Older People's Belief of Filial Piety in China: Expectation and Non-expectation.

This paper discusses the concept of filial piety and whether older generations of Chinese people have reduced their expectations of these behaviors from younger generations. The paper describes two studies (conducted in mainland China) that examine expectations for filial piety. The first study looks at the demographic variance on older adults' expectation of filial piety and finds no differences in the effects of age, gender, living area, educational level, etc., on levels of expectation. Close correlation exists, however, between well-being and levels of filial piety expectation. The second study introduces a modified version of filial piety expectation scale (FPE) and describes a dual model of filial piety that characterizes this concept in terms of two separate factors. The FPE is compared with attitudes to aging using a new standardized measure (the Attitudes toward Aging Questionnaire [AAQ]), and a strong positive relationship is evident. Data are discussed regarding the traditional value of filial piety, and its modifications, in current Mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]