FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND MORTALITY PATTERNS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FAMILIAL ROLE-RELATED MORTALITY RISKS AMONG CHINESE IN TAIWAN, CHINESE AMERICANS AND WHITE AMERICANS

The purpose of this paper is to establish a theoretical model for the relationships between culture, family support systems and mortality patterns. It is argued that the gender, parental and conjugal roles have provided differential support in structuring stress-related mortality risks and the structure of family protection is shaped by cultural values, kinship structures and normative role-relations.; Based on this cultural framework, mortality differentials due to the supportive nature of familial roles in Chinese and American societies are hypothesized. The results, in general, are consistent with the cultural hypotheses. First, cultural mechanisms work differently for males and for females in Chinese and American societies. For Americans, the family support effect appears to be stronger for males than for females. American females, on the other hand, seems to receive greater kin/friend support than American males. For Chinese, the relationships are reversed. Chinese males seem to receive greater kin-support than Chinese females; and Chinese females depend more on family support. Second, the children-support effect appears to be greater for Chinese than for Americans, and the spousal support effect seems to be greater for Americans than for Chinese in the man's case but not significant in the woman's case. Third, age has a different impact on family protection. At younger ages, the family protective effect appears to be stronger for Americans than for Chinese; however, at older ages, the family protection (especially support from children) is greater for Chinese than for Americans.; Mortality risks of Chinese Americans are also examined. The transculture migration appears to have differential impacts on the familial protection for different age and sex groups. It appears that the spousal support has increased for males but has decreased for females. The support of children for parents has decreased dramatically for older Chinese Americans. In general, the family support pattern of Chinese Americans has been changed differentially from the original Chinese pattern and has been converged with the American pattern.