Marketization, social transformation and “care rotation” for the rural elderly in the suburbs of urban areas: an analysis of the children's recollections

Abstract

通过对河北省保定市郊区农村的深入访谈和问卷调查，本文研究了有两个以上已婚儿子的老年夫妻去世前的生活状况。研究发现，儿子成年之后的独立门户，是这类老年夫妇“空巢”的前提，而“空巢”又是“轮养”契约得以建立的条件。市场化、社会结构转型、儿媳妇在家庭决策中作用的增强等，使老年人失去了家庭决策权。故“轮养”在生命过程中，实际是被安排的结果，而不是老年父母自己的选择。 Through in‐depth interviews and questionnaire surveys of rural residents on the periphery of the city of Baoding, Hebei Province, this study examines the living conditions of old couples with two or more married sons in the last years of their lives. This study indicates that adult sons' setting up their own homes is a precondition for elderly couples' becoming “empty nesters,” a situation which in turn leads to contracts for “care rotation.” Many factors, including marketization, the transformation of social structure and the rising status of daughters‐in‐law in family decision‐making are responsible for elderly people's loss of their role in such decision‐making. Therefore, during the life course of the elderly, “care rotation” is in fact an arrangement imposed on elderly parents rather than their own choice.