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Rethinking Neo-familism: An Analysis of Extended Family Life Experiences of the Left-behind Rural Elderly in Contemporary China

Liao, Ruoling LU (2023) WPMM43 20231
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The research seeks to answer the research question of How do we interpret the life experiences of the left-behind rural elderly in relation to extended family? And particularly, it inquiries about that: in their family life, what kind of strategies do they apply to navigate the balance between individual and family interests? To answer the question, the research combined neo-familism and life course theory, collecting data through semi-structured individual interviews, the focus group, and research diaries. The individual interviews were held with three households, respectively comprised of one widowed man, one couple, and one widowed woman. Yet, the focus group was conducted with one couple. Adopting the concepts embedded with the... (More)
The research seeks to answer the research question of How do we interpret the life experiences of the left-behind rural elderly in relation to extended family? And particularly, it inquiries about that: in their family life, what kind of strategies do they apply to navigate the balance between individual and family interests? To answer the question, the research combined neo-familism and life course theory, collecting data through semi-structured individual interviews, the focus group, and research diaries. The individual interviews were held with three households, respectively comprised of one widowed man, one couple, and one widowed woman. Yet, the focus group was conducted with one couple. Adopting the concepts embedded with the theoretical framework, the findings were assessed using a thematic analysis strategy. The research findings revealed several patterns manifesting transformations of family life in contemporary China, which are downward transfers, intergenerational interdependence, individual agency, and intimate turn. Furthermore, based on these trends, the research would argue that the senior generations in rural China attempt to prioritize family interests by enabling the offspring, staying in rural areas, and working until they drop. These practices provide the senior generations with a crucial way to achieve family prosperity and harmony, which is in line with the context of neo-familism. (Less)
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author
Liao, Ruoling LU
supervisor
organization
course
WPMM43 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
family change, aging, intergenerational dynamics, intimacy, agency, rural China, migration, social-historical shifts
language
English
id
9134109
date added to LUP
2024-11-07 16:19:00
date last changed
2024-11-07 16:19:00
@misc{9134109,
  abstract     = {{The research seeks to answer the research question of How do we interpret the life experiences of the left-behind rural elderly in relation to extended family? And particularly, it inquiries about that: in their family life, what kind of strategies do they apply to navigate the balance between individual and family interests? To answer the question, the research combined neo-familism and life course theory, collecting data through semi-structured individual interviews, the focus group, and research diaries. The individual interviews were held with three households, respectively comprised of one widowed man, one couple, and one widowed woman. Yet, the focus group was conducted with one couple. Adopting the concepts embedded with the theoretical framework, the findings were assessed using a thematic analysis strategy. The research findings revealed several patterns manifesting transformations of family life in contemporary China, which are downward transfers, intergenerational interdependence, individual agency, and intimate turn. Furthermore, based on these trends, the research would argue that the senior generations in rural China attempt to prioritize family interests by enabling the offspring, staying in rural areas, and working until they drop. These practices provide the senior generations with a crucial way to achieve family prosperity and harmony, which is in line with the context of neo-familism.}},
  author       = {{Liao, Ruoling}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Rethinking Neo-familism: An Analysis of Extended Family Life Experiences of the Left-behind Rural Elderly in Contemporary China}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}