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Grandparenting and Volunteering Among Older Adults in Hong Kong: A Dilemma

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Successful Aging

Abstract

Hong Kong became an aging society in the early 1990s, and it has been estimated that the percentage of older people will exceed 33 % in 2041. While Chinese tradition emphasizes the contribution of older adults to family and society in providing support to their children by serving as grandparents, opportunities for volunteering have been established and promoted by the government of Hong Kong over the past few decades. This chapter begins with a brief discussion of grandparenting and volunteering among older adults in the context of population aging and social change in Hong Kong, followed by an examination of their associations with psychological well-being. Finally, it pointed out a dilemmatic pictures of both grandparenting and volunteering among older adults in Hong Kong with service and policy implications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work & Social Administration, Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    W. Q. Vivian Lou

  2. Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Hongmei Tong

Authors
  1. W. Q. Vivian Lou
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  2. Hongmei Tong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Q. Vivian Lou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Health and Physical Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR

    Sheung-Tak Cheng

  2. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Iris Chi

  3. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR

    Helene H. Fung

  4. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Lydia W. Li

  5. Dept. of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR

    Jean Woo

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Lou, W.Q.V., Tong, H. (2015). Grandparenting and Volunteering Among Older Adults in Hong Kong: A Dilemma. In: Cheng, ST., Chi, I., Fung, H., Li, L., Woo, J. (eds) Successful Aging. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9331-5_12

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