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In 2010, China had a 21 million population of age 80 or over. This group of oldest-old adults deserves attention on their quality of life as long as the improvement on life expectancy is expected to continue. Thus, more and more people in China will move into this group. This paper examines the effects of intergenerational relations on the self-rated life satisfaction of the oldestold in China by using the 2012 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey data, a total of 6,530 respondents aged 80 or over. The dependent variable is from the responses of respondents on how do they rate their life. Various socio-demographic and health variables are included in the model as controlled variables. Intergenerational relations variables include living arrangement, family interactions and intergenerational transfer. Results from the SPSS GENLIN ordinal regression model showed that living arrangements and intergenerational transfers were statistically significant in affecting the self-rated life satisfaction after controlling for socio-demographic and health variables, while family interactions in terms of visited and/or contacted by children was not significant. The feeling of being cared for among those who lived with family members and interdependence between generations have a positive effect on self-rated life satisfaction. The traditional role of family in supporting the older persons continued to be an important contributor to the self-rated life satisfaction. With the exodus of the young to the cities, family care and support are likely to be eroding in the future. Hence, there is a need to enhance community support for the oldest-old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates factors affecting older persons' state of loneliness in multiethnic Malaysia using data from the 2004 Malaysian Population and Family Survey, the first nationally representative sample in Malaysia. The study sample was extracted to include Malays, Chinese, Indians and other Indigenous groups aged 60 and above, and who had children (n = 1791). Cross tabulations and ordinal logistic regression methods were used in the analysis. Among the ethnic groups, older Malays were more likely than their Chinese and Indian counterparts to experience loneliness. Loneliness was found to be associated with age, marital status, education level, sources of income, health status, and physical limitations. Among older people, feelings of loneliness were inversely related with coresidence with adult children and participation in religious activities. Sociodemographic changes have eroded the traditional family support system for the elderly, while social security remains inadequate. This study shows the important role of family in alleviating loneliness among older people. Hence the need to promote and facilitate coresidence, as well as participation in religious activities, and a healthy lifestyle as a priority strategy is in line with the objectives of the National Policy for the Older People.