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Since the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 removed immigration quotas the Asian population has been rapidly increasing (Park, 2010) in the U.S. From 2000 to 2010 the overall Asian American population increased by 43% and currently makes 4.8% of the U.S. population (Humes, Jones, & Ramirez, 2011). The 2010 U.S. Census data also indicate that 9.4% of this population is 65 years and older, representing 3.4% of tne total U.S. population within tne same age bracket. This represents a 68.3% increase of Asian Americans 65 ana older from the 2000 data, a trend that is projected to increase sixfold from 1,376,471 in 2010 to 7,434,131 in 2050 (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2008). As the older population of Asian Americans grows, questions regarding how to best manage elder care will require answers, particularly when there may be cultural differences between Asian and American expectations regarding caring for the elderly.
This study examined the experience of secondgeneration Asians in the U.S. caring for elderly firstgeneration Asian immigrant parents, in particular regarding whether and now that experience affects their family relationships and planning. This study focused on second-generation Asians whose parents had been bom and raised in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, or Southeast Asia, because these are Asian countries that have been influenced strongly by the values of Confucianism (Chung, 2003) and nave traditionally upheld strong values of filial piety (Sung, 2002; Yeh, Yi, Tsao, & Wan, 2013). As it will be discussed later, filial piety plays an important role in the expectations of care in many Asian cultures. For the purposes of this...