Changing Intergenerational Family Relations in East Asia

Abstract

Intergenerational family relations in China, Japan, and South Korea are changing. Multigenerational coresidence and dominance of patrilineal relations are declining. In some ways, the diffusion of so-called Western values and practices that are in conflict with Confucian ideals parallels the earlier process of the Confucianization of Japan and Korea. The demographic changes that are influencing families are new, however, and East Asians of the future will have fewer but longer-lasting kinship relations. At the same time, population aging and the expected declining role of the family in elder care are causing growing concern among policymakers.