MARUJA MILAGROS B. ASIS, LITA DOMINGO, JOHN KNODEL, AND KALYANI MEHTA

LIVING A R R A N G E M E N T S IN FOUR ASIAN COUNTRIES: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT. The findings of the 4 preceding country studies are examined here from a comparative perspective identifying some of the similarities and differences that underlie living arrangements of the elderly. More specifically, we compare the normative basis underlying living arrangements, mechanisms that help perpetuate co-residence, strains inherent to co-residence, preferences for co-residents, altenaative forms of living arrangements, and views of social changes in relation to living arrangements. Overall, the focus group data on which the studies are based highlight the importance of culture in influencing the living arrangements of elderly people in Asia. The results suggest that at least for the next generation, co-residential living by elderly with children will continue to be a viable option, although the extent to which it persists is likely to vary among the 4 countries studied. Key Words: living arrangements, cross-cultural studies, Asia, elderly, focus groups

INTRODUCTION

A round of surveys from the 1980s reveals that a substantial majority of the elderly in the 4 Asian countries included in the Comparative Study of Elderly in Asia project are in intergenerational living arrangements with 1 or more child. This majority consists of 71% of the elderly in Taiwan, 74% in the Philippines, 77% in Thailand, and 88% in Singapore. l Such high levels of co-residence demonstrate that in this part of the world, the elderly continue to be cared for by the family in the intimate setting of a common household. The remarkable changes these societies are going through - fertility decline, economic transformations, increasing women's participation in the work force, rising levels of education - have apparently not led to a situation similar to that in many of the economically advanced Western countries, in which it is common for elderly persons and their adult children to live separately. With family members living apart, members of each generation take greater responsibility for their own daily needs and significant numbers of elders depend on non-familial institutions for assistance. 2 Even where the most extraordinary economic development has taken place, as in Taiwan and Singapore, co-residence remains the norm. Economic success has yet to dislodge the family as the primary caregiver of the elderly. Most Asian governments assume that co-residence, and the familial system of care and support that are assumed to accompany it, is the best arrangement for meeting the needs of the elderly. Indeed, Singapore has enacted a number of measures to facilitate and promote co-residence or some modified form of intergenerational co-living. Co-residence, however, only presents a partial picture of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 10: 145-162, 1995. 9 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

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situation of the elderly and their families and, as has been argued elsewhere, does not guarantee that the needs of the elderly are actually met (see for example, Goldstein, Schuler, and Ross 1983; Martin 1989; Mason 1992). Often observed patterns are taken as the preferred patterns. Given the pervasiveness of change, is it fair to assume that in the countries under investigation, the elderly and their family members truly prefer to live together? Or is this more a matter of necessity than free choice? Survey data have been rather limited in resolving these issues. A more qualitative data base that delves into attitudes, perceptions, and meanings is needed to qualify much of the existing quantitative data. The 4 preceding country studies based on focus group discussions with elderly people and adults with elderly parents provide the basis for drawing some conclusions and raising a wide range of questions concerning the living arrangements of the elderly. Each study presented rich social description of the situation in the respective country based on the views of the principal actors themselves. Here we re-examine the results from a comparative perspective in an effort to identify some of the similarities and differences that underlie living arrangements of the elderly in the 4 countries beyond the common tendency to co-reside with children. More specifically, we compare the normative basis underlying living arrangements, mechanisms that help perpetuate co-residence, strains inherent in co-residence, preferences for co-residents, alternative forms of living arrangemerits, and views of social changes in relation to living arrangements. Before delving into the substantive comparisons, an important limitation to our approach to comparative focus group analysis should be noted. Each country's findings are necessarily associated with different research teams whose varying styles and procedures will have affected their results. While we tried to minimize the effects of these differences by following roughly parallel designs and similar field work and analysis procedures, these attempts were only partially successful. The problem is exacerbated when a comparative analysis is based on reports prepared by individual country teams, as in the present case. Not only may different moderators have varied in the extent they probed particular issues, but different country analysts may have differed in the emphasis they gave particular topics and how they interpreted their transcripts. While using country reports as inputs is a convenient approach, different perspectives and styles of the country analysts who write the reports can potentially create a false appearance of differences (or similarities) that do not exist or obscure ones that actually do. 3

Life Course Stage, Living Arrangements, and Caregiving In the focus group discussions in all 4 countries, the life course stage of the elderly emerged as a critical dimension that conditions preferences and outcomes associated with living arrangements. This was true even though we did not explicitly address the effect of the life course in the discussion guidelines. Instead it emerged because focus groups permitted participants to talk about issues on their own terms. Since in reality, life course intersects with most of the

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issues that we investigated, its importance was repeatedly reflected in the openended nature of the discussions. In retrospect, given that the elderly age span, especially if defined as starting as early as age 60, is quite broad and thus encompasses persons who are in rather different stages of their lives, this finding is not surprising. As elders get older, they continue to experience important life course transitions such as disengagement from work, loss of spouse, deterioration of health, and the onset of functional impairments, all of which have important implications for both what they can provide and what they need to receive in terms of support and assistance vis-a-vis their children. At the same time, as parents pass through the elderly age span, their children also experience important life course transitions such as entering the labor force, moving out of the parental home, and forming conjugal families of their own. These transitions also have important implications for their support relationships with their parents. The focus group discussions also make clear that in the 4 countries, the family was regarded as the natural setting within which caregiving for the elderly is to be provided. Within the family, not everyone is expected to provide the same assistance; some are expected to provide more help to the elderly than others. Moreover, this shifts over the life course of elderly parents. Children are gradually expected to take over responsibility for caregiving to their parents from the parents themselves, and thus the foregoing analyses have emphasized the adult children's contribution. The role of spouses was not explored in the focus groups, and thus we are unable to discuss their contributions in greater detail. However, the spouse (usually the wife) is probably often the first caregiver to the elderly partner. If the spouse is not available, as in the case of the elderly who are widowed, children are typically next in line as the likely care givers. As a rough distinction, it is useful to distinguish between the younger-old and the older-old when considering the range of options in living arrangements, care-giving, and other associated aspects of parents' relations to their children. The conditions peculiar to their situation are likely to differ. In general, the younger-old are in a better position to make choices because they are relatively healthy and more economically active. For the older-old, failing health and economic inactivity can severely limit choices, including those dealing with their living arrangements. Co-residence as Modal and Moral Preference In all 4 countries, co-residence of elderly parents and adult children appears to be the most commonly preferred living arrangement of the focus group participants. This finding was clearest when discussions explicitly referred to the later stage of the life course when the elderly had disengaged from most economic activity and, more importantly, were in a stage when good health and vitality could no longer be taken for granted. The potential need for health care was clearly a major concern of the elderly in all 4 countries when explaining the reasons for their preference for co-residence and highlighted as being foremost

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in their minds in the Thai and Taiwan accounts. Indeed, co-residence in all 4 countries appears to be based on the belief that children (and to varying degrees children-in-law) should be caregivers for their elderly parents, owing this service to them as a moral obligation. Since in the mind of many, care giving is facilitated by living together, co-residence takes on a moral as well as a practical dimension. Moreover, the elderly were not the only ones who preferred co-residence; adult children also shared the same sentiment with respect to their own parents, and to some lesser degree with respect to their own future situation. Common to all 4 countries is the strongly instilled sense of reciprocity children feel towards their parents. In most cases, the concept of repayment to parents by children as a symbol of appreciation was crystalized into proverbs and phrases. This was sometimes one dimension of a larger concept of 'debt of gratitude' between two individuals. In the Philippine context, utang na loob ('debt of gratitude' or 'shared humanity'), while not referring specifically to the parent-child relationship, was a potent mechanism that inspired children to care for their elderly parents. In the Thai context, kathanyu katawethi referred directly to the obligation to repay parents and is a value firmly ingrained in the culture. Within the Malay culture in Singapore, the term balas budi meaning 'repayment of parental love with filial care' was mentioned. Within the group discussions in Taiwan and among the Singaporean Chinese and Indians, the importance of filial piety surfaced as a high value which was translated into co-residential living or, alternatively, living nearby. It is noteworthy that a recent review of anthropological findings about the elderly in mainland China concludes that the idea of parent repayment, namely that children owe elder care in return for child care and the gift of life that their parents provided is a common concept there (Sankar 1989: 207). Mechanisms Encouraging Comsidence Given that living with children was the modal preferred choice as well as the predominant form of living arrangement for the majority of elders in the 4 countries under investigation, what mechanisms have sustained this pattern? As previously discussed, undoubtedly most important is the fact that the pattern rests on deeply ingrained cultural norms of indebtedness to parents. But several additional major mechanisms have been referred to in the country analyses: proper socialization; mutual benefits, both of tangible and intangible nature, that co-residence affords the elderly and their adult children; the elderly's retention of resources; and emotional ties of affection between parents and children. Socialization The elderly perceived that proper socialization of children was one crucial method of inculcating traditional values of parent repayment. Co-residence itself provides examples of taking care of the elderly and thus exposes grandchildren early on to intergenerational living and mutual assistance. In addition, in some countries adult children also recognized that transmission of correct values and religious teachings could help insure care by one's own children in old age. This

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is most clear in the account of Malays in Singapore. Hence, while the larger society may be suffused by change, in the smaller world of intergenerational households, some things have remained the same. Mutual Assistance The focus group discussions also disclosed the benefits co-residence offers for the elderly and their family members. Intergenerational arrangements in all 4 countries were characterized by a vigorous exchange of support between members. Undoubtedly the mutual benefits of such arrangements are an important factor in support of co-residence. The benefits were both tangible and intangible ones. Tangible benefits for the elderly were availability of caregiver on a daily basis as well as at times of illness, ready availability of help in case of emergencies, and assistance in daily activities, e.g., cooking. Clearly the importance and extent of these benefits vary with the life course stage of the elderly. Some participants mentioned the financial advantages that co-residence involved although direct transfers of money from co-residents were rarely cited. Mention of direct financial support from children came up in the Thailand and Philippines reports but mainly in connection with non-co-resident children, especially those who migrated to cities or foreign countries. Quite likely direct transfers of money by co-residents in the same household are difficult to distinguish in the minds of members given the pooled nature of household finances. Intangible benefits for the elderly that were common to all countries were love of family members, especially grandchildren, and companionship of family members. The latter prevented the aged from feeling isolated and lonely. However, as compared to rural contexts, in urban areas such as Bangkok and Singapore, the time spent by working members of the family with the aged appeared to be relatively less due to competing commitments and lifestyles. Benefits of co-residential living to adult children were also multiple. Undoubtedly one of the most important was the use of the parent's house, as a domicile. This was specifically cited in the Thai and Filipino reports but was also implicit in the discussion of housing policies in Singapore, where unmarried adult children have few alternatives to co-residing in their parents' house. In agricultural settings, adult children could also benefit from the use of farmland and assets such as agricultural machinery which belonged to the parents, as specifically mentioned in the Filipino and Thai reports. Only the Filipino focus groups stressed financial aid that adult children received from their aging parents, although some mention of this was also made in the Thai report. Failure to mention does not negate the possibility of material assistance going towards children elsewhere. Indeed, the extent and form this assistance takes is probably dependent not only on cultural conditioning but also on the socio-economic status of the family, with wealthier elderly parents more likely to provide direct financial help to adult children than poorer parents. While the contribution of the elderly towards household chores, particularly care of grandchildren, was recognized across all the participating countries, the

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role of the elderly in the preservation of values, traditions, and religious teachings was mentioned in the reports for Singapore and Philippines. Also in these 2 country accounts, some adult children showed appreciation of the advice and guidance offered by the elderly parents. This view was not necessarily universal, however, as other adult children complained of interference by the elderly, whose opinions they considered outmoded. Parental Cont~vl of Resources It was clear from the Thai and Filipino focus group transcripts that retention of a piece of property was a key source of power for the elderly. In Taiwan, it is reported only in the context of compensating a son-in-law and married daughter for going against the traditional pattern by living with the parents of the married daughter instead of with the son-in-law's parents. Indeed, withholding property as an incentive for care in later years is a customary strategy which occurs in widely diverse societies around the world (e.g., Nugent 1990; Nydegger 1983; Treas 1977: 489). The ownership of a piece of property provided the elderly with a secure sense that one of their children would look after them to the end, the property acting as an incentive or reward to the primary caregiver. Although the topic of property was not directly discussed in the Singapoi'e focus groups, the importance of economic resources for the elderly was explored. Economic resources were seen as helping the elderly person to maintain self-respect, which could be eroded by becoming an economic burden to family members. In a similar vein, Filipino elders' control of resources allowed them greater input into household decisions, hence an increase in status. Thus, control of some resources added to the psychological well-being of the elderly and became a factor encouraging co-residence with children, who were likely to be the caregivers. This finding emerged quite clearly in discussions among Thais, Filipinos, and Singaporean Malays when the elderly explained why they preferred to stay in their own house rather than live in a house owned by their children. Emotional Ties It would be too simplistic to say that children take care of their parents merely as a matter of obligation, for practical purposes, or to ensure their inheritance. Rarely did the expectation of a reward or inheritance in return for taking care of elderly parents come out on the part of the adult children as a primary motivation for supporting their elderly parents. Beyond duty deriving from a sense of debt to repay or from a recognition of the mutual benefits that can be derived from co-residence, emotional attachment involving love and concern for parents and parents-in-law were mentioned in some of the accounts as sustaining the family's care giving tradition. Moreover, in the Philippines at least, elderly respondents made clear that affection and concern for adult children motivated the provision of housing and associate supports that the elderly parent provided the adult coresident children.

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Strains Inherent to Co-residence Although reciprocal exchanges commonly took place between the co-residential generations and benefits accrued to both sides, the focus groups revealed many strains inherent in co-residential living. Both aged parents and adult children cited the lack of privacy as an important disadvantage of living together. Elderly stated that in a co-residential household, noise was inevitable. Some preferred an atmosphere of peace and quiet, which was rare in an extended family. Lack of privacy for the adult children was mentioned in the Taiwan focus groups, specifically the need to avoid intimate contact between the adult couple in the presence of the elderly parents. Another common strain, mentioned in all 4 countries, was in-law conflict, especially between parents-in-law and daughters-in-law, tn Taiwan and Singapore, intergenerational conflict was mentioned as arising out of differences in outlook and values between the generations. Many perceived these strains as an inevitable but normal aspect of family life. In addition, the strain of caregiving for frail aged parents was emotively discussed in several Singapore and Filipino adult children focus groups. The physical and emotional toll of caring for aged sick parents strained the resources of the children and had effects on their family life. Cultural factors may have inhibited the adult children in the other societies from verbalizing concerns relating to the stress of caregiving, especially in a group setting such as a focus group. Interestingly, a case study approach in Thailand revealed that elder care can indeed be very burdensome at later stages (Caffrey 1992). There are several reasons why the burdens of elder care might not have routinely arisen in the focus group discussions. First, the adult children participants were not necessarily living with elderly parents or parents-in-law. Second, even when co-resident, the elderly parents were not necessarily in poor health. Another potentially sensitive area was that of food preparation, timing of meals, and meeting the dietary requirements of aged family members. Its importance was reflected by its frequent mention in the Taiwanese elderly groups, perhaps signifying its centrality in the Taiwanese Chinese culture. In fact, some elderly were prepared to do their own cooking if that would resolve some of the frictions of co-residential living. In an adult children's group in the Philippines, the stress of looking after the food preferences of the aged was also mentioned. This sometimes caused financial strain if more expensive dishes were preferred. Other potential causes of strain were the tendency of elderly parents to interfere in the disciplining of grandchildren and the need for adult children to deal tactfully and patiently with aged family members, who tended to be sensitive. Choice of Co-resident Child The choice of the co-resident child is one area where family systems differ from one culture to the next. On the one hand are groups characterized by a bilateral system (Filipinos, Thais, and Singaporean Malays); on the other are groups characterized by a patrilineal family system (Chinese in Taiwan and Singapore and Singaporean Indians). Family systems have implications for intergenerational

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relationships and living arrangements. In a bilateral family system (characteristic of much of Southeast Asia), kinship is traced on both the mother's and father's side, women do not 'marry out' of their natal family, and kin networks are part of the broader support system. In patrilineal/patriarchal societies (characteristic of much of East and South Asia), women are generally disadvantaged: they are only temporary members of their natal family and control and ownership of property as well as authority are vested in male members (Mason 1992: 15-19). In discussing choice of co-resident child and its relation to gender, an important interplay between gender and marital status makes it essential to differentiate between the final stem family arrangement, with one married child living with the elderly parents, and preceding stages, when single adult children may still remain in the parental home. Provided some children are still unmarried, single children may be preferred as co-residents regardless of gender. Indeed the Filipino focus groups made clear a marked preference to co-reside with unmarried children when discussing the choice of the co-resident child. In both the Singaporean Chinese and Indians cases, unmarried adult daughters as well as sons, remain co-resident. This may be because such living arrangements are less complicated than co-residence with a married child. In particular, they circumvent in-law problems and risks of getting caught in the middle of arguments between a younger generation couple. If a time comes when all children have married, however, as is often the case for the older-old, marital status of children can no longer override gender considerations. In all countries under study, typically a stem family emerges with only one of the married children co-resident with the parents (although in the past a joint family with several married sons may have been common among the patrilineal groups, this appears to be rare at the present time). At this point, gender becomes a foremost concern for the Taiwanese and Singaporean Chinese and Indians, who overwhelmingly stay with a married son if they co-reside. In contrast, for the populations under the bilateral family system, gender is much less significant, although focus group participants tended to say they preferred daughters, a more marked preference in the discussions in Thailand and among the Singaporean Malays than in the Philippines. Indeed, survey data from the ASEAN sponsored surveys in the 1980s in these countries show that in Thailand a substantially higher proportion of all elderly aged 60 and over live with a married daughter than with a married son (30% versus 20%). In contrast, in the Philippines, the equivalent percentages did not greatly differ much from each other (21% living with married daughter compared to 19% with married son). Data for Singaporean Malays are not available. 4 For groups under the patrilineal system, one rule takes precedence over all others at the stage when the final stem family formation emerges: parents should live with a married son. In this family system, sons are generally more valued than daughters. Since daughters have only transient membership in their family of origin, they cannot be expected to care for their elderly parents. Instead, they are expected to care for their in-laws, whose family they join upon marriage. In

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the Taiwanese and the Singaporean Indian focus groups, participants reacted strongly and negatively to the idea of living with their married daughters, although this was not as pronounced among the Singapore Chinese. Nevertheless, in Taiwan as well as among Singaporean Chinese, living with a married daughter invited censure. Among most Singaporean Indians, it was considered unthinkable. Relational factors, e.g., feelings of affection toward or ease of getting along with a particular child, as well as practical considerations (including choice 'by default' of the last child to marry) are very prominent as criteria for determining the eventual co-resident child, according to focus group participants in Thailand and the Philippines, and appear often to take precedence over gender considerations. Theoretically, sons and daughters are equally valued in the bilateral family system. Thus, the tendency to prefer daughters expressed in the focus groups is unlikely to be charged to cultural prescriptions in the same sense that son preference is in patrilineal societies. A possible exception is in the northeast and upper north areas of Thailand, where matrilocality is a firmly ingrained practice and where, in the latter, ancestry is sometimes tied to matrilineal 'spirit cults' (Delaney, 1977). Instead, preference for daughters as the co-resident child appears to be strongly influenced by relational factors. In the Thai, Filipino, and Singaporean Malay focus groups, participants alluded to the closer bond they share with their daughters, a tendency suggested in other studies as well (Geertz 1961, as cited in Mason 1992: 17; Pramualratana 1991). Emotional closeness to daughters also is mentioned by focus group participants in Taiwan and by Singaporean Chinese and Indians but rarely for these groups could this enter into the decision as to which married child would be co-resident. The closer ties between elderly parents and daughters in the bilateral family system context may in themselves lead to a preference for a daughter as the eventual co-resident child. This preference may also be buttressed by concerns over minimizing potential in-law conflict that can arise when two generations reside together. Conflict with daughters-in-law came out in the discussions in all 4 countries as a potential strain of co-residence and was emphasized even in countries where co-resident sons-in-law are also common. The greater focus on conflicts with coresident daughters-in-law rather than sons-in-law probably reflects the more extensive involvement of women in the day-to-day affairs of running the household and in caregiving to the elderly. This focus was quite explicit in the Thailand report and also mentioned by the Singaporean Malay; it is likely to be true elsewhere as well. Thus concern over the gender of the co-resident child-inlaw may lead to favoring living with a married daughter over a married son when the cultural rules permit such a choice to be made. In addition to culturally conditioned preferences with respect to the gender of the co-resident child at the eventual stem family stage, there could also be cultural prescriptions with respect to the position of the child within the sibship. Traditionally, among Chinese and most of the Indian groups, importance was placed on the eldest son (and his wife) while among Thais the traditional choice was the

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youngest daughter. The focus groups suggested that birth order preferences were far more mutable than gender specifications among the patrilineal groups. Some preference for youngest child was mentioned in Thailand, the Philippines, and among the Singaporean Malay. Among the Singaporean Chinese, there was some suggestion that the youngest son is replacing the eldest as the most common choice. This convergence favoring a preference for the youngest may be related to a common family life cycle process whereby older siblings progressively move out and establish their own homes after marriage. The youngest child in the meantime remains in the parental home and is the last to marry, at which point he or she becomes co-resident in a stem family household, as much by default as by design. Of course with declining family size, birth order is even more likely to become unimportant as there may well be only one son or one daughter per family. Although the cultural prescription to live with sons runs deep in Taiwan and among Singaporean Chinese and Indians, there is also room for some flexibility. For example, when the elderly couple have no son, living with a married daughter and a willing son-in-law is permissible under certain conditions. Some participants in Taiwan and among the Chinese and Indians in Singapore recognized having 'special feelings' towards their daughters. This sentiment may someday lead to change in at least the strength of cultural prescription for the co-resident to be a son. Nevertheless, it is clear that at present there is substantially greater flexibility in choice of co-resident in the Philippines, Thailand, and probably among the Singaporean Malays than in Taiwan or among the Chinese or Indians in Singapore. In none of the cultures with bilateral kinship, in contrast to those with patrilineal kinship, did focus group participants express social disapproval of the choice of a co-resident child because of gender. Even in the areas of Thailand where daughter preference is very pronounced, survey evidence shows that there is no avoidance of living with a son if the couple has no daughter (Knodel, Chayovan, and Siriboon 1992). Finally, it should be noted that the actual process by which families decide who will be the eventual co-resident child was not explicitly explored in most focus groups and thus cannot be commented upon here in any detail. Clearly many different paths must exist by which one child ends up co-residing with the elderly parents, especially when the position is not clearly defined in terms of gender and birth order. One path indicated in the Thai, Filipino, and Singaporean Malay accounts is by default, with the last to marry assuming the role. In the Philippines, participants indicated that sometimes a family discussion would be held to decide who will be left with the elderly. The extent to which the choice of the ultimate co-resident child is negotiated between parents and children or among the children themselves as well as how far in advance a designation of the eventual co-resident will be decided are both matters that our analysis cannot answer.

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Other Forms of Living Arrangements While co-residence with an adult child is the modal preferred living arrangement for the elderly in all 4 countries, there was no universal consensus that such an arrangement is ideal for everyone. Moreover, as the discussions of the strains involved imply, even if co-residence is the preferred choice, it is seen as having some disadvantages, implying that there are some good points about alternative arrangements.

Independent Living Except for Singaporean Indians, a substantial percentage of participants in the 4 countries considered independent living an attractive alternative, although often with qualifications. Singaporean Indians saw residing independently of children as applying only to special cases: the single elderly, those whose children are in India or in other countries, and those whose children are unwilling to care for them. Participants from other groups saw independent living as offering some advantages: freedom, privacy, not having to deal with generational differences, avoiding conflicts with in-laws, and not being a burden to their children. Among Singaporean Malays, Filipinos, and Thais, the elderly expressed a strong attachment to their own home, implying a potential conflict of preference if they were forced to choose between living without a child in their own dwelling or coresiding in their child's dwelling. Survey data agree with the impressions from focus groups. In Taiwan, the 1989 survey on the elderly revealed that 22% of the elderly (including those with sons) thought that the best arrangement was to live independently. In the Philippines, several studies indicated that if economic conditions permit, many prefer nuclear rather than extended household arrangements (Lopez 1991). Preferences for independent living, however, were often accompanied by explicit or implicit qualifications, namely 1) that the economic status and health of the elderly person would be adequate for living on their own and 2) that at least some adult children live nearby. Thus, with respect to the first qualification, independent living for some is a transitory ideal that would give way to the more traditional form of co-residential living arrangements later when the elderly become frail and chronically ill and need to depend on others for assistance in daily activities. At this point, an independent lifestyle is seen as out of the question; nor can the elderly participate in a give-and-take relationship (Gould, Sanford, and Reif 1989:12). Thus independent living was preferred as one phase of the life course that some projected for themselves during their elderly years but not as an irrevocable choice. The second qualification means that independent living as envisioned by many participants would not separate the elderly from other family members, particularly not from their adult children. At least one child would be expected to live nearby, even next door. As pointed out in the Philippines and Thailand, elderly who live in separate dwellings of their own often live next to their children, with

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members sharing and pooling resources (see also Siriboon and Knodel 1994). In Singapore, housing policies work in several ways. Some programs facilitate co-residence in the same household; others facilitate the movement of married children out of their parental homes but allow families to live within each other's reach.

Living with Relatives Other Than Children For the elderly without children or whose children do not take an active role in elder-care, responsibility often passes down the family and kin network based on the degree of affinity as well as relational and practical considerations. Thus, siblings of the elderly person, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews will often fill the void if adult children of the elderly are not co-resident. This pattern has been documented for the Thai case (Siriboon and Knodel 1994) and would probably hold for the other groups as well, as implied by their comments rejecting the role of institutionalized care as long as relatives are available.

Institutionalized Living Arrangements Discussions on institutionalized residences for elderly brought out starkly negative perceptions about non-familial arrangements. Homes for the aged were regarded largely as alien to Filipino, Thai, Chinese, Malay, or Indian cultures. Indeed, in all but Singapore many elderly participants were unfamiliar with old folks' homes. In all of the cultures, participants considered the family as the natural locus for elder-care; if this required daily attending to the elderly person's needs and constant availability, then by all means co-residence was called for. The main exception was the elderly mainlander males in Taiwan who came as soldiers fleeing the takeover of China by communist forces, many of whom did not marry in Taiwan and thus often had no family locally. In addition, the idea of retirement homes for well-off elderly arose in some of the Singaporean groups and was not necessarily viewed negatively for those with sufficient funds to join a home of high quality.

Social change and living arrangements Over the years, family systems in Asia have not been immune to change. One of the more enduring aspects of these Asian family systems, however, is their regard and responsibility for the elderly. Thus far, dramatic changes in these countries do not appear to have caused dramatic changes in family resolve to take care of the elderly, but there are hints in the 4 countries of different trajectories for future living arrangements. Co-residence appears to be stable in Thailand but declining in Taiwan. Whether this change reflects reduced responsibility and poorer quality of care in the latter or, to the contrary, represents new forms that offer greater satisfaction to both generations only now affordable as a result of Taiwan's economic progress, remains to be determined. In Singapore, traditional living arrangements of the elderly and their children are maintained and shaped through deliberate policies and programs of the government. In the Philippines, there is insufficient information to determine if a trend is evident but whatever

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happens there is likely to reflect the lagging economic growth that has been characteristic for several decades and the continued ensuing poverty.

Declining Family Size One of the most dramatic social changes that has taken place in the 4 countries under study, although less so in the Philippines, has been a remarkable decline in fertility. The current generation of elderly had its children when birth rates were much higher and thus is still characterized by relatively large numbers of surviving offspring (although with considerable individual variation). In contrast, the generation of adult children represented in our focus groups will average far fewer surviving children when they reach their elderly years. Indeed, the declining numbers of children per couple are often mentioned as a potential threat to the familial system of support, including the co-residential living arrangement that is so integrally linked to it. This issue was discussed at greatest length in the Thai focus groups. While not all participants agreed, the most common view was that family size is not a particularly important determinant of the care and support that Thai elders receive and thus that the smaller families of today's generation of reproductive age couples do not seriously jeopardize support from children, including co-residence, during the elderly years. Participants mainly stressed that the character and behaviour of children are what count, not the number. Moreover, with fewer children, more attention and resources can be devoted to each and perhaps improve their potential for supporting parents later on. Even among those who felt that by having few children couples were at risk for having no caregiver available for them in their old age, many believed this trade-off was necessary to avoid the current prohibitive costs of bringing up a large number of children. The more limited findings available for the Philippines on this issue bear a reasonable correspondence to those described for Thailand. While large families may have been seen as a source of security in old age in the past, Philippine participants also revealed doubts that many children are crucial in the current situation. Moreover, some expressed concern that by having many children the couple would be at greater risk for needing to continue to support the children even when they reached adulthood. In both the Filipino and Thai groups, some participants mentioned that having few children but educating them well was better than having many less educated children in terms of the consequences for support in later years. Very little is reported on this topic for Singapore. It appears, however, that Malays also see little conflict between having fewer children and being cared for in old age. The centrality of a stem family household arrangement requiring only 1 coresident child undoubtedly influences the perceptions of participants who believe smaller family sizes are not inconsistent with continued co-resident caregiving. Another notable feature in common among Thais, Filipinos, and Singaporean Malays was considerable flexibility with respect to the gender (and birth order) of the child who eventually takes primary responsibility for the care of the elderly parents. Thus, even if having a small family increases the chances that

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the couple may have all children of the same sex (particularly all girls), this fact does not bode ill for their chances of receiving co-resident caregiving later in life. It is interesting that the attitude expressed by focus group participants in Taiwan and among the Singaporean Chinese was less favorable toward the implications of declining family size for old-age assistance for children. Although only the opinions of the elderly (as opposed to the adult children) seem to have been tapped on this issue in the focus groups in Taiwan, they stress the danger of having only one son. Obviously couples who rely only on children of one sex will need larger families on average to ensure a given number of eligible caregivers later in life than couples who can chose a child of either sex.

Increased Female Labor Force Participation Increased female labor force participation is usually posited to have a negative impact on co-residence for elderly parents. The focus group discussions in all 4 countries suggest the opposite, at least for much of the duration of coresidence. As mentioned by the participants, when women work outside the home, child care can be a problem. This situation can encourage co-residence given that an elderly parent at home can watch over the house and grandchildren while a middle generation mother works outside of the home. The value of coresidence in this respect for the middle generation woman will depend on the health of the elder. At some point, if the elder becomes frail and chronically ill, the need for constant elder care will conflict with the employment of the adult co-resident daughter or daughter-in-law if she is the one who needs to provide the care. At some point the middle generation woman may have to choose between work outside the home or elder care at home. Another option, which is now evident in Singapore, is for families with sufficient means to hire someone else to provide care for the elder, thus permitting continued co-residence and outside employment. Women's participation in the labor force is likely to increase. Higher levels of labor force participation can just as well act to increase the value of co-residence to the adult children of the elderly as to detract from it, at least for the period during which the elderly parent is in reasonable health.

Migration Increased migration associated with changing national and global economies is another factor usually assumed to have negative consequences for the traditional familial system of elder care. The scattering of children as they move to the cities or abroad and leave elderly parents at home could potentially lead to a reduction in co-residence. Indeed, focus group participants in all the countries except Singapore are noted as having expressed this fear. In reality, however, there are hints that the impact of migration is not as deleterious to elder care as might seem at first consideration. As mentioned by participants in Thailand and the Philippines, migrants send remittances to their parents, and these funds can be increasingly useful as the parents lose their ability to earn cash incomes themselves. In addition, for many households, migration may be contingent either on having at least 1 child or a suitable substitute caregiver remain with the parents

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or having the parents migrate with the child or follow later. This possibility is suggested in the reports for both Thailand and the Philippines. Both internal and international migration are likely to continue to increase in the future. The focus group data do not provide a basis for predicting how this will affect living arrangements. They do suggest, however, that it is unlikely to lead to a simple desertion of elderly parents in most cases.

CONCLUSIONS The focus group research on which the 4 preceding country studies are based highlights the important cultural dimensions that influence the living arrangements of the elderly in Asia. In a broad sense, the modal pattern of co-residence of elderly parents and 1 or more of their adult children and the eventual stem family form that emerges when all the children marry is based on a common cultural logic which involves at least two elements: 1) the moral obligation of parent repayment or filial piety on the part of children and 2) the presumption that the family is the natural institution responsible for caregiving. Since caregiving requires proximity, co-residence is the norm. Thus, despite very substantial differences in socio-economic conditions among and within the 4 countries, the majority of elders continue to co-reside with a child. That this arrangement is not totally impervious to social and economic change is previewed by Taiwan, where a trend away from co-residence is apparently underway. Yet even there, despite enormous economic changes, new forms of living arrangements are evolving slowly and not necessarily to the detriment of the elderly or to a divorce in close family ties. The strength of cultural dimensions is underscored by differences observed in living arrangements. The division between patrilineal and bilateral societies in terms of the importance and specificity of the gender of the co-resident child again largely transcends socio-economic differences. This pattern is revealed starkly in the case of Singapore where the 3 major ethnic groups all live in a highly urbanized and economically advanced setting. Yet the contrast between the Malays on the one hand and the Chinese and most Indian groups on the other in the preferred co-resident child is clear. In this respect, the Singaporean Malays appear to have views that resemble rural Thais more than their fellow Singaporeans of Chinese or Indian ethnicity. Singapore also points to the important influence government policy can have on living arrangements. Overall, as long as the balance of benefits and costs to both generations is preserved, co-residential living based on values of filial obligation is likely to continue in the 4 Asian countries studied. The option of independent living, on the other hand, is a function of personal economic resources, health, and preferences for privacy. The interplay of all these factors in the midst of demographic and social changes may bring about adaptations and modifications in living arrangements within these countries in the future. The present analysis to some degree supports the belief that, at least for the next generation, co-residential living by

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elders with children will continue to be a viable option, although the extent to which it will persist is likely to vary among the 4 countries studied. Finally, we need to remember that social change does not necessarily lead to a deterioration in the situation of the elderly even when it undermines certain customary practices. Instead, social change may simply lead to an adaptation that serves the same culturally determined goal but in a new socio-economic setting. On the other hand, genuine change in the normative structure underlying the current familial system of support is not out of the question. Monitoring of the situation through both qualitative and qantitative studies should help to keep track of how the situation evolves and provide the basis for understanding the significance of the changes that do occur. This process in turn should assist in formulating appropriate responses at the private and public levels.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This article benefited from extensive discussion of many of the issues addressed with Mei-lin Lee, Maliki Bin Osman, and Chanpen Saengtainchai during project workshops.

NOTES 1 These figures are based on the 4 surveys that were the primary data sources for microlevel quantitative analyses in the Comparative Study of Elderly in Asia project and are identical to the figures cited in the introduction to this special issue of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Ge~vntology. Other sources, when available, show similar, if not identical, high levels during this period. See, for example, Knodel and Debavalya (1992) and Knodel, Chayovan and Saengtienchai (1994) as well as the article on Taiwan in this special issue. Since other sources are sometimes cited in the country-specific articles in this issue of the journal, the stated figures here might differ from those in the country articles. 2 This does not necessarily mean that the elderly in the West are isolated from their children or other kin and do not receive and provide substantial assistance. However, the extent and nature of daily interaction is bound to differ significantly in co-residential situations compared to those where separate residences, especially ones that are not adjacent or very nearby, are maintained, 3 The surest way to reduce these problems is to actively involve at least 1 member of each country team in the comparative analysis and to have each of the analysts read all the transcripts of all countries. Unfortunately, in the present case this is impractical, in part because the Taiwan team did not have anyone available for the comparative stage of the analysis and because of the massive amount of textual material that would have to be read and digested by each analyst. Moreover, the majority of Taiwanese transcripts have not been translated into English (and the authors of the present article cannot read Chinese). Nevertheless, we minimized these problems somewhat by involving at least 1 analyst from each of the other 3 country teams in the comparative analysis and by having discussed the issues addressed here fairly extensively at workshops attended jointly by representatives of all teams. 4 Based on special tabulations made by John Casterline from data sets of the Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia.

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Department of Sociology Univelwity of the Philippines Dilman, Quexon City Philippines 1101 Population Institute College of Social Science and Philosophy (CSSP) Palma Hall, Diliman, 1101, Quexon City P.O. Box 479 Manila, Philippines

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Institute of Population Studies Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand Department of Social Work and Psychology National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Cresent Singapore 0551