Filial piety and wellbeing in old age: Views of middle-aged and older Hong Kong Chinese

Aim: This paper reports the views of middle-aged and older Hong Kong Chinese on the definition of and expectation on filial piety from adult children, and the way in which filial piety could contribute towards wellbeing in old age. Methods: A total of 89 Hong Kong Chinese aged 40 or above were invited to 15 focus groups. To explore the preparation for old age, six groups consisted of people aged between 40 to 59 years, and nine others of older people aged 60 or above. The membership composition of the focus groups represented a balanced mix of relevant personal characteristics such as socio-economic status, age and health conditions.Findings: All participants subscribed to the value of filial piety, however, they entertained very realistic and even low expectation on their adult children’s filial behaviour. Whilst they considered material and emotional support from their children beneficial in old age, they did not expected much from their children due to the current stagnant economy in Hong Kong. For companion support, even though they would like their children to keep them companion, they were willing to forgive their children for not spending a lot of time with them. In comparison, participants who newly migrated from Mainland China tended to uphold higher expectation on support from their children. Adopting a cultural-societal perspective, the reasons for the realistic expectations on filial piety would be analyzed. Relevance to the conference theme: The study on filial piety is very important because the relationship with and support from adult children are crucial factors affecting the wellbeing of older people.