Wei-Jun Jean Yeung

Marriage and Family in East Asia: Continuity and Change

Trends toward later and less marriage and childbearing in East Asia have been even more pronounced than in the West. At the same time, many other features of East Asian families have changed very little. We review recent research on trends in a wide range of family behaviors in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We also draw upon a range of theoretical frameworks to argue that trends in marriage and fertility reflect tension between rapid social and economic change and limited change in family expectations and obligations. We discuss how this tension may be contributing to growing socioeconomic differences in patterns of family formation. This focus on East Asia extends research on the second demographic transition in the West by describing how rapid decline in marriage and fertility rates can occur in the absence of major changes in family attitudes or rising individualism.

Extent and consequences of welfare dependence among America's children

Abstract This article examines the extent and consequences for children of life in a family that receives at least part of its income from welfare. We find that occasional receipt is widespread but persistent dependence is not. Dependence appears to have increased between the late 1960s and early 1970s, did not change much between the early 1970s and late 1980s, and may have increased again, for younger black children, in the early 1990s. Welfare dynamics lead only a minority of first-time recipients to be affected by policies that would limit the duration of AFDC receipt to two years. Children whose parents receive welfare appear to complete less schooling, even after adjustment for other differences between recipient and nonrecipient families. Low family income and maternal employment are also found to reduce completed schooling, which complicates welfare-to-work policy choices.

Marriage in Asia

This introductory article provides some comparative background on marriage trends in Asia, to show where the countries included in this special issue fit into overall Asian and international patterns. It also notes the contribution of different chapters to our understanding of these issues. This special issue gives readers a taste of the diversity of Asia, by including articles on countries from Turkey in the west to the Philippines in the east, two of Asia’s three largest countries—China and Indonesia—and a country in South Asia—Sri Lanka. The articles examine the trends in marriage and explore the possible factors contributing to these trends in different national circumstances. We explore why, although similar forces continue to shape changes in Asian societies, including the institution of marriage, sharp differences in marriage patterns and systems persist throughout the region. Finally, we note limitations in extant literature and speculate about future marriage trends in Asia.

Transitioning to Adulthood in Asia School, Work, and Family Life

ANNALS, AAPSS, 646 March 2013 I the past decade or so, scholars in the United States have identified the emergence of a new, distinct stage of life, as adolescence has become protracted, and most young people of recent generations take longer to achieve economic and psychological autonomy than they did a half century ago (Booth, Crouter, and Shanahan 1999; Arnett 2000; Settersten, Furstenberg, and Rumbaut 2005; Berlin, Furstenberg, and Waters 2010; Furstenberg 2010; Settersten and Ray 2010). This new life stage, in between adolescence and adulthood when young people are in a semiautonomous state, has come to be known as “early adulthood.” Main characteristics of this new life stage include a later entry into the work force, a longer period of time living in the natal home, and a delayed age at marriage and childbearing. These trends not only have profound implications 470794ANNXXX10.1177/0002716212470794 The Annals of the American AcademyTransitioning to Adulthood in Asia 2013

Heterogeneity in Contemporary Chinese Marriage

Is universal and early marriage still true in China after decades of dramatic socioeconomic changes? Based on the 2005 Population Survey data, we find that by age 35 to 39 years, almost all women are married, and less than 5% of men remain single with the singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM) in the country at 25.7 and 23.5 for men and women, respectively. There are notable regional variations in marriage prevalence and timing across China, likely due to economic development, migration, and cultural norms particularly for ethnic minorities. Those who live in the East and in urban areas tend to enter marriage later. Universal and early marriage is particularly true for women with no education and least so for men with no education. College education delays marriage for both men and women, but most of them eventually marry. We discuss the implications of findings for highly educated women and poorly educated men.

Hoping for a Phoenix: Shanghai Fathers and Their Daughters

Intergenerational relationships and gender roles in China are in transition because of ideational and structural changes resulting from social movements and policies in the past half a century. Using a mixed-methods design, we examine Shanghai fathers’ involvement in their adolescent daughters’ lives. In contrast to traditional stereotypes, Shanghai fathers are nurturing and highly involved in multiple domains of their daughters’ lives. They also have very high aspirations for their daughters, regardless of their own socioeconomic background. Shanghai fathers see providing emotional and financial support, and helping their daughters to achieve success in education as their most important roles. The behavior of Shanghai fathers can be best understood in the unique Chinese contexts of one-child policy, transition to market economy, and increasing globalization.

Shifting boundaries of care in Asia: an introduction

Purpose – Asias traditional experiences with care provision differ considerably from those of the West given the prevalent family‐based social norms about care and policies in this region. In recent decades, Asia has experienced profound social and demographic transformations and is thus faced with significant challenges around care. However, care in Asian countries is a relatively less studied topic. There is an urgent need for a comparative study on recent policy and practice changes in care for the elderly and young children in different regions of Asia. The purpose of this special issue is to examine complicated boundary shift in care provision and financing between the state, market, community and family in East, Southeast and South Asia and to explore the implications of these changes in care policies and practices for social stratification by class and gender in Asia.Design/methodology/approach – The introduction to this special issue gives an overview of the social and demographic transformations...

Parental Spending on School-Age Children: Structural Stratification and Parental Expectation

As consumption expenditures are increasingly recognized as direct measures of children’s material well-being, they provide new insights into the process of intergenerational transfers from parents to children. Little is known, however, about how parents allocate financial resources to individual children. To fill this gap, we develop a conceptual framework based on stratification theory, human capital theory, and the child-development perspective; exploit unique child-level expenditure data from Child Supplements of the PSID; and employ quantile regression to model the distribution of parental spending on children. Overall, we find strong evidence supporting our hypotheses regarding the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), race, and parental expectation. Our nuanced estimates suggest that (1) parental education, occupation, and family income have differential effects on parental spending, with education being the most influential determinant; (2) net of SES, race continues to be a significant predictor of parental spending on children; and (3) parental expectation plays a crucial role in determining whether parents place a premium on child development in spending and how parents prioritize different categories of spending.

Youth Early Employment and Behavior Problems Human Capital and Social Network Pathways to Adulthood

We examine the relationship between early youth employment and behavior problems and ask whether this relationship differs by race, job quality, or work intensity. Drawing on Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, we depict the employment patterns of American youth aged 12 through 18 and test conflicting hypotheses about mediating mechanisms through which youth employment shapes children’s behavior. Results show that employment is associated with fewer behavior problems but only when the jobs offer opportunities for human capital development and only when working moderate hours. We find significant differences in employment rates and job characteristics between black and white youth. High-quality employment has a stronger impact on black than on white youth, and the positive effect of work is mediated by positive peer influence. Findings support social and human capital theories and, more broadly, the social network/role model explanation for adolescent behavior.

Academic risk and resilience for children and young people in Asia

Abstract In studies of academic resilience, researchers seek to identify factors that protect against adverse effects caused by risk and stress, and which ultimately assist students to be academically successful. However, because relatively few studies are conducted in Asian settings, Western-based research may have limited application for policy and prevention in the Asian context. It is therefore important to expand the context and culture in which resilience research takes place. This paper highlights academic resilience factors among Asian students that are located in the multiple levels of the social ecology (including individual, peers, family and school). This is consistent with results from the Western context. However, it also reports on some differences in academic resilience factors that are found both within Asian countries and between Asian and Western countries. From these results, we might thus conclude that alongside pan-human factors, Asian students’ academic success can also be considered in part due to uniquely Asian attributes. This reaffirms the importance of considering culture and national context in studies of academic resilience. Taken as a whole, this collection of papers showcases multiple approaches to building academic resilience and empowering students and their educators and caregivers across the Asian region.