Assessing Tradition in Chinese Elders Living in a Changing Social Environment: Implications for Social Work Practice

Social workers are increasingly challenged to provide culturally sensitive services to older immigrants from diverse backgrounds. Assessment tools developed in the elder's own cultural context can maximize appropriate assessment and planning. This article describes the development of a tool for measuring adherence to tradition in Chinese elders. In Chinese tradition, an elder's purpose, meaning, and self-worth are derived, in large part, from their contribution to family, relatives, and the community. Existing measures of filial piety and acculturation do not capture this dimension. Filial piety involves being on the receiving end of care, honor, and obedience from younger generations. Acculturation is the opposite of adherence to tradition. One thousand five-hundred and two Chinese elders in China were asked questions on mutual aid and intergenerational exchange. Factor analysis extracted nine items loading into two factors reflective of traditional exchange. This measure could prove useful in understanding the effect of traditional beliefs upon various psychosocial outcomes. (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.