Negotiating care in chinese Singaporean intergenerational households

Abstract

The role of elderly caregiving has undergone rapid transformation in recent decades, as many Asian societies battle with a greying population. In Singapore, the family has come to play a crucial and substantial role in eldercare due to the confluence of demographic trends, government policies, and Confucian familial norms like filial piety. The dominant literature on caregiving and ageing has been written largely from a Western perspective and fails to regard important socio-cultural elements of Asian cultures. Moreover, research on caregiving practices in intergenerational houses in Singapore is lacking. To address these research gaps, this paper examines the relationship between Chinese culture and caregiving practices used by adult children to care for their elderly parents. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 Chinese caregivers. Findings revealed that culture plays a significant role in caregiving by allowing caregivers to construct their own acceptable strategies to care for the elderly.