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Custodial Grandparents and Intergenerational Support in Rural China

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Experiencing Grandparenthood

Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 47))

Abstract

China has the world’s largest scale of internal migration because a surplus of rural labourers has forced working age adults to look for opportunities in cities (Cai 2006; Giles and Mu 2007). Rural migrants had high demands for childcare because of barriers to bringing their children with them, caused by high living and education expenses associated with Hukou (the household registration system, which separated rural and urban areas) (Bai and Song 2002; Li and Zahniser 2002; Wang and Fan 2006). Silverstein et al. (2006) found that about 20% of elders in a rural area with high migration rates lived in ‘skipped-generation’ households, taking the full custody of grandchildren, even though grandparents in China traditionally were not obliged to be the primary caregivers (Chao 1983; Secondi 1997).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, 41230, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA

    Zhen Cong

  2. Davis School of Gerontology and Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0191, USA

    Merril Silverstein

Authors
  1. Zhen Cong
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  2. Merril Silverstein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhen Cong .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gerontology Programme, Human Development and Social Services, University of SIM, Clementi Road 461, Singapore, 599491, Singapore

    Kalyani K. Mehta

  2. Dept. Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore, Arts Link 9, Singapore, 117570, Singapore

    Leng Leng Thang

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Cong, Z., Silverstein, M. (2012). Custodial Grandparents and Intergenerational Support in Rural China. In: Mehta, K., Thang, L. (eds) Experiencing Grandparenthood. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 47. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2303-0_7

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