Filial Piety in a Modern Age

An Exploration of Familial Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Patients & Caregiver Burden in Singapore

Abstract

With an increasing number of Alzheimer’s disease patients in Singapore, complications related to the degenerative disease have become highly relevant. Standing out among these complications are inflated caregiver burden resulting from the cultural expectations associated with filial piety. Filial piety, a value ingrained in Chinese culture, requires adult-children to display love, obedience, and respect towards their parents as well as provide physical care when required (Bedford, 2019). Expectations associated with filial piety, however, have been associated with severe caregiver burdens that persist even after patient institutionalisation (Whitlatch, 2001). Expectations to provide care presents numerous challenges for adult-children of patients: economic instability, psychological exhaustion, and social isolation (Lai, 2009; Langda, 2011; Win, 2017). These implications associated with caregiving are heightened when the patient being cared for is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as the disease has a unique cognitive-degeneration component that inhibits an individual from conducting independent actions after a certain point (Pratt, 1985). This article aims to shed light on the relationship between the level of involvement and the severity of caregiver burden among familial caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients in an effort to identify how to better support familial caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. Through the use of a quantitative correlational analysis, a relationship between the two data points of involvement level and burden level was established. This research serves to identify a potential problem, not propose methods of reconciliation. While the data collection process for this study was inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic, theoretical data is provided in an effort to develop new understandings and draw hypothetical conclusions.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s, Filial Piety, Familial Caregiver, Institutionalisation, Caregiving Burden, Correlation, Adult-Child Caregiver