Exploring Intergenerational Solidarity in Rural Chinese Families: Dyadic Interviews with Children and Grandparents

Background and Purpose: A large number of rural Chinese children are living with their grandparents in skipped-generational households because their parents migrate to work in cities. Given the dynamic interactions in the grandparent-grandchild relationship, this study aims to investigate the multidimensional aspects of grandparenting through the intergenerational solidarity framework (i.e., affectual solidarity, associational solidarity, consensual solidarity, functional solidarity, normative solidarity, and structural solidarity) to advance the concepts of intergenerational solidarity in Chinese migrant families.

Method: Thirty children (63% female, mean age = 12 years) from a major labor-sending rural area in southwest China were recruited through purposive sampling to participate in in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews. These interviews were guided by the six domains of the intergenerational solidarity framework. Additionally, 23 of their grandparents were also interviewed to triangulate the findings from child interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis in Atlas.ti.

Results: This exploratory study revealed several themes that underscore intergenerational solidarity between rural Chinese grandparents and grandchildren in skipped-generational families. These themes depicted supportive relationships founded on affection, consensus, mutual resource exchange, family norms, and structural factors such as parental labor migration and lockdown policies in COVID-19 times. Additionally, the study highlighted some disagreements and tensions between the two generations, such as harsh grandparenting practices and a son preference by grandparents.

Conclusion and Implication: This study employed the intergenerational solidarity framework to examine Chinese grandparent-grandchild dyads, exploring all six dimensions of intergenerational solidarity within the context of labor migration. Conducting dyadic interviews with both generations allowed us to gain insights from both perspectives, which are often marginalized in society. Our research emphasizes the need for more supportive policies and interventions targeting rural grandfamilies. For instance, we recommend increasing shared family activities to foster quality companionship and strengthen intergenerational bonds.