Out-migration of Young Adults and Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Rural China: The Case of Chaohu Merril Silverstein Andrus Gerontology Center University of Southern California, USA Li Shuzhuo & Zhang Wenjuan Institute for Population and Development Studies Xi'an Jiaotong University, China

Background  Perspectives on Chinese rural elderly  Family support for old age  Rural-urban migration  Changing family structure and living arrangement

 Factors affecting living arrangements  Preference for living alone or with others  Economic resources to maintain an independent household  Health status for living independently  Availability of kin, especially children, with whom coresidence is possible  Western elderly and urban Chinese elderly

 Perspectives on living arrangements of rural Chinese elderly  Network-households and traditional marriage form  Son preference  House ownership and independent income  Reliance on children for financial and instrumental support

 Research questions  Does out-migration of young adults affect their elderly parents’ living arrangements in rural China? Family support for old age  Do gender, children’s status, parents’ economic resources and health status affect parents’ living arrangements, especially in the context of increasing out-migration of young adults in rural China?

Data & Methods  Data Source  Longitudinal Study of the Well-being of the Elderly in Anhui Province, China.  Random sampling of 1,800 people aged 60 and over living in rural townships within Chaohu city, using a stratified multistage sampling method.  Baseline survey conducted in April 2001 and follow-up survey in Oct. 2003, by the Institute for Population and Development Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, with technical support from USC.

Anhui Province, China Chaohu

 Samples  Our interest is the living arrangements between parents and children, the sample consists of 1,627 elderly with at least one living child from the 2001 baseline survey.  Method  Multinomial logistic regression

 Dependent variable living arrangements of the elderly  Empty-nest family (living alone or with spouse)  Stem family (living with children or spouses of children, with/without grandchildren)  Skip-generation family (living with grandchildren but not children)

 Independent variables  Living preference: Gender of parents and children  Status of children : Gender, whether within the village, marital status, and age of children’s offspring  Economic resources of the elderly: Occupation, educational attainment, independent income, and house ownership  Physical health status of the elderly : ADL, age  Control variable: Marital status of the elderly

Descriptive Information  Living arrangements of the elderly alone or with spouseskip-generationalstem-family Percent Males Females

 Children’s status  The elderly living alone or with spouse are more likely to have sons in the same village than those in other groups. Variables Elderly in stem household % Elderly in skip- generation household % Elderly in empty-nest household % Sons in the village (sons living with them excluded): None One son At least two sons Daughters in the village (daughters living with them excluded): None One daughter At least two daughters

 The elderly in skip-generation household are more likely to have children outside the village than others Variables Elderly in stem household % Elderly in skip- generation household % Elderly in empty- nest household % Sons outside and not separated for job-related reason: None One son At least two sons Daughters outside and not separated for job-related reason: None One daughter At least two daughters Sons outside and separated for job-related reason: None At least one Daughters outside and separated for job-related reason: None At least one

 Percentage of elderly with juvenile grandchildren whose parents are outside the village is highest among the elderly in skip- generation households VariablesElderly in stem household % Elderly in skip- generation household % Elderly in empty-nest household % Sons outside with children 18 or younger: None At least one Daughters outside with children 18 or younger: None At least one Sons divorced, widowed or never married: None At least one Daughters divorced, widowed or never married: None At least one

 Economic resources  Economic resources of the elderly living with children are worse than those of other two groups VariablesElderly in stem household % Elderly in skip- generation household % Elderly in empty-nest household % Occupation: Agricultural Non-agricultural Education: At least some formal education No formal education Economic income: No impendent income Yes House ownership: Rent or in other ’ s house Owner Joint ownership

 Health Status  The elderly in skip-generation households have better physical health status than those in other groups VariablesElderly in stem household % Elderly in skip- generation household % Elderly in empty-nest household% Number of ADL disability: and over Age:

Regression Results  Gender preference  The elderly have significant son preference when choosing children for coresidence.  The elderly show no gender difference when choosing living arrangements Variables Odds ratios Stem-householdSkip-generational household Gender: Male Female Sons in the village (sons living with them excluded): None One son0.241***0.466*** At least two sons0.096***0.382*** Daughters in the village (daughters living with them excluded): None One daughter At least two daughters

 Status of children  The elderly with more out-migrating sons are more likely to be in skip-generational households and less likely to live with children.  Additional sons separated for job-related reason increase likelihood of the elderly living with children.  Additional sons in the same village decrease parents’ likelihood in stem and skip-generational households, and increase their likelihood to live alone or with spouses.  The elderly with sons in marriage crisis are more likely to live with children.

Regression results of children’s status Variables Odds ratios In stem-householdIn skip-generation household Sons in the village (sons living with them excluded): None One son0.241***0.466*** At least two sons0.096***0.382*** Daughters in the village (daughters living with them excluded): None One daughter At least two daughters Sons outside and not separated for job-related reason: None One son0.315***1.299 At least two sons0.122***1.541 Daughters outside and not separated for job-related reason: None One daughter At least two daughters0.614*.832 Sons outside and separated for job-related reason: None At least one daughters outside and separated for job-related reason: None At least one Sons outside with children 18 or younger: None At least one *** Daughters outside with children 18 or younger: None At least one Sons divorced, widowed or never married: None At least one4.886*** Daughters divorced, widowed or never married: None At least one

 Economic resources  The elderly without any formal education are more likely to stay in skip-generational household  The elderly with independent income or house ownership are more likely to live alone or with spouses Variables Odds ratios Stem-householdSkip-generation household Occupation: Agricultural Non-agricultural Education: At least some formal education No formal education * House ownership: Rent or in other ’ s house Owner0.146***0.401*** Joint ownership

 Health status The elderly in relative good health status are more likely to live alone or in skip-generation household. Variables Odds ratios In stem-household In skip- generation household ADL 0.954***1.029 Age *

Conclusions  Out-migration of young adults has significant influences on their parents’ living arrangements.  Gender, children’s status, parents’ economic resources and health status significantly affect parents’ living arrangements.  Elderly’s need for support has become the primary cause for their coresidence with adult children, which is different from the Western elderly and the Chinese urban elderly.

 Need of children (i.e. child-care) also affects the living arrangements of the elderly, when the parents are in good physical health status.  The elderly show strong son preference in selecting coresidence or providing grandchild care in skip-generational household.  The skip-generational household is a special arrangement mostly caused by the out-migration of adult children, in which parents provide daily care for grandchildren.

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