Family Social Capital and Feelings of Loneliness among Older Adults in Four East Asian Societies

CHI CHIAO, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Yu-Hua Chen, National Taiwan University
Chia-Yu Lee, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Individual health outcomes differ significantly between families, and recent research has begun to explore how the complexity of family relationships in family networks may impact the epidemic and severity of mental health problems in general and feelings of loneliness in particular. A common hypothesis is that the inequitable distribution of family social capital resources mitigates the connections among family members, causing disproportional development of loneliness. However, research has not examined whether or not family social capital, even in different cohort contexts, is related to the loneliness of older adults in East Asian societies. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2015; N=15,292), the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR, 2013; N=3,716), the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA, 2016; N=6,973), and the Taiwan Longitudinal Survey on Aging (TLSA, 2015; N=4,837), logistic regression models demonstrate that receiving care mainly increases the risks of loneliness in four East Asian societies, compared those who lacked of contact. Yet, the associations between loneliness and other selected measures of family social capital were inconsistent across these four societies and by birth cohort. Further analyses may explore the caregiving-receiving dynamic in families via cohort-specific effects among older adults in East Asia.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Population Ageing, Families, Unions and Households

See extended abstract.