The Effect of Intergenerational Dependence on Family Status of Older Rural Migrants in China

Yan Jiang, School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Qiuju Guo, School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

During the urbanization in China, an increasing number of older rural adults migrate to urban areas to live with their adult children in order to help raise grandchildren and secure old age care. This kind of interdependent relationship between older rural migrants and their adult children is common and is characterized by social exchange in economic capital, labor, and emotion. This study examines how intergenerational dependency is associated with the status of older rural migrants in the family, using innovative survey data on 726 older rural migrants. Results show that the authority of the older rural migrants declined in the interdependence relationship. The economic dependency of children on their parents helps to enhance the family status of the older adults. However, the economic dependency of older adults on their children is not associated with their family status. The more children depend on their parents for family labor, the higher the family status of the rural parents. In contrast, the dependency of parents on their children for assistance will lower their family status. The closer the emotional relationship between generations, the higher the family status of the older adult. We find that intergenerational reciprocity is still very important in family.

Keywords: Older Adults and Intergenerational Relations, Internal Migration and Urbanization, Population Ageing

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