Ageing and the changing role of the family in Sri Lanka.

Abstract

The ageing of populations is an unavoidable and irreversible global phenomenon. Ageing in developed countries occurred gradually over a relatively long period of time, while ageing in developing countries including Sri Lanka has been more rapid. The rapid decline of fertility and mortality rates along with migration in Sri Lanka, have reshaped the age-sex structure of the population. Sri Lanka’s rapidly ageing population has important social-economic implications and real challenges for government and older people themselves. The ageing process has an important relationship with the changing nature, structure and the function of the family which has been occurring simultaneously in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan elderly have traditionally been almost totally dependent on family support, and a key policy question is whether the transition from traditional to modern family will change intergenerational relationships. The conceptual framework of the study, based largely on the work of Caldwell (1982) and Hugo (1997) focuses on changes in the intergenerational transfer of wealth and its implications for ageing populations. The study argues that the changes in the direction of wealth flows associated with changing role of the family, has influenced the wellbeing of the aged population. The study uses a mixed methodology based primarily on surveys of 300 elderly households and 150 control households and a wide range of quantitative and qualitative information. This study examines the effects of the changing role of the family on the ageing population in Sri Lanka. Examination of the timing of the onset of ageing and its process, as well as the changing family role, enabled this study to differentiate the family roles of different generations according to their diverse behavioural patterns in dissimilar socio-economic and cultural environments in different time periods. The study shows that living arrangements of the elderly population are changing with an increasing number of one generation families. Co-residence with an adult child in their own home is the most common living arrangement but the study found that many children who co-reside with parents receive some benefits from the parents, despite the commonly held belief that it is the parents who benefit through gaining access to care. The study examines intergenerational exchanges between elderly parents and adult children. Transfers between the generations are greatest where there is co-residence. It was found that while older Sri Lankans on average have lower levels of well-being than the rest of the community it is higher among those who co-reside compared to those living in one generation families. Overall the changes in the family role and functioning have led to a reduction in the well-being of Sri Lankan older people. Moreover this gap has not been filled by pension and social protection schemes in Sri Lanka which remain limited. It is crucial that this area be addressed by policy makers and planners.