New intergenerational contracts in the making? – The experience of urban China.

This article examines the process in which urban families in China renegotiate intergenerational contracts in order to secure old age care and, in particular, emotional support. We argue that as the filial piety tradition, which stresses both caring for and obeying one’s parents, has eroded, parents sense that, unlike in the past, there is no guarantee that their children will care for them. Instead of waiting passively to lose their power over their children, Chinese parents use their resources to reinforce the caring part, but not the ‘obedience’ part, of the traditional family relationship. Based on in-depth interviews with eight families in Guangzhou over a 5-year period, we found that parents and children have negotiated new arrangements concerning emotional communication, practical assistance, spatial proximity and long-term care arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]