Experiencing Grandparenthood: An Asian Perspective

Product Description

Within the context of an ageing Asia, the growing numbers of grandparents and the important roles they play within the family propel the need for a book devoted to their experiences. This book, with its focus on the Asian perspective, is pertinent and timely as Asia has undergone socio-cultural, economic and family transformations as a result of modernization, urbanization and demographic aging in the last century. In filling a gap in the current literature, the volume seeks to answer the following questions, what is the state of grandparenting in the Asian context today? How do the roles and functions of grandparents differ depending on rural-urban differences, their relations with daughters and daughter-in-laws, and changing health of the grandparents? The book is a multidisciplinary, cross-national and inter-generational publication, lending voice to the aging grandparents in six countries i.e. China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The volume’s strength lies precisely in its rich body of qualitative, three-generational data, including grandparents, link parents and grandchildren. Gerontologists, social researchers, anthropologists, social workers, policy makers, professionals working with aging families and family caregivers form the target audience of this rich Asian volume.

From the Back Cover

As the population of Asia grows older, attention turns to the growing numbers of grandparents, and the important family and societal roles they play. This book traces the socio-cultural, economic and family transformations in the role of grandparents that result from a century of modernization, urbanization and demographic aging.

Filling a gap in the current literature, Experiencing Grandparenthood: An Asian Perspective seeks to answer such vital questions as: What is the state of grandparenting in the Asian context today? How do the roles and functions of grandparents differ depending on rural-urban differences, their relations with daughters and daughters-in-law, and changing health of the grandparents?

This multidisciplinary, cross-national and inter-generational publication lends voice to the experience of grandparents in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The volume’s strength lies in its rich body of qualitative, three-generational data drawn from grandparents, link parents and grandchildren. Experiencing Grandparenthood: An Asian Perspective will benefit gerontologists, social researchers, anthropologists, social workers, policy makers, professionals working with aging families and family caregivers.

About the Author

Associate Professor Kalyani K. MEHTA
Kalyani K. MEHTA is Head of the Gerontology Programme, at University of SIM, Singapore. Her research interests are ageing-related policies and services, family caregivers, cross-cultural studies, grandparenthood, intergenerational ties and their impact on the well-being of older people. Her rich experience in the field of social gerontology spans the past 20 years. Dr Mehta’s Ph.D thesis on “The Dynamics of Adjustment of the very old in Singapore” started the passion for this specialisation. Although most of her research is conducted in Singapore, she has extensive knowledge of the Asia Pacific region. Her numerous publications include two co-authored books “Understanding and Counselling Older Persons” and “Ageing in Singapore: Service Needs and the State”, six edited books, and more than 40 papers in international journals on social gerontology and social work. Dr Mehta was Member of Singapore Parliament (2007-2009) by nomination, and during her term she spoke on ageing policies and services.
She is President of the Singapore Association of Social Workers and council member of the Singapore Gerontological Society. She is associate editor of the Singaporean journal “Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development” and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Soc