Perceptions of Filial Responsibility by Elderly Filipino Widows and Their Primary Caregivers

Abstract

This study assessed perceptions of filial responsibility among forty older Filipino mothers and their primary caregiver daughters from two urban and two rural barangays in the town of Los Banos (39 miles southeast of Manila). Using parallel standard structured interview measures, perceptions of filial expectations and filial behaviors were gathered across five categories of parental support: financial and material aid; personal care; service provision; respect; and warmth and affection. Intragenerational comparisons (analyses of variance) showed that widows' reports of actual amount of support received significantly exceeded their expectations for most forms of aid. In contrast, daughters' expectations for level of parental support exceeded their behaviors, but only for the more instrumental forms of aid. Intergenerational comparisons ( t-test analyses) revealed that daughters held reliably higher filial expectations for almost all forms of support than did their mothers. Comparisons of reports of actual support showed intergenerational consensus on the whole. Implications of these data for research and intervention in this area are discussed.