Social support networks in urban Shanghai

Social Networks 23 (2001) 73–85

Social support networks in urban Shanghai夽 Gina Lai Department of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, PR China

Abstract The present paper examines the composition of social support network in urban Shanghai. Spouse/partner and parent/parent-in-law are found to provide diffuse support, serving both instrumental and emotional functions. Compared to kin ties, support from coworkers are likely to be more specialized and secondary. These findings are inconsistent with earlier data collected by Ruan and her associates in Tianjin. They observe that work-related ties are more prevalent than kin ties in the Chinese support networks and are more likely to be preferred helpers for a variety of problems. Moreover, the roles of family ties (parent, child, and sibling) tend to be peripheral and highly specialized, mainly, in money issues. Differences in findings from the two cities are attributed partly to the different measures of social support and partly to the different social structures related to marketization. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social support network; Urban Shanghai; Kin; Non-kin

1. Introduction The provision of supportive resources via social ties has long been recognized since Durkheim’s study of suicide (Durkheim, 1951). The type and extent of supportive resources is in turn contingent upon the characteristics of the social relationships (Wellman and Wortly, 1990). According to the role theorists (Merton, 1957), each role relationship has a set of prescribed behaviors directed towards other actors in the relationship. Thus, certain forms of behavior are expected and considered to be appropriate for a given role relationship, but not for others. Some of these normative behaviors are culture-specific. For example, Chinese adult children are expected to provide both material and emotional support to their elderly parents whereas such expectations are not as intense in other cultures. The behaviors associated with a role relationship may also be influenced by the structural conditions in which the role relationship is situated. Urbanization and industrialization in 夽 Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL, 6–10 August 1999, and the Third Annual Tsinghua-Baptist International Conference, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 15–17 June 2000. E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Lai).

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Western societies has been found to reduce face-to-face interactions with kin (Höllinger and Haller, 1990). Relations with friends and acquaintances, in contrast, gain in importance (Fischer, 1982). However, studies show that ties with close kin, particularly members of the nuclear family (spouse/partner, parents, children), remain important and exchanges among close kin are diffuse (Freeman and Ruan, 1997; Höllinger and Haller, 1990; Wellman and Wortly, 1990). China has been characterized as a family-oriented society, in which social relations are largely built around the family (Chao, 1983; Hsu, 1985). Presumably, family ties would occupy an important role in the Chinese social networks. However, contrary to this normative expectation, studies on the composition of Chinese interpersonal networks have consistently painted a different picture. Findings by Ruan and her associates (Freeman and Ruan, 1997; Ruan, 1993; Ruan et al., 1996, 1997) show that work-related ties were the most preferred and prevalent source of support among the Chinese. Kin ties, except spouse/partner, play a specialized and impersonal role in the provision of social support. Results were attributed to the dominance of the work unit system in socialist China. While the control of work units has been loosening with the introduction of market reforms since the late 1970s, the importance of work-related ties remains despite the trend of decline. Nevertheless the extent of market reforms vary across regions and cities (Nee, 1991; Xie and Hannum, 1996). The city (Tianjin) from which Ruan and her associates drew their data represents a state-controlled center in the reform era as compared to other coastal and southern cities. To what extent findings by Ruan and her associates can be generalized to other Chinese cities remains an issue. The present paper thus aims to examine the composition of support networks in Shanghai, which shares similar cultural traditions with Tianjin but differs from the latter in the extent of market economy. The rapid development of a market economy may erode the supportive functions of work units and force individuals to fall back onto their families for resources. Moreover, Ruan’s studies have focused on perceived support, which reflects one’s subjective preference. The present paper will investigate the social ties actually invoked in the support-seeking process. That is, the behavioral aspect of social support will be examined. The examination of mobilized support would inform us of the structure, rather than the normative construction, of a support network. While direct observation of supportive behaviors would give the most accurate information about actual social support, it poses many technical difficulties in data collection. As a result, it is a common practice that self-reports of social support are used as proxies for the equivalent behavioral data (Barrera, 1986; Bernard et al., 1979/1980). However, the self-report method has been criticized as actually a measure of “perceived–received” support (Barrera, 1986, p. 417), based on retrospective evaluations. Further, discrepancies in findings have been found between self-reports and behavioral observations of frequency of interpersonal communication in four group settings. The results were attributed to recall or cognition errors in self-reports (Bernard et al., 1979/1980). However, recall of behaviors related to specific areas, particularly personal experiences, might be easier and more accurate than recall of general conversations. In a study of recall errors related to the occurrence of nine types of life events over a 15-year period, Lin et al. (1997) found that recall of personal, acute experiences (e.g. argument with partner/spouse) tend to be less error-prone than

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that of chronic experiences (e.g. having serious illness) or daily routines (e.g. recreational activities). Therefore, to minimize recall errors, respondents in the present study will be asked to report who has actually helped with specific problems.

2. Support networks in China: previous findings The significance of the family in the Chinese society has been documented (Chao, 1983; Hamilton and Gao, 1990; Hsu, 1985). However, studies on the composition of social support networks in Mainland China (Freeman and Ruan, 1997; Ruan, 1993; Ruan et al., 1996, 1997) have consistently shown different results. Research findings from urban Tianjin in 1986 and 1993 show that work-related ties (including coworkers, superiors, and subordinates), compared to kinship ties (including spouse/partner), made up a large proportion of members in one’s discussion circle (discussion topics not mentioned) and chosen as preferred social companions and helpers for matters related to marital and emotional problems, and small household jobs. While spouse/partner is a prevalent source of help for matters related to sickness and advice for major life decisions, the role of other kinship ties (parent, child, and sibling) tends to be peripheral and highly specialized, mainly in money issues. Ruan and her associates attributed these distinctive findings to the dominance of the work unit system in socialist China and the characteristics of Chinese family. Work units (work organizations) in pre-reform China are less economic organizations than mechanisms of social control, through which various kinds of resources (such as housing, wages, and health care) are distributed and redistributed (Lu, 1989; Walder, 1986). Even one’s social status is, to a large extent, determined by work unit (Lin and Bian, 1991). The control is further enhanced by highly restricted mobility across work units. Once assigned to a work unit, Chinese workers usually spend their entire working life in the same work unit. In addition to limited social mobility, Chinese workers also experience low residential mobility. Until the appearance of housing markets in the late 1980s, housing has been considered a public goods and allocated by work units. Workers from the same work unit are usually put up in apartment buildings in the same neighborhood. Social relations among Chinese workers thus often extend across various dimensions, including coworkers, neighbors, and even friends (Freeman and Ruan, 1997; Ruan et al., 1996). As a result, Chinese workers develop dependence upon not only their work unit, but also fellow coworkers for instrumental and emotional needs. Ruan and her associates further argue that the authority structure in family and living arrangements in urban areas constitute the major pushing forces that promote high reliance on work-related ties for social support (Freeman and Ruan, 1997; Ruan et al., 1996). The hierarchical role structure within the Chinese family discourages individuals from confiding in their family members, particularly for emotional issues. Decline in multi-generational households and lack of an efficient public transportation system may also limit one’s accessibility to kin for help when needs arise. With the rapid development of market economy in urban areas in the last decade or so, Ruan and her associates have expected to see declining significance of work-related ties but growing importance of kin in support networks, a pattern that is exhibited by many western societies (Freeman and Ruan, 1997). However, while there is a decline in the prevalence in

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work-related ties in the Chinese discussion networks between 1986 and 1993, kinship ties also declines in prevalence and the extent of decline is greater than that of work-related ties (Ruan et al., 1997). In addition, “friends” and “others” appear to gain prevalence. These findings are interpreted as an increase in opportunities and resources beyond family and work, and subsequent growing needs for extending one’s social networks in order to catch new economic opportunities. In sum, Ruan argues that because of the social organization of the workplace, the Chinese tend to rely on work-related ties for support and work-related ties even take the place of kinship ties in the Chinese support network. Despite the economic reforms, the socialist work unit system still dominates the Chinese lives. As a result, work-related ties remain an important source of help for the Chinese. However, as the market economy develops, individuals are exposed to new alternatives, and new and possibly weak social ties (e.g. friends) are established to take advantage of these new alternatives. In view of Ruan and her associates’ findings, and the rapid social changes brought forth by the Chinese economic reforms, the present paper aims to examine the composition of social support networks in urban Shanghai, where market economy is more developed than in Tianjin. It aims to investigate the relative roles of work-related and familial ties in the provision of support in a place where state institutions (such as the work unit system) are undergoing tremendous transformations brought forth by the economic reforms. The pattern of activated support (as reported by respondents) rather than perceived support will be the focus. 3. Method 3.1. Sample The data used in the present study came from a survey of 300 workers in urban Shanghai, who were engaged in food industry. The survey was originally designed to examine the sectoral differences in quality of work life and conducted in November and December, 1996. Due to the primary purpose of the survey, two firms were chosen from each of the three types of firms, namely state enterprises, joint ventures, and private firms. A total of six firms were selected, which were all production-oriented and had already been in operation for at least 3 years at the time of survey. Then, 50 workers from all ranks were randomly chosen from each of the selected firms. Several groups of workers were excluded from the selection process: (1) “Xia gang” workers who had been dismissed due to downsizing of the firm but still received minimal income and welfare from the firm, (2) workers who were on business trip at the time of survey, (3) workers who were on sick leave or personal leave at the time of survey, (4) workers who attended re-training services in the military at the time of survey, and (5) workers who were no longer in service, due to mental problems, but maintained affiliation in the firm. Thus, the sample consists of workers who were available at the time of survey. Face-to-face interviews were administered to the selected workers in their home or the workers’ lounge at the workplace, according to the workers’ preference. A majority of respondents in state enterprises and joint ventures (81 and 95%, respectively) were

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Table 1 Socio-economic characteristics of the sample: 300 respondents from urban Shanghai, 1996 Variables

Total

Women (%) Mean age Married (%)

59.70 35.58 75.30

Education (%) Semi-literate or illiterate Junior elementary school Senior elementary school Junior high school Senior high school Three-year college University undergraduate Graduate school or above

1.0 4.3 9.0 45.0 31.3 7.7 1.7 0.0

Migrant workers (%) Community Party member (%) Holding authority position (%) Mean job tenure (year) Mean basic wage Mean monthly bonus Mean annual bonus Mean monthly total income

24.00 14.00 11.70 10.52 788.50 137.15 615.83 976.97

interviewed in their home whereas the interviews for private enterprises were all done at the workers’ lounge. This is largely a result of differences in housing arrangements. Workers in private firms tend to come from places outside Shanghai. They often had to share housing units with a group of other workers provided by work organization. Thus, these workers might feel that their home environment was not conducive for personal interviews. The sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents are presented in Table 1. About 60% of the respondents are women. The respondents are relatively young, with a mean age of 35.58 years. Three-fourths of the respondents were married. About 40% of the sample has received an education at the senior high school level or above (40.7%). About one-fourth (24%) of the sample are migrant workers, of whom 76.4% came from rural areas. Communist Party members constitute 14% of the sample. About 12% of the respondents occupy authority positions, such as supervisor or section chief. On an average, respondents have worked in their respective organization for over 10 years (mean = 10.52). The mean monthly wage and monthly bonus are 788.5 and 137.15 yuans, respectively. The mean annual bonus is 615.83 yuans, averaging about 50 yuans per month. The mean sum of basic wage, monthly bonus, and monthly average of annual bonus is 976.97 yuans per month. As the sample is only random at the individual level, readers are urged to note that all significant tests performed in the study are for reference only and generalizations are limited to the six selected firms. However, the findings may still contribute to the pool of empirical evidence on which future research might be based.

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3.2. Measurement The present study adopts a different approach from Ruan’s (1993, 1996, 1997) that this study focuses on received support with regard to specific problems as reported by respondents. Provided with a list of six types of problems, respondents were asked to report whether they had experienced each of the listed problems in the past 6 months and whom they turned to for help if they had. The six areas of problems include (1) emotional problem, (2) financial problem, (3) marital problem, (4) interpersonal problem at the workplace, (5) domestic services (e.g. child care), and (6) major life decisions (e.g. job change). These six broad categories of problems cover five of the six domains (except sickness) in Freeman and Ruan’s study (1997). Interpersonal problem at the workplace is a new addition to provide a more comprehensive coverage of needs in various life domains. Sources of support are categorized by role relationships. A total of 17 sources are listed, including spouse/partner, father, mother, son, daughter, sister, brother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, other kin, neighbor, classmate, person from the same hometown, friend, colleague, supervisor, and other sources. In the analysis, these 17 sources are re-grouped into eight types: (1) spouse/partner, (2) parent/parent-in-law, (3) child, (4) sibling, (5) other kin, (6) coworker (colleague and supervisor), (7) friend, and (8) others (neighbor, classmate, person from the same hometown, and other sources). Five socioeconomic variables are included to examine the variations in the composition of social support. These variables are gender (men versus women), marital status (married versus non-married), age (aged 35 or below versus aged 36 or above), education (senior high school or above versus less than senior high school), and communist party membership (member versus non-member), which represent various structural constraints that might influence the types of social ties and have been considered in previous literature when social networks in China are studied (Ruan et al., 1997). Due to the limited sample size, only bivariate analysis will be performed. The socioeconomic variables are dichotomized so as to ensure enough cases in each group for analysis. 4. Results 4.1. Extent of problems and help-seeking More than 60% (61.70%) of the sample reported experience with at least one of the listed problems in the past 6 month prior to the survey (Table 2). The proportions of respondents experienced the six types of problems ranging from 14.00 to 45.70%. Emotional problem was most frequently reported by respondents (45.70%) whereas the least frequent area is marital problem (14.00%). This is even the case among married respondents only (result not shown). A vast majority of respondents sought help when they encountered a problem. About 90% (88.10%) of the respondents sought help for at least one problem they encountered. The proportions of respondents seeking help vary by problems, ranging from 78.60% for marital problem to 90.50% for interpersonal problem at work. These results suggest that the respondents tend to be relatively active in mobilizing social support when needed. The

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Table 2 Percentage of respondents who reported experience with the problems and that of seeking help: 300 working individuals in urban Shanghai, 1996 Areas

Experienced the problem (%)

Sought help (%)a

Emotional problem Financial problem Marital problem Interpersonal problem at the workplace Domestic services Major life decisions At least one problem

45.70 33.30 14.00 24.70 33.30 24.30 61.70

84.70 89.00 78.60 90.50 87.00 84.90 88.10

a

Out of the total number of respondents who reported experience with the problem.

relatively low response for marital problem and related support may be due to the private nature of family matters attributed by the Chinese and thus, respondents may under-report the problem. 4.2. Composition of support networks Table 3 displays the relative use of each type of support. Findings show that spouse/partner is the most prevalent helper. In general, spouse/partner is the most prevalent source of social support (Table 3). A total of 46% of respondents turn to their spouse/partner for at least one problem they experienced and about 22% of respondents mentioned spouse/partner as their source of support for all problems encountered. Parent/parent-in-law and coworkers are the other two most prevalent sources of help. About 44 and 35% of respondents mentioned parent/parent-in-law and coworkers, respectively, for at least one problem; whereas 13.5 and 8.6% of respondents turned to parent/parent-in-law and coworkers for all problems, Table 3 Percentage of respondentsa (N = 163) who mentioned a particular role relationship for all problems experienced and those who mentioned a particular relationship for at least one problem experienced Role relationships

All problems

At least one problem

Spouse/partner

22.10

46.00

Kin Parent/parent-in-law Child Sibling Other kin

19.00 13.50 0.00 3.10 0.00

49.70 43.60 1.20 10.40 2.50

Non-kin Friend Coworker Othersb

19.00 3.70 8.60 3.10

49.70 12.90 34.40 10.40

a b

Number of respondents who have experienced at least one problem and sought help. Including neighbor, classmate, person from the same hometown, and other unlisted sources.

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Table 4 Sources of help for six problem areas: respondentsa from urban Shanghai, 1996 Problem areas

Role relationships Spouse Parent/parent- Child Sibling Other kin Friend Coworkers Othersb N in-law

Emotional problem Financial problem Marital problem Interpersonal problem at work Domestic services Major life decisions a b

42.20 36.00 42.40 29.90

16.40 34.80 21.20 9.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

3.50 10.10 6.10 1.50

0.90 1.10 0.00 1.50

12.10 22.40 2.20 11.30 15.20 9.10 10.40 41.80

2.60 4.40 6.10 6.00

116 89 33 67

33.30 56.50

49.40 12.90

0.00 3.20

3.40 1.60

2.30 4.80

2.30 3.40 3.20 14.60

5.70 3.20

87 62

Number of respondents who have experienced the problem and sought help. Including neighbor, classmate, person from the same hometown, and other unlisted sources.

respectively. Child (1.2%) and other kin (extended kin) (2.50%) are the least-mentioned helpers. Overall, the extent of use of help from kin (other than spouse/partner) and non-kin is the same (19% respondents for all problems and 49.7% respondents for at least one problem). If spouse/partner is included, the rate of use of kin ties is even higher. This finding suggests that kin ties tend to play a more important role than non-kin ties in the support networks of Shanghai workers, which is somewhat inconsistent with Ruan’s results (1997). Nevertheless the type of support may vary according to the nature of problems. Table 4 displays the distribution of helpers for each type of problems. Findings show that family ties, which include spouse/partner, immediate kin, and extended kin, are important sources of help in all areas except interpersonal problems at work. The proportions of respondents using help from family ties for the six problem areas range from 41.80 (interpersonal problem at work) to 88.50% (domestic services). Among family ties, spouse/partner is shown to be the most frequent source of help for emotional and marital problems, major life decisions, and financial problem, and the second most important helper for interpersonal problem at work and domestic services. The role of spouse/partner thus tends to provide diffuse support. Parent/parent-in-law plays an important role in providing domestic services, and help with financial and marital problems. The prevalent help of parent/parent-in-law in domestic services may be due to the physical proximity. That the parental role is active in offering financial support is consistent with previous findings (Freeman and Ruan, 1997). Solving marital problems may involve mediation and reconciliation. Parent/parent-in-law may serve as the middle person to facilitate such processes. Parent/parent-in-law is also shown to be a popular helper with emotional problem and major life decisions, although coworker is slightly more important in these respects. In fact, respondents are more likely to parent/parent-in-law than friend for help with these two problems. These findings suggest that respondents in Shanghai are as willing to share their intimate concerns with parent/parent-in-law as with coworker and friend. Thus, support provided by the parental role tends to be rather diffuse. The role of other immediate kin (such as child and sibling) and extended kin seems to be minimal in all areas, except for financial problem. Respondents are almost as likely to seek

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help from sibling as from coworker to deal with financial matters, suggesting that sibling mainly plays an instrumental role. The insignificance of the role of child may be due to the relatively young age of respondents. Children may thus not be old enough to offer help. Among non-kin, help from coworker is most frequently used, particularly for interpersonal problem at work. Respondents would also like to turn to coworker for emotional support and help with major life decisions. However, the role of coworker is less important than that of spouse/partner and parent/parent-in-law (except interpersonal problem at work). These findings are different from Ruan’s (1997) and suggest that compared to familial ties, support from coworker tends to be relatively more specific and secondary. Friend emerges as a rather popular helper for emotional and marital problems, and interpersonal problems at the workplace. These three problems, to a certain extent, involve sharing of feelings and private information. Friend’s instrumental support, on the contrary, is less prevalent, suggesting that friends in Shanghai might be more likely to play an expressive role than an instrumental one. 4.3. Socioedemographic differences Table 5 compares the use of family ties (both immediate kin and extended kin) for various problem areas by sociodemographic variables. As the sample size is small, the bivariate relationships displayed can only be taken as reference. Results show that women are more likely than men to rely on family ties, particularly spouse/partner and parent/parent-in-law (results not shown), for problems in emotional, financial and marital areas whereas the otherwise is true for major life decisions. It may be due to women’s primary role in the Table 5 Percentage of respondentsa who obtained help from family tiesb for various problems by sociodemographic variables Socioeconomic characteristics

Problem areas Emotional problem

Financial problem

Marital problem

Interpersonal Domestic services decisions

Major life

Total

62.93

82.02

69.70

41.79

88.51

79.03

Men Women

53.49∗ 68.49

72.22∗∗∗ 88.68

61.11∗ 80.00

45.45 38.24

91.18 86.79

85.19∗ 74.29

Married Non-married

69.77∗ 43.33

87.69∗∗∗ 66.67

71.43 60.00

48.08∗∗∗ 20.00

91.03∗∗∗ 66.67

83.02∗ 55.56

Aged 35 or below Aged 36 or above

60.00 65.00

75.56∗∗ 88.10

71.73 66.67

31.03∗ 48.65

82.35∗∗ 92.31

72.00∗ 83.33

High school or above Less than high school

72.00∗∗∗ 56.06

85.19 80.65

70.00 69.57

21.74∗∗∗ 52.27

88.57 88.46

76.19 80.49

a

Number of respondents who have experienced the problem and sought help. Family ties include spouse/partner, parent/parent-in-law, child, sibling, and other kin. ∗ Group differences are statistically significant at P < 0.05. ∗∗ Group differences are statistically significant at P < 0.01. ∗∗∗ Group differences are statistically significant at P < 0.005. b

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family sphere, allowing greater availability of kin ties in women’s networks. Compared to non-married counterparts, married respondents tend to rely more on family ties for support in all problem areas, except marital problem. A further investigation (not shown) reveals that the prevalence of family ties in married respondents’ support network is due to their heavy reliance on spouse’s/partner’s support. Kin ties do provide help to non-married respondents in almost all problem areas but the source of assistance mainly comes from parents. Non-married respondents, in fact, depend on parents’ support more than the married ones. This pattern also applies to the age differences in help-seeking behavior. Older respondents are generally more likely than the younger ones to get help from kin, particularly spouse. However, those aged 35 or below tend to have greater reliance on parents than their older peers do, particularly for emotional and financial problems. In other words, men, the non-married, and younger respondents are more likely to rely on non-kin than women, the married, and older respondents. This finding suggests that the social networks of the former may be more extensive than those of the latter. Non-kin may play a compensatory role in the networks for non-married and younger respondents due to an absence of a partner. Finally, better-educated respondents depend on kin ties for emotional problems but on non-kin ties for interpersonal problem at work.

5. Discussion and conclusion The present study has demonstrated the dominance of family ties in the support networks of urban Shanghai workers. While spouse/partner tends to specialize in expressive support and parent/parent-in-law in instrumental support, help provided by these two familial ties is generally more diffuse than that by other kin and non-kin ties. The role of other immediate kin (siblings and children) and extended kin (other relatives) is minimal. Work-related ties, in contrast, play a secondary role in the provision of social support. These findings have several implications. As the state diminishes its role in providing material and social needs for the people but is yet to establish proper alternative institutions to meet these needs, the family might have resumed its function in the provision of social support for its members. As there is a lack of well-established financial institution and the cost of social services is rising, intergenerational transfer, especially from parents to children, may become crucial for making loans and offering day-to-day services in times of need (Freeman and Ruan, 1997). This is particularly so for young individuals aged 35 or below because their financial resources are yet to accumulate. In addition to instrumental assistance, the Chinese family in urban Shanghai also serves as an emotional shelter or haven for its members. While spouse/partner is often mentioned as a confidant for emotional problems, parent/parent-in-law is also a popular source of emotional help, particularly among younger individuals and the non-married. This finding is somewhat inconsistent with Ruan’s argument that the hierarchical authority structure in the Chinese family tends to discourage children from sharing their emotional problems with parents (Ruan et al., 1996). As urban reforms are deepening, the extra-familial environment might have become more and more volatile in terms of intensified competition for all kinds of resources, such as job security and opportunities for upward social mobility. In face

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of keen market competition, workers inevitably experience frustration and psychological stress. Strong familial ties best serve the purpose of affirmation and maintenance of one’s self, which in turn, improve one’s mental health (House et al., 1988; Lin et al., 1986). Thus, Shanghai workers tend to turn to their close family members, for example, spouse/partner and parent, for emotional comfort. However, other kinship network members, such as children, siblings, and extended kin, seem to occupy a marginal role in the provision of social support. In fact, children are the least likely of all networks members to help in any dimension. Coupled with the previous findings, the present result points to the fact that intergenerational assistance in urban Shanghai is more likely to flow from the older generations to the younger ones than vice versa. Another possible explanation is that respondents’ children may be too young to contribute help to their parents. Siblings tend to be most active in giving help related to financial matters but remain rather inactive in other areas. Siblings may mainly serve an instrumental function, acting as a backup for financial aid in case parents are not able to help. The insignificance of extended kin suggests that the family support system in urban Shanghai primarily centers around immediate kin. This may be a result of the work unit system installed in the urban areas. Since 1949, work units have taken over the social functions which were once performed by extended kin in the traditional Chinese family, for example, providing financial assistance and helping with day-to-day needs. On the whole, the findings on the supportive roles of different kinship network members highlights role specialization and differentiation, which forms a support hierarchy within the Chinese family system. At the core of the support network is spouse/partner, whose role is generally diffused with specialization in help with emotional problems and critical personal matters (major life decisions). Immediately outside the core is parent/parent-in-law, who mainly offers instrumental assistance and sometimes emotional support. Siblings and extended kin form the next layer as backup sources of help. Children are placed in the outermost of the support network. In contrast, work-related ties tend to be specialized in help for relational problems at the workplace. Their contribution in other domains are generally secondary to that of spouse/partner and parent/parent-in-law. This finding is somewhat inconsistent with Ruan’s. Ruan and her associates find that coworkers are important support providers, as indicated by their prevalence in the Chinese discussion network and responses to hypothetical situations (Ruan et al., 1996, 1997). One possible explanation may lie in the different measurements of social support. The measure used by Ruan’s discussion network items (1997) do not differentiate the types of problems being discussed. Further, responses to hypothetical situations measures perceived support whereas the present study measures actual support network. Actual requests of support usually take feasibility and availability into consideration. As a result, although coworkers may be preferred, they may not live nearby and thus are not as easily accessible. The discrepancies in findings may also be due to the different extent of marketization in the two cities. The pace of market reforms in Shanghai is much faster than that in Tianjin (Ruan’s research site). The state control via work units may thus be weaker in Shanghai than in Tianjin, leading to a decline in the reliance on work units and work-related ties among Shanghai workers. As a matter of fact, Ruan et al. (1997) observes a decline in the importance of work-related ties in the Tianjin residents’ support network between 1986 and 1993,

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although work-related ties still prevail. She attributes the finding to increased marketization of the Tianjin economy over the 7-year period. To further examine the relationship between marketization and social support network, future research may adopt and compare samples from more cities, in which market reforms are implemented at different degrees. Last but not the least, the generalizability of the present study is limited by the small sample size. Future research should validate the above findings with a larger sample. Moreover, the current emphasis is on the structure of support network, particularly role relationship between ego and support provider. How network structure affects the quality of received support remains an issue. Recent research has called for an integration of structure and process of social support (Lin and Peek, 1999). While preliminary efforts have been made to explore this issue in the American context (Lin et al., 1999), future studies may refine the relationship between the two elements of social support by specifying the structural characteristics of support networks that would generate support functions and validating the results in a cross-cultural context.

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