W11 Successful Ageing (F&K)
Method
Qualitative
Interview
organised by different SES levels with proper gender and ethnic composition
Interviewed 49 elderly SG in English, Malay, Mandarin
National Survey
sample size 1540
Result
Successful ageing perceptions among
elderly Singaporeans
Dimensions of R&K model in Asian context
Good health
Economic / social engagement
dimensions in R & K model essential for elderly Singaporeans
overlap explainable by heavy influence of Western culture in Singapore
Strong presence of familism
co-residence with children
receiving care from children
Simultaneously valued independence and dependence
expecting care from children from old age (dependence) but do not want to burden family (independence)
SG adults still value filial piety although may not value obedience to parents
SES differences
Higher SES
Ethnic Differences
Local Malays and Indians value family support more than Chinese
corroborates with ethnic differences in household structures
- 2010 avg household size for Chinese: 3.4
- 2010 avg household size for Indian: 3.6
- 2010 avg household size for Malay: 4.2
larger household size for Malays and Indians
facilitates more intense intergenerational exchanges
Religion likely contributing factor
devalued role of family in taking care of other family members
larger emphasis on friends or social activities
could be due to access to alternative means of care needs to lower involvement with family
Limitations
More than 60% of respondents
Extensibility
of findings
Current Policies
made successful aging goal of national policies in late 1990s
further refined this goal into 4 specific subthemes in 2007
enhance employability and financial security
provide holistic and affordable health and elder care
allow for ageing-in-place
promote active ageing
correspond with the theme of Successful Ageing 2.0
Markers of successful ageing
Ability of family to deliver eldercare as expected by elderly individuals
Volunteerism may be more western oriented
Only 6% of Singaporeans older than 55 volunteer at least yearly
Latent class analysis
4 Types
Group 2 (15%)
displayed no interest in counting on children for successful ageing
Group 3 (7%)
unsure of the role of spouse and children
more attention needed to understand their situation and needs
Group 4 (8.8%)
little interest in social activity
potentially target for policy interventions
standard in Successful Ageing 2.0
did not study oldest-old (85 and above)
Islam beliefs, norms, practices
cultural & religious expectations for children to care for elderly
Hinduism well known for emphasis on filial piety
unable to generalise to other nations even within Asia
purposive sampling for qualitative interviews may introduce biases
participants asked to rate subjective components of SA on levels of importance