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Jung-Hwa HaSeoul National University
Presentation at NYU Aging IncubatorNovember 8, 2018
Dr. Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Singapore
Management University
Dr. John Knodel, University of Michigan
Collaborators
Study background and objectives Conceptual framework Data and measures Results Implications and Conclusion
Overview
4
Does childlessnessaffect older adults’
social and psychological well-beingin East and Southeast Asia?
Dramatic decline in fertility across E and SE Asia
7
Total fertility rates in East and SE Asia, 1960-65 and 2010-15
2.0
5.66.2
5.1
6.16.7 6.4 6.4
6.15.6
7.0
6.0
7.0
1.4 1.21.6
1.21.5
1.9 2.0 2.1 2.32.5 2.7
3.0 3.1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Japa
n
Sout
h Ko
rea
Chin
a
Sing
apor
e
Thai
land
Brun
ei
Viet
Nam
Mal
aysia
Mya
nmar
Indo
nesia
Cam
bodi
a
Lao
PDR
Phili
ppin
es
East Asia Southeast Asia
1960 - 1965 2010 - 2015
8
Source: UNESCAP (2018)
9
Number and Percent of Migrants in China, 1982–2010 (Lu & Xia, 2016)
Smaller family size and increased migration resulted in changing living arrangements of older persons
10Sources: 1986-2017 Surveys of Older Persons in Thailand
Percent of older adults 65+ residing with their adult children
11(Yasuda, Iwai, Yi, & Xie, 2011, p.704)
Research Questions
What are the prevalence and dimensions of childlessness in S. Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar? Actual childlessness (elderly without children) De-facto childlessness (elderly whose all children migrated
elsewhere)
Does childlessness contribute to the wellbeing of older persons in East and Southeast Asia? Specifically, we examine the extent to which actual and de-
facto childlessness are associated with (a) social isolation and (b) loneliness
Are these effects moderated by gender and wealth? 12
Conceptual framework
Childlessness as a source vulnerability Children often provide emotional, instrumental, and
financial support to older parents Alternative sources of support are often not present or under-
developed in study countries Lack of children may be linked to limited access to other
social resources or fewer social networks Geographic distance to children may limit the extent to
which children can provide emotional and instrumental support
Negative effects of both actual and de-facto childlessness on older adults’ psychological and social well-being
13
Alternative hypotheses Childless older adults may have accumulated more
financial resources and social networks outside their immediate family no effect of actual childlessness on social isolation
Improved technology may help older adults maintain contact with their children (intimacy at distance), and it may have minimal effects on older adults’ loneliness. Older adults may also have more time to interact with others. no effect of de-facto childlessness on social isolation or loneliness
Conceptual framework
Moderating effects of gender and Wealth
Gender Given greater stigma of childlessness (especially infertility)
and fewer opportunity to engage in labor force, women may be more negatively affected by childlessness
Alternatively, older women’s stronger informal social networks may mitigate the negative effect of childlessness
Wealth Those who have greater financial resources may be less
negatively influenced by childlessness.
15
Why these five countries?
Similarities Filial piety emphasized as cultural and social norm High rates of migration especially in Southeast Asian
countries and China
Differences Age structure and fertility rate Stage of economic development Availability of social security and other policy
measures for older adults 16
Country settings S. Korea China Thailand Vietnam Myanmar
% 60+, 2015
18.4 15.4 15.6 10.3 8.9
% 60+,2050
41.6 35.1 35.1 28.3 18.5
TFR,2010-15
1.23 1.60 1.53 1.96 2.30
GDP per capita, 2016
$27,539 $8,123 $5,908 $2,186 $1,275
17
Data sources
Samples of persons aged 60 and over 2012 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA)
2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)
2011 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand (SOPT)
2011 Vietnam Aging Survey (VNAS)
2012 Myanmar Aging Survey (MAS)
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Measures - Dependent variables
Social isolation index Assessed with social participation/activity data Sum of [whether or not participated (1/0) in each activity x
frequency of participation (4 = did not participate, 0 = almost everyday)] was used.
Activities differed across countries so we converted the scores into percentiles. (higher score = higher social isolation)
Loneliness Assessed with question asking the extent to which older
persons felt lonely during the past month prior to the survey. Responses were dichotomized (1= always ~ some of the time, 0 = never)
Measures - Independent variables
Childlessness Reference category: older adults living with or close to (same village,
city, ward, or county) their children De-facto childlessness (older adults whose all children migrated elsewhere) Actual childlessness (older adults without children)
Moderating variables: gender (1= female) and wealth(higher=greater wealth)
Control variables: age, marital status, education, pension and work status, place of residence (urban/rural), self-rated health, living arrangement
Prevalence of childlessness
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Prevalence of childlessness
22
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Multivariate analysesDV: social isolation (Main effects)
*** p<0.001, ** p<0.01, * p<0.05Notes: OLS regression models are used. Standardized coefficients are presented. The analyses control for socio-demographic characteristics.
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DV: social isolation (interaction effects)
*** p<0.001, ** p<0.01, * p<0.05Notes: OLS regression models are used. Standardized coefficients are presented. The analyses control for socio-demographic characteristics.
25
DV: loneliness (main effects)
*** p<0.001, ** p<0.01, * p<0.05Notes: Binomial logistic models are used. Odds ratios are presented. The analyses control for socio-demographic characteristics.
26
DV: loneliness (interaction effects)
*** p<0.001, ** p<0.01, * p<0.05Notes: Binomial logistic models are used. Odds ratios are presented. The analyses control for socio-demographic characteristics.
Summary of findings: Social isolation
Actual childlessness increases social isolation in Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar but not in S. Korea and China
In all study countries, levels of social isolation among the defacto childless is comparable to those with children living nearby Children’s migration does not have negative influence on older
persons’ social wellbeing Economic support from migrant children may enable older adults
to remain socially active Increased availability and affordability of technology (e.g., mobile
phones, internet, improved roads) likely allow the de-facto childless to be engaged in community activities. 27
Summary of findings: Loneliness
Actual and de-facto childlessness are related to increased odds of loneliness in all study countries except China
Both types of childlessness may have detrimental consequences for older adults’ psychological wellbeing even though they may not have a significant effect on socialwellbeing Adult children and friends of older adults play different roles Social connectedness may be fulfilled by friends but children
may have a unique role which cannot be substituted with other resources.
Asia: Filial piety is considered as both cultural value and social status.
28
Discussion
Childless older persons in China are quite resilient. They do not differ from those with children nearby with regards to
loneliness and social isolation
Accustomed to living without children and established ways to maintain social connection beyond parent-child network? Although the current generation of older adults may not have been
directly affected by the one-child policy, dramatic economic growth and subsequent migration of young adults to urban areas may have normalized “childlessness”
Long history of working together as commune members may buffer the effect of childlessness
Alternatively, it may be due to differences in social participation measures
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Discussion
Gender and wealth matter
Being female mitigates the effects of childlessness on social isolation and loneliness
Effects of wealth differ across outcomes and across countries Greater wealth helps defacto childless elderly Thais to be socially
engaged but they feel lonelier than those who are de-facto childless and have less wealth
Wealth does not always lead to greater social embeddedness
More research is necessary to understand the mechanisms through which wealth creates divergent experiences of childless older persons in different settings.
30
Lack of data on reasons for actual childlessness Did not account for whether or not childlessness is
voluntary Childlessness may have different meanings for
married vs. never-married older adultsChallenges in harmonization of key variables De-facto childlessness measure doesn’t account for: Frequency of contact Amount of emotional, instrumental, and financial
support exchanged
Limitations
Cause of childlessness(Case of China)
lives nearbyIntimacy at
distanceDefactochildless
Actual childless Total
Married 5,057 204 136 92 5,489Partnered 245 19 15 5 284Separated 45 0 2 3 50Divorced 35 1 5 5 46Widowed 1,419 19 35 33 1,506
Never married 8 0 1 62 71Total 6,809 243 194 200 7,446
Due to infertility or loss of children
Never had children
Specific information on the cause of childlessness is not ascertained in most population-based surveys.
Improved “children availability” typology
Reference group: Elderly coresiding with children or having children nearby
Intimacy at distance: Elderly whose all children migrated elsewhere but remain in frequent (weekly) contact with children
De-facto childlessness: Elderly whose all children migrated elsewhere and have little or no contact with children
Actual childlessness: Elderly without children33
Availability of children
% distribution China Korea Thailand Vietnam Myanmar
Children nearby 91.7 87.7 75.9 85.5 88.9
Intimacy at distance 2.6 3.0 10.7 8.8 1.0
Defacto childless 2.0 7.0 7.0 1.0 3.3
Actual childless 2.7 2.3 6.4 4.7 6.8
Conclusions
Childlessness is associated with greater loneliness in most countries, yet it does not always have a detrimental effect on later-life social well-being.
Childlessness generally take a toll on older persons’ lives through feelings of loneliness
Greater social isolation among childless elders in SE Asia, although similar effects were not found in E Asia
Findings point to the importance of distinguishing between actual and de facto childlessness
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Our contribution: First study to compare the
prevalence an implications of actual and de-facto childlessness across E and SE Asia.
Implications of childlessness will become even more salient in the future, as mid-aged adults with fewer or no children enter old age.
Conclusions
37
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