Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2015, Vol. 70 ›› Issue (8): 1296-1312.doi: 10.11821/dlxb201508009

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Behavior and factors influencing intergenerational household cohabitation/separation among urban Chinese citizens: A case study from Chengdu

Meimei WANG1(), Yongchun YANG1(), Yiming TAN2, Run LIU1   

  1. 1. School of Resource and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    2. College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Received:2014-12-24 Revised:2015-04-06 Online:2015-08-20 Published:2015-08-20
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41171143;The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No.lzujbky-2015-221

Abstract:

The miniaturization of families, primarily caused by intergenerational household separation, commenced after the initiation of the reform and opening up of China. This was expected to greatly influence family harmony, social stability, and the housing market. Moreover, there are fundamental differences in Chinese and Western societal behaviors and mechanisms of intergenerational household separation. In light of these issues, here we develop a conceptual model of intergenerational household cohabitation/separation of urban Chinese citizens. The main zone of Chengdu was selected for our empirical study because of its rapid economic growth, aging citizens, and the effects of potentially conflicting values of traditional Chinese and Western cultures. We found that the residential choices of Chinese urban families exhibited the following tendencies: (1) cohabitation followed by separation (an increasing ratio of intergenerational separation, but at a low rate of increase); (2) cohabitation followed by separation, and subsequently by cohabitation (an increasing ratio of intergenerational cohabitation, but at a low rate of increase); (3) final separation (an increasing ratio of intergenerational separation, but at a low rate of increase); and (4) cohabitation (an increasing ratio of intergenerational cohabitation, but at a low rate of increase). Pearson correlation was applied to select the main factors influencing residence. Significant values and impact directions were determined using binary logistic regression. Choices and variables of intergenerational household cohabitation/separation within different age groups were also analyzed. The results showed that intergenerational household residential choices positively depended on several factors, including educational level, living spouses, household income per capita, an inclination to separate, routines, eating habits, health habits, spending habits, and private space requirements. Factors that negatively influenced intergenerational household cohabitation/separation included age, current/previous professions, parents and their children living in close proximity, children available to support the elderly, and habits of parental care. Differences in the variables affected household intergenerational cohabitation/separation among different age groups.

Key words: household intergenerational cohabitation/separation, Chengdu, ratio of intergenerational separation, China, Chengdu