Which sons live with their older parents in rural China? The role of migration and intergenerational exchanges

This article investigated how sons' migration and exchanges with parents influenced the likelihood of intergenerational coresidence in rural China. Based on a three-wave longitudinal study in Anhui Province, China, with data collected in 2001, 2003, and 2006, we used random effects logistic regression to predict the likelihood that a non-migrant or return migrant son transitioned into coresidence with his older parent. Our analyses included 1695 observations representing 1224 sons sired by 739 parents. We found that sons were less likely to transition into coresidence with parents who received more upstream financial support from migrant sons. Only sons and youngest sons, particularly when they were return migrants, were more likely than other sons to transition into coresidence. Results indicate that family behaviors of adult sons toward their older parents in rural China are interdependent with each other in migrant families, as well as governed by traditional prescriptions.