Center on Population Health and Aging

Pilot Projects

Pilot Project 12: Intergenerational Relationships and Elder Care during Social Change

Principal Investigator: Rukmalie Jayakody (Penn State). Co-investigator: Vu Tuan Hey, Vietnam Academy for the Social Sciences

Specific Aims

As preliminary to the development of an R01 application, this pilot project addresses gaps in knowledge concerning aging and intergenerational relationships in Vietnam, using focus group interviews, exploration of sampling options, examining existing data sources, and conducting semi-structured open-ended interviews with key informants. The research design involves a nested quantitative-qualitative design in which the qualitative participants will be part of the larger survey sample to be conducted subsequent to the pilot research. Such a nested design allows the investigators to exploit the hypothesis-testing and generalizeability strengths of survey data, while using the qualitative data to aid in the development of the survey and interpretation of survey findings providing further insights into the processes that are operating. A primary focus of the research is on living arrangements and inter-generational transfers of assistance. It will explore broad ideational and normative forces in family change-such as the growing emphasis on personal freedom, social equality, and individual prerogative-which continue to spread around the world. Focus groups will explore how these forces are related to new ideas about the place and role of individuals relative to family and larger community, and to changing norms concerning marriage, the relationships between men and women, the connections across generations, and the place of children in families.

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