| 摘要: | 親子關係可以持續到成年期以及父母進入老年期間，隨著人口老齡化，世代之間相處的時間也更長久，因此代間關係更顯重要。臺灣老年父母的經濟和勞務支持，仍以成年子女提供為主；「奉養」父母成為中年階段時的重要任務。老年父母與成年子女的關係，始於義務，但是由義務和選擇所支撐。基於此，本研究旨在瞭解中年子女對父母的代間關係與代間支持之現況及差異情形；探討中年子女的代間關係與代間支持之相關性；探討中年子女之「背景因素」、「父母親背景因素」與「代間關係」對「代間支持」的解釋力。
本研究採用「立意抽樣」及「滾雪球」之抽樣方式，針對臺灣地區40至64歲(即1955年至1979年間出生)，不論男女、婚姻狀況(無偶：從未結婚、離婚、喪偶、其他；有偶：已婚)，且其父母親皆健在並且婚姻持續之中年子女進行問卷調查。研究工具包括：「中年子女背景因素調查表」、「父母親背景因素調查表」、「代間關係量表」、「代間支持量表」。研究結果以描述統計(次數分配、百分比、平均數、標準差)、成對樣本t檢定、單一樣本t檢定、獨立樣本t檢定、皮爾森積差相關及強迫進入法多元迴歸加以分析。
研究結果發現：
一、中年子女與父母親之代間關係傾向良好，與母親之代間關係顯著優於與父親之代間關係。中年女性與父母親之間的代間關係皆顯著優於男性。
二、中年子女與父母親之代間關係主要是：願意為父母親付出且覺得對方是無可取代、重要的。
三、中年子女提供給父親之代間支持程度不高，母親的代間支持程度則是傾向「經常」提供。提供給母親之代間支持程度顯著高於提供給父親之代間支持。
四、中年子女較常提供給父親工具性的支持，母親則是情感性的支持。對於父母親最少提供的則是金錢上的支持。
五、中年男性提供給父母親的代間支持形式以工具性支持為主；中年女性在提供給母親情感性支持的程度上高於男性。
六、中年子女與父親、母親的代間關係愈好，其提供之代間支持程度愈高。
七、父親年齡越大、父親健康情形越差、與父母親同住、過去與父親相處情形越佳、與父親正向情感關係越好之中年子女，提供給父親的代間支持越多。中年無偶、母親年齡越大、與父母親同住、與母親正向情感關係越好之中年子女，提供給母親的代間支持越多。
八、中年無偶、父親年齡越大、父親經濟越好、過去與父親相處越佳、與父親正向情感關係越好之中年子女，提供給父親的情感性支持越多。中年女性、無偶、母親年齡越大、母親經濟狀況越好、與母親正向情感關係越好之中年子女，提供給母親的情感性支持越多。
九、中年男性、父親年齡越大、父親經濟狀況越差、父親健康情形越差、與父母親同住、與父親之正向情感關係越好、與父親之負向情感關係越多之中年子女，提供給父親的工具性支持越多。中年男性、無偶、母親年齡越大、與父母親同住、與母親正向情感關係越好、與母親之負向情感關係越多之中年子女提供給母親的工具性支持越多。
十、中年子女父母親年齡以及與父母親之正向情感關係，是影響提供給父母親代間支持、情感性支持與工具性支持程度的重要關鍵因素。
根據研究結果，建議中年子女重視與父親的代間關係與代間支持；把代間支持變動詞，並且兼顧工具性與情感性的支持；中年男性宜多增進與父母親情感性的交流；已婚之中年子女宜多增進與父母親之代間支持。
The parent-child relationship can last until one’s adulthood and until one’s parents reach late adulthood. With the population aging, people from different generations spend more time together, which makes intergenerational relationships even more important. Aging parents in Taiwan still get economic and labor support, mainly from their adult children; therefore, supporting parents becomes an important task for adult children in their middle age. The relationship between aging parents and adult children is established by duty and supported by both duty and choice. Based on this fact, the purpose of this study was to understand the current situation and the differences in the “intergenerational relationship” and the “intergenerational support” between middle-aged children and their parents. This study also explores the correlation between the intergenerational relationship and the support of middle-aged children. This study, moreover, discusses the explanatory power of “middle-aged children's backgrounds”, “parents’ backgrounds” and “intergenerational relationships” in relation to the level of “intergenerational support”.
This study, regardless of gender and marriage status (without a spouse: unmarried, divorced, widowed, and others; with a spouse: married), conducted a questionnaire survey with middle-aged people, whose ages range from 40 to 64 (born between 1955 and 1979) and have parents who are alive and married, by using both purposive and snowball sampling approaches in Taiwan. The tools used to conduct this research included Middle-Aged Children’s Background Questionnaire, Parents’ Background Questionnaire, Intergenerational Relationship Scale, and Intergenerational Support Scale. This study was analyzed by explaining the statistics (frequency distribution, percentage, average, and standard deviation), the Paired-Sample T-Test, the One-Sample T-Test, the Independent Sample T-Test, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, and the Enter Method for Multiple Regression.
The findings of the study are listed below:
1.The intergenerational relationship between middle-aged children and their parents tends to be good. Middle-aged children have a better intergenerational relationship with their mothers than with their fathers. Middle-aged females have a much better intergenerational relationship with their parents than males do.
2.The main point of the intergenerational relationship between middle-aged children and their parents is that middle-aged children are not only willing to give, but they also consider their parents indispensable and important.
3.Middle-aged children don’t give their fathers much intergenerational support but give their mothers support “often”. Middle-aged children give much more intergenerational support to their mothers than to their fathers.
4.Middle-aged children give more instrumental support to their fathers, whereas more emotional support to their mothers. Financial support is given the least.
5.The only support given by middle-aged males to their parents is instrumental support. Middle-aged females give more emotional support to their mothers than males do.
6.The better the relationship between middle-aged children and their parents is, the more intergenerational support middle-aged children will give.
7.Middle-aged children who live with their parents, whose fathers are older and in poorer health conditions, who get along better with their parents before and have a more positive emotional relationship, give more intergenerational support to their fathers. Middle-aged children whose mothers are older, who have no spouse and live with their parents, have a more positive emotional relationship with their mothers and would therefore give more intergenerational support to their mothers.
8.Middle-aged children whose fathers are older and in a better financial situation, who have no spouse and who not only get along well with their fathers before, but also have a more positive emotional relationship with their fathers, would give their fathers more emotional support. Middle-aged female children, whose mothers are older and in a better financial situation, who also have no spouse and a more positive emotional relationship with their mothers, would give their mothers more emotional support.
9.Middle-aged male children, whose fathers are older and in poorer health and financial conditions, who live with their parents, and who not only have a better positive emotional relationship, but also have a more negative relationship with their fathers, provide their fathers more instrumental support. Middle-aged male children with older mothers, who have no spouse and live with their parents, and who not only have a better positive emotional relationship but also have a more negative relationship with their mothers, also provide their mothers more instrumental support.
10.The older the parents are, the more positive emotional relationship the middle-aged children will have with their parents, which consequently influences how much intergenerational support children will give.
According to the research, middle-aged children should put more emphasis on their intergenerational relationship and intergenerational support with their fathers. Intergenerational support should be an action, not only a term, giving them both instrumental and emotional support. Middle-aged males should have more emotional interactions with their parents. And married middle-aged children should give more intergenerational support to their parents. |
