Grandparenting and the Receipt of Filial Piety From Adult Children in Chinese American Families

Abstract The current study explores the association between grandparent caregiving by Chinese American elders and their perceived receipt of filial support from their adult children, called filial piety (xiao). Many studies find a correlation between grandparent caregiving and filial behaviors from their adult children, which is notably higher among minority families, especially among Asians than among white families, stimulated by the norm of reciprocity, familism, and extended kinship. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational relationships, social exchange theory, and the role theory, this study questions whether a more active engagement in grandparenting renders higher levels of filial piety returns from adult children. It uses the PINE data, a survey on the wellbeing of Chinese American elders in Chicago. The results show that more hours of grandparent caregiving relate to higher returns of filial piety perceived by older parents. Correspondingly, though with a marginal significance, more pressures to take care of a grandchild from adult children reduce the elders’ perception of filial piety receipt. No interaction effect is found between the grandparenting hours and the pressure from adult children. Additionally, Chinese American elders possessing higher levels of education, mastery, and longer stays in the US perceive lower levels of filial piety receipt from adult children. Discussion will focus on how grandparent caregiving can be mutually beneficial and strengthen intergenerational relationships among Chinese American families.

Thailand is among few developing countries that have provided universal social pension for its older adults since 2009. Analyzing nationally-representative data from the Surveys of Older Persons in Thailand, we address the extent to which older Thais have benefited from the policy and describe the socio-demographic correlates of older persons who primarily rely on OAA as their main income source. Importantly, we examine how reliance on OAA may have implications for intergenerational exchanges between older parents and adult children as well as the well-being of older Thais. Results show significant changes over the last decade in the patterns of old-age income sources and filial economic support for older parents, particularly after the universalization of the OAA policy. We find the declining importance of children and rising significance of OAA as the primary income source. Older persons whose main income source was OAA were considered socially and economically vulnerable, although it was men rather than women who were more likely to depend on OAA as the main income source. Results further indicate that reliance of OAA as the main income source is not associated with a reduction in non-monetary familial support (intergenerational coresidence and social support) for aged parents. Nevertheless, we find that older parents whose main income was OAA were consistently less likely to report income adequacy and psychological well-being compared to others. This evidence suggests that while the OAA scheme may have tackled old-age poverty issues, it has little impact in dampening economic and social inequality among older Thais. Carol Musil, Elizabeth Tracy, Rashon Braxton, McKenzie Wallace, and Alexandra Jeanblanc, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States In the U.S., over 2.7 million grandparents are primary caregivers to grandchildren. It is critical to understand the experiences of grandparent caregivers to design tailored, supportive programs. Our aim was to analyze written journals of 129 grandmothers with respect to the impact of raising grandchildren on relationships with family members. As part of a national RCT study of grandmother caregivers, participants completed daily journals for 4 weeks. Employing thematic data analysis, three members of the research team coded using NVIVO 12 Plus. The research team met regularly to compare and resolve discrepancies in coding. Percent agreement was > 80%. Relationships with the grandchild's mother were characterized by anger/tension, resentment, and the realization that the mother was incapable of parenting while at the same time expressing worry/concern for her. Relationships with the grandchild's father mirrored these dynamics while also depicting the father as a distant figure, inconsistent, and financially absent. Spousal relationships were marked by challenges faced by the spouse, their shared role/ influence as a grandparent, and the quality of their time spent together. The other relationships described were often focused on their other adult children, as well as their own adult siblings. Grandmother caregivers expressed stress or strain and frustration within these relationships. Caregivers also verbalized gratitude for support from family members within the context of familial and financial stress. Grandmother caregivers may need support in managing familial relationships and stress within these relationships, which may be a target for future interventions. The number of older adults who migrate due to family reasons has been increasing rapidly in China in the past decade. However, few empirical studies have focused on this group. This study focused on them and explored the association of intergenerational solidarity with older migrants' life satisfaction when they were adapting to the new environment. We surveyed 340 older adults who migrated to Nanjing with their children either to help care for the grandchildren or enjoy retirement life. Respondents were recruited from the community. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the associations among intergenerational solidarity, loneliness, aging perception, and life satisfaction. Results showed intergenerational solidarity was negatively correlated with loneliness (r=-0.304) but positively correlated with life satisfaction (r=0.386). Loneliness was linked to lower life satisfaction(r=-0.517). Path analyses showed that loneliness played a partial mediation role on the relationship of intergenerational solidarity and life satisfaction. Aging perception negatively moderated the association between intergenerational solidarity and loneliness, and also negatively moderated the mediating effect of loneliness on intergenerational solidarity and life satisfaction. It is concluded family values played important roles in Chinese older migrants' mental health. When they migrate to a new city, intergenerational solidarity can help ease their loneliness and subsequently improve their life satisfaction, which finally help them adapt to the new environment. Positive perception towards aging also helps improve their well-being after migration. Based on these findings, we suggest practitioners design education program to promote family values among the family with older migrants.

GRANDPARENTING AND THE RECEIPT OF FILIAL PIETY FROM ADULT CHILDREN IN CHINESE AMERICAN FAMILIES Jeung Hyun Kim, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, United States
The current study explores the association between grandparent caregiving by Chinese American elders and their perceived receipt of filial support from their adult children, called filial piety (xiao). Many studies find a correlation between grandparent caregiving and filial behaviors from their adult children, which is notably higher among minority families, especially among Asians than among white families, stimulated by the norm of reciprocity, familism, and extended kinship. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational relationships, social exchange theory, and the role theory, this study questions whether a more active engagement in GSA 2020Annual Scientific Meeting Innovation in Aging, 2020 grandparenting renders higher levels of filial piety returns from adult children. It uses the PINE data, a survey on the wellbeing of Chinese American elders in Chicago. The results show that more hours of grandparent caregiving relate to higher returns of filial piety perceived by older parents. Correspondingly, though with a marginal significance, more pressures to take care of a grandchild from adult children reduce the elders' perception of filial piety receipt. No interaction effect is found between the grandparenting hours and the pressure from adult children. Additionally, Chinese American elders possessing higher levels of education, mastery, and longer stays in the US perceive lower levels of filial piety receipt from adult children. Discussion will focus on how grandparent caregiving can be mutually beneficial and strengthen intergenerational relationships among Chinese American families.

HEARING THE UNHEARD: PROMOTING ACTIVE AND HEALTHY AGING WITH FAMILY LEISURE
Tia Rogers-Jarrell, 1 and Brad Meisner, 2 1. York University,Mississauga,Ontario,Canada,2. York University,North York,Ontario,Canada Grandparents are playing an increasing role in the lives of their grandchildren. Participating in this role enriches grandparent's well-being through feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction. Research also indicates participating in family leisure positively improves family communication, creates higher quality relationships, and enhances family cohesiveness and connectedness. However, the grandparent perspective, and their inclusion in family leisure, is often overlooked, rendering their voices invisible. Given the growing aging population, and the role grandparents play, their involvement in, and experience with, family leisure is becoming increasingly relevant. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to critically review and explore the available literature on grandparents (ages 65+) experiences with family leisure. This paper critically reflected on benefits of family leisure participation according to the World Health Organizations active aging and healthy aging ideologies. Participation in family leisure provides grandparents with opportunities for social participation, remaining active and engaged through generativity and contribution to family, as well as building, maintaining and enhancing relationships. More research that is inclusive of grandparent's perspective of, and experience with, family leisure is needed. By taking a socioecological approach to understanding the experiences of grandparents' participation in family leisure, clear suggestions can be made on how to support grandparent's involvement in family leisure at the interpersonal, organizational, institutional, community, and policy levels. In particular, future actions and initiatives should simultaneously support family leisure across and within these domains. Promoting family leisure is one way to support active and healthy aging not only among older adults, but among all individuals.

INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN AN ECONOMICALLY VULNERABLE COMMUNITY: FINDINGS FROM THE FLINT WOMEN'S STUDY Rodlescia Sneed, Michigan State University, Flint, Michigan, United States
Older women in economically disadvantaged communities often balance a range of relationships that present both benefits and challenges. The current study describes older women's perceptions of the benefits and challenges of maintaining intergenerational relationships with younger women and children in their community. We used secondary data from the Flint Women's Study, a qualitative interview project that included 60-90 minute structured interviews with 100 women who either lived or worked in the Flint, Michigan metropolitan area. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using the belongingness theory framework. Special populations (including older women) were coded in the dataset. The main benefits of intergenerational relationships included feeling valued, social connection, and giving back to future generations. In particular, intergenerational relationships allowed older women in this economically disadvantaged community to leave behind a meaningful social legacy in the absence of a meaningful economic legacy. Despite the perceived benefits, older women had difficulty effectively forming intergenerational relationships. Many reported being naturally isolated from those of younger generations. For those who were not isolated, many cited challenges related to grandparent caregiving, which was often connected to workforce conflicts, financial burden, caring for multiple generations well into adulthood, managing grandchildren's traumas, and a lack of technological proficiency needed to meet grandchildren's educational needs. Participants described the impact of these challenges on older women who lived in disadvantaged communities. Future programming should consider the needs of older women in disadvantaged communities and provide resources to maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges of intergenerational relationships in this population.

KEY COMPONENTS OF INTERVENTIONS FOR GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Athena Chung Yin Chan, 1 and Timothy Piehler, 2 1. University of Saint Paul,Minnesota,United States,St. Paul,Minnesota,United States Increasingly grandparents provide primary or supplementary care for their grandchildren globally. In view of the challenges faced by grandparent caregivers, a number of intervention programs were designed to act as a buffer to the potential negative impacts on their well-beings. A recent meta-analysis (Chan et al., 2019) shows that interventions for grandparent caregivers have small to moderate effect sizes for increases in social support and parenting skills. However, little is known how the multi-component interventions work. The aim of this review is to categorize the key components of intervention programs and determine the direct effect of components on grandparent caregivers' outcomes (i.e., physical, mental health and well-being). A component-level approach is adopted to disentangle the 'active ingredients' of the interventions. Peer-reviewed articles were searched via five electronic database (published before January 2020). A keyword search was performed based on combinations of two groups of terms: (1) grandparent caregivers and (2) intervention, training, and support group. Studies adopting an experimental or pre/post design and reporting quantitative changes in grandparents' outcomes were included. Studies focusing on the special needs of grandchildren were