Title:
The perception of filial piety among Taiwan young generation
Authors:
Hsiu-Hsin Tsai, RN, MS, Instructor and PhD student, School of Nursing,
Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan (presenting author)
Mei- Hui Chen, RN, MS, Instructor, School of Nursing, Yuan Pei Institute of
Science and Technology, Hsin- Chu, Taiwan
Yun- Fang Tsai, RN, PhD, Professor, School of Nursing, Chang Gung
University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
Correspondence author:
Yun-Fang Tsai, RN, PhD
School of Nursing, Chang Gung University
259, Wen-Hwa 1st Road
Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, 333
Telephone: 886-3-2118800 ext. 5958
Fax: 886-3-2118868
E-mail: [email protected]
1
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Negative perceptions of filial duty adherent on young generation
are explored in Chinese population. However, few empirical data were revealed about
the perception of filial piety in Taiwan. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to
explore the perception of filial piety among young generation in Taiwan. METHODS:
Four focus groups and in-depth interviews were undertaken in a university. The
sample consisted of 40 student participants (37 females, and 3 males with the average
age of 21.3 years and range from 19 to 26 years old.) Thematic analyses were
conducted on all texts and on the highlighted sections of those texts. RESULTS: The
thematic data analysis revealed that the young generation still believes that they need
to fulfill the filial duty. However, five major perceptions of filial piety are emerged
from the interviews and which can affect the style of health care: the perception to
follow traditional cultures, the perception to deliver love and care to their parents, the
perception to reciprocate their parents, the perception to achieve intergenerational
well-beings, and the perception to take the changeable situations into consideration.
IMPLICATIONS: The primary contribution of this study is to open the dialogue of
filial duty from young generation. This will help the society to understand that
different ways to practice filial duty only means people have different perceptions
toward filial piety and it does not mean that one is more filial than the other.
Furthermore, this study will assist medical team to know the meanings and possible
reasons of the different ways to show filial respect, so that they can take these as a
bridge with intergenerational communication when they would like to help families to
make plans of taking care of the elderly.
2
Background
Chinese has been known for centuries for their traditions of filial piety.
According to Confucian philosophy, filial piety begins with the families in which
everyone has to respect his parents. Repayment, family harmony, respect, obligation,
and sacrifice are the traditional meanings of filial piety (Tsai, 1999). It is a root of all
morals and a social value which has greatly influenced the care system between
parents and children and the relationship of East Asian peoples (Yang, 1991; Tsai,
1999; Cho, 2003). The practice of filial piety has also been the natural duty and norm
of adult children in Taiwan.
However, Taiwan in keeping with many other modern Asian metropolises has
experienced recent and rapid social changes. Demographic and sociological trends,
longer life span, low birth rate, smaller families, urbanization, and industrialization,
have contributed to the change of health care system (Lee, 2004). More and more
elderly people are sent to long-term care settings or cared by hired aids (Li & Yin,
2005). In the young generation of Chinese, it is reported that there are fewer adherents
of traditional Confucian principles of filial piety, and it is no longer guaranteed that
the elderly Chinese will be looked after in the family (Yan et al, 2002). Nevertheless,
elderly persons still have the expectation that they can be cared and accompanied by
their children when they are in illness. The gaps of filial expectation between two
generations create the conflicts between traditional obligations and aging parents for
adult children (Lee, 2004). Family conflicts and care dilemma are likely to occur
during the process (Chao & Roth, 2000).
The young generation has experienced different living experiences from their
parents. The young generation, (mainly born between 1981-1990), also named Y
3
generation, has experienced the development of nursing homes, and imported oversea
labors, has fewer siblings, has more opportunities to have higher education, and easily
gets information from the internet. They also therefore have more opportunities to be
exposed to different cultures. The social values guide the perception and attitude to
the care of parents. Each generation has its characteristics, and they inevitably will
follow their generation's destiny and the disposition, because it has molded their
thoughts and the life style in the small social environment, the shape has modeled the
collective disposition and the role acting. The social values guide the perception and
attitude to the care of parents. Each generation has its characteristics, and they
inevitably will follow their generation's destiny and the disposition, because it has
molded their thoughts and the life style in the small social environment, the shape has
modeled the collective disposition and the role acting. All these changes among
young generation seem to affect the ways in which filial piety is practiced.
Toda
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perception of filial piety in the origin country. Most of the researches were focused on
the immigration (Tsai, 1999).
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to use focus
group interviews to explore the perception of young generation toward caring their ill
parents within the context of young generation in Taiwan. Understanding their
perception will help the health care provider to have a better understanding of the
values among the young generation.
METHODS
Sample
Participants were selected from one university in northern Taiwan. This is a
complex university composed with medical college, business college, and
technological college. This is consisted of 40 participants (37 women, and 3 men with
4
the mean age of 20.3 years, range from 19 to 25 years old This is consisted of 40
participants (37 women, and 3 men with the mean age of 20.3 years, range from 19 to
25 years old. We chose university students as our sample for the young generation has
great opportunity to study in university with the 87.95% of permission rate of entering
university (Education Bureau 2005). Furthermore, this population has more
opportunity to commute with different culture via internet or other media. They also
have more opportunity in meeting the dilemmas in choosing caring and job role in the
future.
Data Collection
Focus group interview was used to collect qualitative data from students. Four
focus groups were held with each lasting 45 to 100 minutes. This is less
time-consuming and expensive than individual interviews (Cote-Arsenault &
Morrison-Beedy, 1999). Furthermore, this interview method was choused for the
characteristic of this young generation was not good at in individual interview. Group
processes can help people to explore, develop and clarify their views more
successfully than individual interview (Kitzinger, 1995). The researcher told the
participants that he/she was interested in hearing about their ideas about filial piety,
especially about (a) how do they define filial piety and (b) the reasons why they do or
do not take care of their parents personally when their parents are in illness. The
researcher used probes as an outline for the discussion. Through each group, the
r
e
s
e
a
r
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he
rs
umma
r
i
z
e
dt
hepa
r
t
i
c
i
pa
nt
s
’c
omme
nts, to provide opportunities for them
to clarify their points. Critical thinking, sharing ideas, and focusing on changes were
central task of the facilitation.
Data Analysis
All audiotapes were transcribed as soon as the interviews were finished. Data
analysis was achieved by constant comparison analysis and observations. Coding and
5
analysis were an interactive process in which data were used from the following
sources: (a) notes of facilitator debriefing following each group and (2) verbatim
transcripts of each group. The process continued until no new themes emerged.
Trustworthiness of data analysis was established through prolonged engagement,
persistent observation, triangulation, peer debriefing, thick descriptions, and reflective
journaling.
RESULTS
The thematic data analysis revealed that the young generation still has the
attitude to practice filial piety. The filial duty is strongly rooted in the value system
that guided these students. They were in agreement that caring their parents when they
are in need is their duty. However, five major perceptions of filial piety are emerged
from the interviews: the perception to follow traditional cultures, the perception to
deliver love and care to their parents, the perception to reciprocate their parents, the
perception to achieve intergenerational well-beings, and the perception to take the
changeable situations into consideration. The variables within these viewpoints will
affect their decision making about how to look after their parents.
(a) Follow Traditional Cultures: In this viewpoint, they believe that the practice of
filial piety must comply with Chinese traditions, Taiwan cultures and the family
cultures. Filial piety is a kind of hand-down from one generation to another. Therefore,
how to follow the regulations of traditional cultures is the most important thing.
In the viewpoint of following Chinese culture, they think that filial piety is to
inherit the ideas and behaviors of the Chinese traditions. The ways to practice filial
piety also must comply with the spirits of the traditions.
“
I was brought up in the environment full of Confucian thoughts, so I will follow
the traditional culture to look after my parents.”
6
In the viewpoint of following Taiwan Culture, they think they have to follow
the Taiwan people’
s or their friends’general perceptions to practice filial piety.
Their thoughts are:
“
As far as Taiwan people are concerned, enjoying family love is great happiness.
Let my parents help raise my children to let them feel family love, while I, myself,
can also take care of my parents. In this way, my parents can be closer to my
children and feel happy about it. I think this is a kind of filial piety. I think I will
use the way which Taiwan people generally will use to treat my parents.”
Another viewpoint is based on the family culture. This usually means that the way
parents practicing filial piety will directly affect students’perceptions regarding filial
duty. One student had said:
“
My parents had great influence on me. My family is not rich. They cannot
provide wealthy life for my grandparents but they will call them from time to time to
make sure they are ok. And, in holidays, they will bring me to visit my grandparents.
No matter what is my grandparents’need, as long as they call my parents, they will
rush to the side of my grandparents even if it is very late. Therefore, I think that a
sincere heart is the most important thing for my parents and I will treat my parents as
how they treat their parents.
(b) Deliver love and care to their parents: In this viewpoint, they believe filial
piety is a kind of love, and can deliver their appreciation and love to their parents and
to prevent their parents from dangers. They do not care about the ways to practice
filial piety. What counts most is if the parents have felt the love they expressed.
Therefore, they tend to use more sensitive ways to care about their parents, such as
calling them, visiting them, making them happy, helping them to travel around and so
on. These behaviors are what one student called, “
Love from heart.”They say:
7
“
Filial duty is the appreciation from the heart for our parents. It can be of any
forms.”
Filial piety means to deliver one’
s regarding, and comforts to their parents. Let
the parents be themselves and follow the parents’opinions to practice the filial piety.
They said: listen them, let them to dicision, and they have right to choose, These
examples are:
“
I will let my parents make their own decisions whether to live alone, live with me
or live in the nursing homes. It is because when they are getting older, they still have
the rights to choose their living styles.”
Another student also said, “
I think filial piety is love and respect. It is to discuss with
the parents, listen to their thoughts. Take my father for example. He would like to
live with a lot of people so he wants to stay in a nursing home. And my mother likes
to live with the kids. Maybe, in the end, my father will live in a nursing home. When
he wants to meet us, my mother and we can visit him together. As long as we have the
heart, it is not a serious problem where the parents live.”
Furthermore, they believed the methods to practice filial are diverse. Filial piety is
to provide and meet parents’physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Also to prevent
parents from worries,
burdens, loneliness, , or troubles. Examples:
“
Filial duty does not mean to support parents with excellent materials. It
emphasizes on spiritual comforts, such as not letting parents worry about their
children all day, or giving them spiritual regarding when they are in illness. It is
because even giving them wealthy lives, their minds still feel empty, and they will
not be happy.”
“
I think filial piety is to make parents happy and have no worries but the
methods must not violate the conscience. I never think that just by giving parents
8
money is to practice filial duty. In addition of giving them comfortable life, we
should also care about them and take good care of ourselves so that they will not
have to worry about us. Moreover, when they make mistakes we should tell them
to help them avoid of getting bad reputation.”
(c) Reciprocate the Parents: In this viewpoint, they believe filial piety is a kind of
reciprocal relationship for parents and children. They think that when they were little,
parents had devoted themselves to raising them, so the practice of filial duty is to
repay the parents with the same method. They said:
“
In my opinion, to care one’
s parents when they are aged is the duty of children
because my parents provide me with such excellent care when I was young without
any complaints. Undoubtedly, I would take care of t
he
m whe
nt
he
ya
r
ei
nne
e
d.
”
“
People should learn to repay their parents.”
In addition, some people think that if they take care of their parents, their children will
also take care of them when they are getting older. Therefore, they tend to care the
parents themselves and expect their children can care them. One student firmly
believes:
“
I will take care of my parents with all my heart. This is because I do not wish
that I will be discarded by my children. The elderly people are more lonely than the
youth and hope to have family’
s companion”
.
(d) Achieve Intergenerational Well-beings: In this viewpoint, they believe filial
piety is to take both parents’and children’
s well-beings and happiness into
consideration and no one has to make sacrifice. Some think that not living with the
parents can avoid the conflicts and good communication is very helpful. These
thoughts include:
9
“
Personally, I don’
tthink sending our parents to nursing homes is a bad idea
because the living style between the elderly and young people are very different.
Moreover, the equipments of some nursing homes are very good. Elderly people can
get together to have some entertainment. It is good for their health and minds.”“
I
think when parents are getting older, it gets more and more inconvenient for them.
Therefore, living in a well-equipped nursing home is best for them. In addition, they
can also make friends there and won’
t feel too lonely.”
However, some students think that living with the parents are the best way to create
intergeneration well-being:
“
I think I will live with my parents. Because in the weekdays, we must need
to work and then who can take care of our children. If we hire a babysitter, we might
fear that the babysitter will mistreat our children. However, if our parents can take
care of the children, we will feel more secure. And when parents are retired and stay
home, our children can accompany them. On one hand, our children can be in good
hand. On the other hand, our parents can enjoy the time with their grandchildren.
Furthermore, we can spend more time with our parents.”
In addition, they also considerd how to achieve the best benefits and effects
between their parents and themselves. A thought of both increasing parents safeties
and decreasing the care burdens of them.
“
Iwill not send my parents to nursing homes because we have to take the
financial situation into consideration and there are no good long-term caring institutes
in Taiwan. I will place them in my house. In doing this, we not only can enjoy our life
together, I can also pay attention to their health status all the time. I don’
tthink it is
filial to let my parents look after my children. It is because parents have to take much
10
effort to take care of the grandchildren. And we should not just leave our children to
our parents.”
(e) Take the Changeable Situations into Consideration: In this viewpoint, they
believe the way to practice filial piety is affected by the environments, parents
’health
status and the interaction between children and parents. They think that there are too
many uncertainties in the future, such as economic situations, marriage status, the
changes of parents’health status, the relationships between parents and children, etc..
Therefore, they cannot decide the certainly ways to practice filial piety. They often
said, “It depends on the situations.”Followings are some examples:
“
If I have time and energy, I will look after my parents by my own. If not, then I
will consider to send them to the nursing homes.”“
If I will be busy working in the
future, I will send my parents to a well-equipped nursing home.”“
To me, if it is
possible, I would not only try to provide food, but also try to get my family together
to enjoy family life when I get a job. Even I do not have much time, I will still try to
spend one or two days a week being with them. I will also take care of my parents
with my siblings in turns.”
DISCUSSION & SUGGESTIONS
The research demonstrated that these participants still held the filial idea. The
tradition, “
Hs
i
a
o,”s
t
i
l
lpe
r
s
i
s
t
sa
ndc
ont
i
nue
st
oi
nf
l
ue
nc
ecare system between parent
and children even after the globalizing society. They all believed they should take the
filial obligation to reward their parents. This may be because we chose the university
students as our sample, and the people who have higher education have more positive
attitude toward filial piety (Zhan, 2004). They have moral courses which are related to
filial duty till senior high school. School is one of the factors which reinforced them
11
with this idea. Thus filial duty is deeply internalized. Maybe this is one of the reasons
why s
omes
t
ude
nt
swi
l
lde
c
i
dehow t
oc
a
r
et
he
i
rpa
r
e
nt
sba
s
e
dont
he
i
rpa
r
e
nt
s
’
cultural expectation. In Lun yu (Analects of Confucius), respecting their parents is
one kind of practice of filial piety.
However, we also found there were some shifts on the perceptions of the practice
of Hsiao as a result of changing social-cultural environments and modernization. To
keep the balance between taking care of parents and their personal situations, they
will make decisions of how to care their parents based on thoughtful thinking. They
will try to find the best way to achieve “
intergeneration well-beings.”To them, filial
piety may be a kind of affected orientation behavior. One of the traditional meanings
of filial duty, sacrifice, is not found in these participants. This does not mean they
would not care their parents. How to care their parents when they are in need is a kind
of decision-making process. They will take obstacles into consideration, identify and
examine alternatives. Findings of this research suggested that health care provider
especially should not label this affected orientation behavior (they do not care their
parents personally) as not a filial behavior. Instead, we should play as a bridge to
facilitate old generation to adjust their expectation of filial piety. Through helping the
older adults to adjust the expectation of filial duty, their health can also be improved.
(Dai, 1995). We also suggested that health care providers should try to understand the
“t
r
ueme
a
ni
ng
”oft
he
i
rbe
ha
vi
or
,i
ns
t
e
a
dofa
c
c
us
ing this young generation. Try to
provide some useful information to them such as the alternatives of care methods,
respite care and so on. This will reduce their guilty (Tsai, 1999), and help them to find
the best way to care their parents. It is also suggested that an instrument that measure
different perception may further developed to establish as a clinical standard to
commute with two generations.
12
According to Leininger, culture is a learned set of ideals, values and assumptions
about life that are widely shared among a group of people (Leininger, 1995). It is a
dynamic process (Hunt., & Zurek, 1997), which is developed over time in response to
the environment. There is no doubt that filial piety is a ritual of Chinese culture. The
value of filial piety should be preserved. However, it should not be a burden to the
young generation. It should be more elastic. Free from norm of filial. From these
results, we also suggested that the health policy maker should be aware of this shift of
filial piety, and develop some services or policies helping to solve the care problem in
the future. It is also suggested that the health provider should open their minds to
accept this change, to let it be an acceptable place to live with both traditional and
modern cultures.
We should try to listen to and understand the differences between the ideas of
filial piety and the ways to practice filial piety and hope that we can be the
communication media between the two generations. This might help them to
understand each other’
s thoughts, lessen the possibilities of conflicts occurred and
improve the quality of the interaction of the two generations.
CONCLUSION
From the above five viewpoints of filial piety, we can find that young
generation still believes in filial piety. No one chose to give up the responsibility of
practicing filial piety. Moreover, they think that filial duty is their obligation. It is only
because everyone has different points of view regarding filial piety, they use different
ways to practice it. This research helps us to further understand the methods these
students might use to practice filial piety and the needs which might occur. These
results will assist us to reconsider the possible needs and projects for helping the care
of elderly people in the future.
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