Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Filial piety (FP), a virtue of unconditional support and respect, is a core component of the parent-child relationship in Chinese culture. FP has been linked to the well-being of aging parents, including Chinese families residing in North America. Co-residence with adult children is a common practice of FP and is often associated with the perception of FP, as well as emotional and instrumental support. However, research suggests that FP practices are changing, including more Chinese aging parents prefer to live independently in order to increase autonomy and reduce intergenerational conflicts. In the context of immigrations, the economic constraints of independent living in the host country may force older Chinese immigrants to co-reside with their adult children despite their living arrangement preference. As such, it may have negative influences on the well-being of older Chinese immigrant parents. The current study examined the relationship between living arrangement (i.e., co-residence vs. independent living) and indices of FP and well-being among 302 community-dwelling older Chinese immigrants. Participants completed questionnaires that tap into expectation and perceived receipt of FP, depressive symptoms, and quality of life. Despite previous studies suggesting the negative influence of co-residence on well-being among older Chinese parents, the present results shows that older Chinese immigrants who co-reside with their adult children perceived their children as more filial pious and have better self-report psychological well-being compared to those who live independently.