Intergenerational Coresidence with Sons and with Daughters before Elder Parents’ Death in Rural China

Zhen Cong, Texas Tech University
Merril Silverstein, University of Southern California

We examined how the availability of kinship, previous intergenerational exchanges and parents’ needs influenced elder parents’ likelihood of coresiding with sons and with daughters respectively before parents’ death. The sample included 649 elders in a 4 wave longitudinal study in rural areas of Anhui Province China, who were reported to be dead in follow-up interviews. We used logistic regression to examine the research question, and found that the number of sons did not predict the possibility of coresiding with a son; whereas, the number of daughters predicted the odds of coresiding with any daughter. When long-term care was needed before parents’ death, it was less likely for them to coreside with any daughter. Receiving help from parents did not predict parents’ likelihood of coresiding with sons or daughters. Before death coresidence is crucial in Chinese filial piety culture and triggers substantial renegotiations of intergenerational responsibilities, which deserves further investigation.