Perceptions and expectations of filial piety among older Chinese immigrants in Canada

Abstract

Much of the literature discusses filial piety in general and ambiguous terms. This study, in contrast, investigates specific perceptions of filial piety and parental expectations of filial duty among older Chinese immigrants in Canada. The study is based on thematic analysis of 46 Chinese immigrants in seven focus groups conducted in the Greater Toronto Area. Findings show the perceptions of filial piety varied, but almost all participants had reduced expectations of their children. Nevertheless, they still valued and expected emotional care from their children. The study argues that changes in institutional settings, social policies and welfare systems define parents’ support needs and affect their expectations in the host society, while norms and institutional settings in the place of origin influence their perceptions of filial piety.

Identities: experiences and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspectives of older Chinese immigrants in Canada

“…Within Chinese collectivistic and Confucian culture, an individual's family role is one of the most significant identities (Zhang 2020). This is especially true for individuals who live in a hybrid mode of cultures, mediated between their country of origin and their country of residence (Luborsky and Sankar 1993;McDonald 2011).…”

What Makes Chinese Adult Children Behave Differently during Parents’ End of Life: A Discriminant Analysis of Macao Chinese

“…Authoritarian FP emphasizes hierarchy and respecting parents obediently, however, adult children of various age groups may perceive this obligation differently as they belong to different generations. Studies have demonstrated that although older Chinese hold a strong belief in FP, they clearly expressed fewer expectations of filial duties from their adult children because the rapid social changes may lead to a lack of understanding of Confucian FPs in the younger generations [13,26,41]. Therefore, although they were committed to their older parents, they did not expect the same from their children [13].…”

“…From the Chinese perspective, a good death is commonly perceived as "a result of natural causes such as aging with a content life and no outstanding life regrets" [12]. However, considering the Chinese FP emphasizes etiquette before and after death [13], the attention paid to dealing with the dying process per se is surprisingly scarce. Moreover, the topic of death is regarded as taboo or a curse between parents and children [14,15].…”

“…To date, several studies have evaluated the impact of general filial attitudes, filial responsibilities, and filial expectations of children and parents with a Chinese background [13,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, these studies did not explore the association between filial representation or behaviours and good death preferences, nor examined the factors influencing end-of-life filial representations.…”

“…There have been prominent and rapid changes in the traditional notion of FP due to exposure to Western culture, religion, and value systems and the evolution of Chinese culture itself [13,25,26]. Macao, as a special administrative region of China, is comprised of mainly Chinese population and is also facing these cultural changes.…”