로인(老人)의 거주형태(居住形態) 결정요인(決定要因)에 관한 연구(硏究) = A Study on the Factors Influencing Living Arrangements of Older Parents

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to find factors which affect living arrangement of older parents. Previous research has dichotomized living arrangements of older parents whether they coreside with their children or otherwise. However, this study proposes that living arrangements of older parents can be better understood by dividing living arrangements of older parents in three categories such as coresidence, living in a separate household in the same community (modified extended family), living in a separate household in a distanced community (extended family).
This study analyzes the data of 『Living Profile and Welfare Service Needs of Older Persons in Korea』 survey conducted by KIHASA in 1998 to understand the current status of living arrangements and to find out the determinants of living arrangements.
The major findings are as follows.
First, in spite of rapid nuclearization of Korean families, 48.8% of older parents coreside with their children and 10.2% are living in a separate household in the same community. Second, there is a big difference in living arrangements between rural and urban areas. In rural areas, the rate of older persons living with their children is 40.4%, while the rate in urban areas is 53.7%. On the other hand, 53.0% of older persons lived apart far away in rural areas, while the rate in urban areas is 33.9%. Third, according to the multinomial logit analysis, statistically significant determinants of living arrangement of older persons are; (1) region and marital status as background variables; (2) having a son as demographic `availability`; (3) possession of independent income source as `feasibility` of independent living arrangements; (4) preference to living with children as a cultural `desirability` variable.
Based on above-mentioned results, I suggest that the government must develop the policies and programmes to activate care-giving potentiality of the families by living arrangements patterns. Because more than half of older persons in rural areas live far away from their children, rural elderly are vulnerable in terms of physical care-receiving. Therefore, we have to pay attention to rural elderly in policy making and implementation of social service policies.