Roots of Elder Respect: Ideals and Practices in East Asia

Peoples of East Asia—Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and others-have long-established cultural approaches to showing respect to elders. Demographic and social changes, however, have affected the ability of the young to meet traditional expectations. Family sizes are much smaller than they once were, many young people live a distance from their parents, and a large number of women—traditional caregivers-work outside the family. Moreover, expectations of the young have been affected by their exposure to other cultures. In general, young people tend to prefer reciprocal patterns of mutual respect between generations. However, the values deeply rooted in their family systems and social structures are preserved even while the manifestation of these values is being modified. Thus, cultural influence persists; only the way of expressing respect is being modified.