In response to the transition of the social support structure under rapid population change, this article proposes a four-layer household-based convoy to fully depict support structures. The four layers are referred to as the household type, family network, kinship network, and social network from the innermost to the outermost layer. The 2001 Taiwan Social Change Survey (Chang & Fu, 2002) is used to construct the household-based convoy. The results of this study show that the reciprocity of social support is mainly affected by support strategies that are probably because of spatial separation among family members. Different strategies are employed based on the nature of the social support.
Antonucci, T, C. (1985). Personal characteristics, social support and social behavior. In R. H. Binstock & E. Shanas (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (2nd ed., pp. 4-128). New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold.
2.
Caldwell, J. C. (1976). Toward a restatement of demographic transition theory. Population and Development Review, 2, 321-366.
3.
Chang, I. H., & Fu, Y. T. (2002). Basic survey on social changes (2nd ed.). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, The Institute of Sociology. (In Chinese)
4.
Chen, C. N. (1999). Support network, informal support and life satisfaction. In C. Chen, A. I. Hermalin, S. C. Hu, & J. P. Smith (Eds.), Emerging social economic welfare program for aging in Taiwan in a world context (pp. 95-126). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, The Institute of Economics.
5.
Chen, C. N., & Liu, P. K. C. (2002). An evaluation of Taiwan Census 2000: A comparison of census and registered populations. Journal of Population Studies, 25, 1-56. (In Chinese)
6.
Chen, C. N., & Speare, A., Jr. (1990). The impact of the process of modernization on the elderly’s living arrangements—The case of Taiwan. In Proceedings of the Conference on Population Change and Socio-Economic Development (pp. 535-551). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, Institute of Economics. (In Chinese)
7.
Council for Economic Planning and Development. (2002). Taiwan statistical data. Taipei, Taiwan: Author.
8.
Council for Economic Planning and Development. (2004). Population projections for Taiwan area, Republic of China 2002 to 2051. Taipei, Taiwan: Author.
9.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics. (2001). A preliminary report on year 2000 population and household census in Taiwan. Taipei, Taiwan: Author.
10.
Fei, X. (1992). From the soil—The foundation of Chinese society. Berkeley: University of California Press.
11.
Fisher, C. S. (1981). To dwell among friends, personal networks in town and city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
12.
Fu, Y. C. (1995). Social-psychological characteristics of urbanites: The public and private realm. Chinese Sociological Journal, 18, 17-73. (In Chinese)
13.
Fu, Y. C. (1999, May). Bond and homogeneity in a nuclear network. Paper Presented at Personal Network in Taiwan: The Conference on the Third Basic Survey on Social Changes, Taipei, Taiwan.
14.
Hermalin, A. I., Ofstedal, M. B., & Chi, L. (1992). Kin availability of the elderly in Taiwan: Who is available and where are they? (Elderly in Asia Rep. No. 92-21) Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Population Studies Center.
15.
Homans, G. C. (1974). Social behavior: Its elementary forms (Rev. ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
16.
Hoyert, D. L. (1991). Financial and household exchanges between generations. Research on Aging, 13(2), 205-225.
17.
Hsieh, J. C. (1985). Meal rotation. In J.-C. Hsieh & Y.-C. Chuang (Eds.), The Chinese family and its ritual behavior (pp. 70-83). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology.
18.
Hwang, K.-K. (1987). Face and favor: The Chinese power game. American Journal of Sociology, 92(4), 944-974.
19.
Kahn, R. C., & Antonucci, T. C. (1981). Convoys of social support: A life-course approach. In S. B. Kiesler & V. K. Oppenheimer (Eds.), Aging: Social change (pp. 383-405). New York: Academic Press.
20.
Kahn, R. C., & Antonucci, T. C. (1983). Social support of the elderly: Family, friends, and professionals. Final report to the National Institute of Aging.
21.
Kobrin, F. E., & Goldscheider, C. (1982). Family extension or nonfamily living: Life cycle, economic, and ethnic factors. Western Sociological Review, 13(1), 103-118.
22.
Lai, T. H., & Chen, K. J. (1980). A historical and demographic investigation on forms of Chinese family. Chinese Sociological Journal, 5, 25-40. (In Chinese)
23.
Lee, Y. J., Parish, W. L., & Willis, R. J. (1994). Sons, daughters, and intergenerational support in Taiwan. American Journal of Sociology, 99(4), 1010-1041.
24.
Litwak, E. (1960). Geographic mobility and extended family cohesion. American Sociology Review, 25(3), 385-394.
25.
Lopata, H. Z. (1973). Widowhood in an American city. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.
26.
Marsden, P. V. (1988). Homogeneity in confiding relations. Social Networks, 10, 57-76.
27.
Ministry of the Interior. (1999). Taiwan-Fukien demography Quarterly, 10, 57-76. Taiwan: Author.
28.
Seeman, T., & Berkman, L. (1988). Structural characteristics of social networks and their relationship with social support in the elderly: Who provides support?Social Science and Medicine, 26(7), 737-749.
29.
Shi, L. (1993). Family financial and household support exchange between generations: A survey of Chinese rural elderly. The Gerontologist, 33(4), 468-480.
30.
Silverstein, M., Giarrusso, R., & Bengtson, V. R. (2003, March). Reciprocity in parent-child support over the life course. Paper presented at the International Conference on Inter-generational Relations in Family Life Course, Taipei, Taiwan.
31.
Silverstein, M., Li, S., & Zhang, W. (2002, December). Intergenerational exchange in rural Chinese families. Paper presented at International Conference on Allocation of Social and Family Resources in Changing Societies, Taipei, Taiwan.
32.
Thornton, A., & Lin, H. S. (1994). Social change and the family in Taiwan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
33.
Tu, F. J. C., Freedman, V. A., & Wolf, D. A. (1993). Kinship and family support in Taiwan. Research on Aging, 15, 465-481.
34.
Walker, K., MacBride, A., & Vachon, M. (1977). Social support networks and the crisis of bereavement. Social Science and Medicine, 11, 35-41.
35.
Wellman, B. (1990). The place of kinfolk in personal community networks. Marriage and Family Review, 15(1/2), 195-228.
36.
Wellman, B., & Wortley, S. (1989). Brothers’ keepers: Situating kinship relations in broader networks of social support. Sociological Perspective, 32(3), 273-306.
37.
Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a way of life. American Journal of Sociology, 44(1), 1-24.
38.
Wolf, A. P. (1985a). Chinese family size: A myth revitalized. In J.-C. Hsieh & Y.-C. Chuang (Eds.), The Chinese family and its ritual behavior (pp. 3-16). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology.
39.
Wolf, A. P. (1985b). Introduction: The study of Chinese society on Taiwan. In J.-C. Hsieh & Y.-C. Chuang (Eds.), The Chinese family and its ritual behavior (pp. 30-49). Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology.
40.
Yi, C. C. (1999, May). Relatives and non-relative in a nuclear network. Paper Presented at Personal Network in Taiwan: The Conference on the Third Basic Survey on Social Changes. Taipei, Taiwan: Academia Sinica, The Institute of Sociology. (In Chinese)
41.
Yi, C. C., & Lu, Y. H. (1999). Who are my family members? Lineage and marital status in the Taiwanese family. The American Journal of Chinese Studies, 6(2), 249-278.
