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Multigenerational family structure in Japanese society: impacts on stress and health behaviors among women and men

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  • Takeda, Yasuhisa
  • Kawachi, Ichiro
  • Yamagata, Zentaro
  • Hashimoto, Shuji
  • Matsumura, Yasuhiro
  • Oguri, Shigenori
  • Okayama, Akira

Abstract

Rapid population aging in Japan has led to rising demands for informal care giving. Traditionally, care giving for aging parents has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of women living in multigenerational households. However, rising labor force participation by Japanese women, declining marriage and fertility rates, and women's changing expectations have combined to produce unprecedented strains on traditional multigenerational households where care giving to elders traditionally takes place. In this paper, we explored gender-specific relationships between family structure, stress and worries, and health behaviors, using linked data from two national surveys conducted in Japan: the 1995 Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions of People on Health and Welfare, and the 1995 National Nutrition Survey. We found that women in multigenerational households reported more care-giving worries, and also less future health and financial worries. Living with parents was associated with protective health behaviors (less smoking, less heavy drinking), but also more sedentary behavior among women, while men in "sandwich" families (i.e., living with both parents and children) reported heavier smoking. The association of family structure and health behavior was not mediated by worries. Living alone was associated with worse health for women. These findings suggest gender-specific patterns of worries and health behaviors that reflect both the health-protecting and health-damaging effects of living in multigenerational households.

Suggested Citation

  • Takeda, Yasuhisa & Kawachi, Ichiro & Yamagata, Zentaro & Hashimoto, Shuji & Matsumura, Yasuhiro & Oguri, Shigenori & Okayama, Akira, 2004. "Multigenerational family structure in Japanese society: impacts on stress and health behaviors among women and men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 69-81, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:59:y:2004:i:1:p:69-81
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    Cited by:

    1. Keera Allendorf, 2013. "Going Nuclear? Family Structure and Young Women’s Health in India, 1992–2006," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 853-880, June.
    2. Jiaan Zhang & Liyun Wu, 2015. "Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption among Chinese Older Adults: Do Living Arrangements Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-26, February.
    3. Tatiana Kossova & Elena Kossova & Maria Sheluntcova, 2017. "Alcohol consumption and individual time preferences of Russians," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 64(1), pages 47-85, March.
    4. Di Novi, Cinzia, 2013. "The indirect effect of fine particulate matter on health through individuals’ life-style," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 27-36.
    5. Sarah Abu-Kaf & Ora Nakash & Tsahi Hayat & Michal Cohen, 2022. "Social Support and Psychological Distress among the Bedouin Arab Elderly in Israel: The Moderating Role of Gender," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-10, April.
    6. Cinzia Di Novi, 2010. "The influence of traffic‐related pollution on individuals' life‐style: results from the BRFSS," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(11), pages 1318-1344, November.
    7. Jin-Won Noh & Kyoung-Beom Kim & Jumin Park & Janghun Hong & Young Dae Kwon, 2017. "Relationship between the number of family members and stress by gender: Cross-sectional analysis of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-9, September.
    8. Kossova, Tatiana (Коссова, Татьяна) & Kossova, Elena (Коссова, Елена) & Sheluntsova, Maria (Шелунцова, Мария), 2014. "A healthy lifestyle and individual intertemporal preferences of Russia [Здоровый Образ Жизни И Индивидуальные Межвременные Предпочтения Жителей России]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 172-190, October.
    9. Tatiana Kossova & Elena Kossova & Maria Sheluntcova, 2013. "Estimating the relationship between rate of time preferences and healthy lifestyle in Russia," HSE Working papers WP BRP 45/EC/2013, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    10. Hirokawa, Kumi & Tsutsumi, Akizumi & Kayaba, Kazunori, 2009. "Occupation and plasma fibrinogen in Japanese male and female workers: The Jichi Medical School Cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1091-1097, March.
    11. Cherylynn Bassani, 2008. "The influence of financial, human and social capital on Japanese men’s and women’s health in single- and two-parent family structures," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 191-209, January.

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