This study explored perceptions of filial care among second-generation Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. The provision of filial help or care can be regarded as a cultural phenomenon known as filial piety and it can be considered within the broad scope of caregiving as “family care”. Fifteen interviews were conducted, and a thematic analysis was applied. The findings showed that care was given in the form of language brokering, information inquiry, home visits, and facilitative and social support. Care was perceived as a moral duty among the participants and was grounded in their perceived sense of responsibility. The participants’ perspectives on current and future care included practical and normative considerations for meeting parental needs, and included opinions based on filial piety norms. In conclusion, this study showed that filial piety, specifically filial care, is still relevant to the younger immigrant Chinese community in the Netherlands.
Filial piety is important to Chinese adults and is associated with mental health among older Chinese immigrants in the United States. However, it is unclear whether filial piety is linked to the mental health of Chinese immigrants in European countries. Therefore, this study aims to gain insights into the association between mental health and filial piety of first-generation Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. A random sample of 143 participants took part in the study. A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected through a postal survey conducted in the Chinese language between January 2021 and March 2021. The survey included a Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC), and expected and perceived filial piety scale. The results indicated that in general, perceived filial piety exceeded expected filial piety ('filial piety sufficient'). Regression analysis revealed that 'filial piety sufficient' is associated with a higher emotional MHC (B =.498, p =.035). This study provided new insights into the wellbeing of older Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands and showed accordance with the literature that filial piety remains an important factor for mental health.
This dissertation revolves around the older and younger Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. Specifically, the topic of study was the wellbeing of the older Chinese immigrants, and cultural elements as filial piety may play part in the in the wellbeing of this population.Comparative studies regarding frailty, loneliness and Quality of Life were conducted in China and the Netherlands, among older Chinese adults. In general, the older Chinese immigrant adults are predominantly socially vulnerable, such as a high prevalence of loneliness, whereas the native Chinese adults report a high prevalence of frailty. A second cross-national study provided insights in the cross-cultural equivalence of the De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale among the native and diasporic older Chinese adults.The cultural element filial piety is found to be relevant both to the first- and second-generation Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. It is specifically of importance to the mental wellbeing of the older first-generation Chinese immigrants. Moreover, a qualitative study shows that filial piety frames how filial caregiving takes place among the second-generation Chinese immigrants. Lastly, a normative filial piety scale was translated to Dutch and psychometric validated among second-generation Chinese immigrants.These findings indicate that older Chinese immigrants are socially vulnerable. Secondly, filial piety is of relevance to the Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. It is of importance to consider these aspects for professionals working both with older and younger Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands.
