Factors affecting attitudes toward care of elderly mothers: Urban versus agricultural areas

Abstract

In our previous study, we examined factors that affect rural people's attitudes toward parental care when their mothers or mothers-in-law become fragile and need 24-h care. Our next task was to examine the factors in an urban area to test external validity. In the previous studies, several factors affecting adult children's attitudes between caring directly for parents or sending parents to a nursing home were indicated. Factors identified included affection, filial obligation, sekentei (i.e., wanting to keep an appearance of taking care), and others. In this study, we examine these factors in a residential urban area, using the same model as before. Results revealed that filial obligation affected attitudes toward care in the case of a mother while affection did in the case of a mother-in-law. This is consistent with the results in the rural setting. Sekentei did not affect attitudes in the urban area, though it had in the rural area.