22, 251–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scharf, T and Bartlam, B (2008) Ageing and social exclusion in rural communities. In Keating, N (ed.), Rural Ageing: A Good Place to Grow Old? Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 97–108.Google Scholar
Scharlach, AE (2017) Aging in context: individual and environmental pathways to aging-friendly communities – the 2015 Matthew A. Pollack Award Lecture. The Gerontologist 57, 606–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shenton, AK (2004) Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information 22, 63–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, L (2009) ‘Little quilted vests to warm parents’ hearts’: redefining the gendered practice of filial piety in rural North-eastern China. The China Quarterly 198, 348–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M, Cong, Z and Li, S (2006) Intergenerational transfers and living arrangements of older people in rural China: consequences for psychological well-being. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 61, 256–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverstein, M, Gong, CH and Kendig, H (2020) Perceived availability of future care and depressive symptoms among older adults in China: evidence from CHARLS. BMC Geriatrics 20, 31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skinner, MW and Winterton, R (2018) Interrogating the contested spaces of rural aging: implications for research, policy, and practice. The Gerontologist 58, 15–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stones, D and Gullifer, J (2016) ‘At home it's just so much easier to be yourself’: older adults’ perceptions of ageing in place. Ageing & Society 36, 449–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, D, Lin, Z and Chen, F (2020) Moving beyond living arrangements: the role of family and friendship ties in promoting mental health for urban and rural older adults in China. Aging & Mental Health 26, 1523–1532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, F and Lee, Y (2011) Social support networks and expectations for aging in place and moving. Research on Aging 33, 444–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tobi, SM, Fathi, MS and Amaratunga, D (2017) Ageing in place, an overview for the elderly in Malaysia. AIP Conference Proceedings 1891, 020101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanleerberghe, P, De Witte, N, Claes, C, Schalock, RL and Verté, D (2017) The quality of life of older people aging in place: a literature review. Quality of Life Research 26, 2899–2907.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vasunilashorn, S, Steinman, BA, Liebig, PS and Pynoos, J (2012) Aging in place: evolution of a research topic whose time has come. Journal of Aging Research 2012, 120952.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wahl, HW, Iwarsson, S and Oswald, F (2012) Aging well and the environment: toward an integrative model and research agenda for the future. The Gerontologist 52, 306–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wahl, HW and Weisman, GD (2003) Environmental gerontology at the beginning of the new millennium: reflections on its historical, empirical, and theoretical development. The Gerontologist 43, 616–627.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, J, Orpin, P, Baynes, H, Stratford, E, Boyer, K, Mahjouri, N, Patterson, C, Robinson, A and Carty, J (2013) Insights and principles for supporting social engagement in rural older people. Ageing & Society 33, 938–963.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, D (2006) China's urban and rural old age security system: challenges and options. China & World Economy 14, 102–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weller, C (2015) Here's China's genius plan to move 250 million people from farms to cities. Business Insider, August 5. Available at https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-chinas-big-plan-to-move-a-population-the-size-of-the-phillippines-from-farms-to-cities-2015-7.Google Scholar
Wiles, JL, Leibing, A, Guberman, N, Reeve, J and Allen, RE (2012) The meaning of ‘aging in place’ to older people. The Gerontologist 52, 357–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winterton, R and Warburton, J (2011) Does place matter? Reviewing the experience of disadvantage for older people in rural Australia. Rural Society 20, 187–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (2004) A Glossary of Terms for Community Health Care and Services for Older Persons. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/68896/WHO_WKC_Tech.Ser._04.2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.Google Scholar
Xing, Z (2010) Jining, improving the quality of civilization with the culture of filial piety. Guangming Daily, December 20. Available at https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2010-12/20/nw.D110000gmrb_20101220_10-04.htm.Google Scholar