Associations Between Filial Responsibility and Caregiver Well-Being

Abstract

A sense of filial responsibility, particularly where it is a strong cultural norm, may be beneficial for caregiver self-rated health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between filial responsibility attitudes and both self-rated health and well-being within three cultural groups: Caucasian Canadian ( n = 100), Chinese Canadian ( n = 90), and Hong Kong Chinese ( n = 125). Respondents were interviewed in person using a structured questionnaire. Multivariate analyses for the entire sample indicated associations between filial responsibility attitudes and both self-rated health status and overall well-being. Analyses performed within each cultural subgroup indicated that filial responsibility is associated with worse self-rated health in the Caucasian Canadian group. The results suggest caution in assuming that filial responsibility attitudes will be beneficial for caregiver outcomes; there may also be cultural variation.