The Choice of Pension Model and Its Determinants for Only-child Parents in Urban Northeast China: An Empirical Analysis Based on Binary Logistic Regression Model
Online veröffentlicht: 31. März 2025
Eingereicht: 03. Nov. 2024
Akzeptiert: 20. Feb. 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2025-0846
Schlüsselwörter
© 2025 Jialin Zhang, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the increasing aging population in China(shown in Figure 1), the elderly care issue has become a critical social challenge that must be addressed. Since the late 1970s, China has implemented the family planning policy, advocating that “a couple should have only one child”. The family planning policy was officially declared over, accompanied by the implementation of the second child policy in 2016. The implementation of this policy for over 30 years has brought about more than 200 million one-child families to Chinese society, profoundly altering the family structure and size[1]. This alteration has also given rise to many social problems, the most prominent of which is the issue of elderly care for parents of only children. Compared with non-one-child families, one-child families enter the empty-nest stage earlier and have a longer duration. Moreover, they bear the risk of becoming “lost-single-child” families, and the elderly care dilemma of one-child parents is continuously escalating. The northeastern region of China was a forerunner in implementing the family planning policy, with significant policy implementation effects[2]. Therefore, the proportion of one-child individuals and one-child families in the northeastern region is quite high. Since the advent of the 21st century, as the economic downward pressure has intensified and the trend of outflows of young adult population has aggravated in Northeast China, the degree of aging and the shrinkage of household size in this region have been more pronounced compared to the national average. The parents of only children in Northeast China are confronted with an even more severe elderly care crisis[3].
China’s population aged 60 and above
Family pension model, which mainly depends on the care of family members, particularly the support of children, has been a traditional method for elderly care with a long history in China[4]. Nevertheless, due to the profound alterations in family structure and social demographic composition in our country, the traditional family pension model is encountering significant changes and challenges. As China’s economy and society evolve, the pension models in China are constantly being updated and developed. At present, family pension model[5–7], institutional pension model[8], homebased community pension model[9–11] are the three predominant eldercare models in urban areas of China. Institutional pension model mainly relies on institutions providing professional eldercare services, such as nursing homes, eldercare centers, and senior apartments, where the elderly receive care. Home-based community pension model depends on community platform resources and some social resources to offer diverse eldercare services, enabling the elderly to be cared for at home. In recent years, there have been some new pension models based on the above three models, which have been developed in view of different pension needs, such as housing pension model[12], co-housing pension model[13], rental pension model, base pension model[14], sojourn pension model[15–17], etc. What kind of pension model can better meet the needs of urban only-child parents is an urgent practical problem for urban only-child families to solve the pension dilemma.
At present, many studies in the academic circle have paid more attention to the pension problems of the first generation of only-child parents and the choice of pension mode. As China’s economy and society continue to evolve, a series of comprehensive and well-designed security policies have been implemented. The concept of pension of urban only-child parents is also changing, and the representation of the first generation of only-child parents as research objects is slightly weakened[18–19]. In addition, most of the research areas selected in relevant academic studies are relatively developed first-tier and second-tier cities, and there is a slight lack of research on less developed cities, and the regional popularization of research results is limited. In addition, existing studies in the academic world have focused on the willingness to choose the modes of old-age care, which are family pension model, institutional pension model, and home-based community pension model. Affected by the special climate of low temperature in winter, many middle-aged and elderly people in Northeast China tend to choose the sojourn pension model, and this study aims at this special situation. The sojourn pension model is also included in the exploration for selection of endowment pattern.
Based on this, this text mainly explores what is the willingness of parents of only children to choose pension mode in cities in Northeast China, especially in less developed cities. What factors will affect their choice of pension model, and to what extent? Actively exploring and investigating the choice and influencing factors of the pension mode for parents of only children in urban areas in Northeast China is a realistic requirement for further optimizing the distribution of pension resources and enhancing the elderly care framework in Northeast China. It is also of pronounced value to deeply discuss pension issues in China and make decisions on relevant policies, and to deal with the realistic dilemma of elderly care for only-child parents under the background of the deepening aging. Using binary logistic regression model can accurately analyze the influencing factors of binary classification problems and avoid over reliance on statistical significance[20–22], which is very suitable for the choice of pension model and the analysis of influencing factors.
This study primarily selected the only-child parents in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, which is a typical representative of underdeveloped cities in Northeast China, as the survey subjects to carry out on-site questionnaire surveys and retrieve data. To obtain empirical research data, this study employed the respondent-driven sampling method to conduct on-site questionnaire surveys among the only-child parents in Mudanjiang City. In light of the actual circumstances, both paper and electronic questionnaires were issued. A total of 162 questionnaires were collected, with 6 invalid questionnaires excluded. Ultimately, 156 questionnaires were incorporated into the analysis, and the effective recovery rate of the questionnaires was approximately 96.30%.
This study focuses on the four main pension modes that one-child families tend to choose in urban areas of Northeast China: Family pension model, institutional pension model, home-based community pension model, and sojourn pension model are studied as dependent variables. When analyzing the influence of independent variables on one of the above four pension modes selected by urban single-child families, if the survey subjects choose this pension mode, they are assigned a value of 1; if they do not choose this pension mode, they are assigned a value of 0. Aiming at the numerical analysis of this binary dependent variable, this study uses SPSS 27.0 statistical software to construct a binary logistic regression analysis model:
Among them,
Dependent variable. In this text, it is the preference choices of urban parents of only children in Northeast China regarding four old-age care models: family pension model, institutional pension model, home-based community pension model, and sojourn pension model. In this study, the dependent variable is set as a binary fixed variable. If the survey subjects choose this pension model, the value is 1; if they do not choose this pension model, the value is 0.
Independent variables. The independent variables in this study are mainly divided into four main dimensions: personal basic characteristics, economic income level, intergenerational support level, and old-age care cognition and demand. There are 14 independent variables, including sex, age, instruction, profession, marriage condition, physical health, income source, monthly income level, intergenerational support level, elderly living mode, understanding of organizational old-age care, acceptance of institutional old-age care, acceptance of society old-age care services and preference to participate in society activities, all of which are classified or ordered hierarchical variables. All were included in the main research areas except gender.
Among them, the independent variable intergenerational support level in this article mainly indicates the degree of unity, cohesion and mutual support between parents and children based on family intergenerational relationship. It can be regarded as a solidarity model, which mainly contains six different dimensions: associative solidarity, emotional solidarity, consistent solidarity, functional solidarity, normative solidarity and structural solidarity[23]. Despite the diversification of intergenerational family relations in modern society, this unity model still has strong reference significance[24]. Based on the purpose of examining the willingness of parents of only children to choose the pension mode, this paper has a strong pertinence, and adjusts the traditional solidarity model. From the three dimensions of emotional relationship, associative relationship and functional relationship, a total of 7 questions are set to investigate the intergenerational support level of parents of only children in urban areas. It mainly explores the emotional link between only-child parents and their children, the degree of closeness, and the interaction and support in economy and household duties.
In this study, the Klonbach α coefficient of 7 projects measuring the level of intergenerational support is 0.910, indicating that the internal consistency reliability of these 7 projects is good (in Table 1).
Reliability statistics
| Klonbach Alpha | Klonbach Alpha based on standardized terms | Number of terms |
|---|---|---|
| .910 | .912 | 7 |
Through the KMO and Bartlett’s sphericity examination, the value of KMO is 0.881, it is over 0.6(in Table 2). The significance probability P (Bartlett’s Test Sphericity) is not only smaller than 0.001, but also smaller than the significance level of 0.05. It reveals that the data of this research meets the criteria for factor analysis and evaluation. In the findings of the rotated sum of squared loadings, the cumulative variance contribution rate of the three common factors corresponding to the three dimensions of the emotional relationship, the connective relationship, and the functional relationship of intergenerational support is 86.335%, which is greater than 40%(in Table 3), indicating a relatively good validity.
KMO and Bartlett tests
| KMO measure of suitability for sampling | .881 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bartlett sphericity test | Approximate Chi-square | 784.825 |
| Degrees of freedom | 21 | |
| Salience | .000 | |
Explanation of total variance
| Components | Original eigenvalue | Derive the quadratic sum of loads | Rotate the load sum of squares | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Percent | Accumulation % | Total | Percent | Accumulation % | Total | Percent | Accumulation % | |
| 1 | 4.628 | 66.116 | 66.116 | 4.628 | 66.116 | 66.116 | 3.108 | 44.403 | 44.403 |
| 2 | .817 | 11.665 | 77.780 | .817 | 11.665 | 77.780 | 1.820 | 25.998 | 70.401 |
| 3 | .599 | 8.555 | 86.335 | .599 | 8.555 | 86.335 | 1.115 | 15.935 | 86.335 |
| 4 | .383 | 5.473 | 91.809 | ||||||
| 5 | .245 | 3.494 | 95.302 | ||||||
| 6 | .179 | 2.550 | 97.852 | ||||||
| 7 | .150 | 2.148 | 100.000 | ||||||
Based on the selection of variables and previous related studies, the following research hypotheses are proposed in this paper:
The older the only-child parents are, the more likely they are to be influenced by the traditional concept of old-age care, and they exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. The more educated the only-child parents are, the more likely they are to accept new things and choose a pension model other than family pension model. The only-child parents who have a stable occupation or have a stable occupation before retirement and have a higher level of economic income can better guarantee their needs for elderly care, and exhibit a propensity to select an endowment pattern other than family pension model. The only-child parents whose marital status is married exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. The only-child parents with higher intergenerational support exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern or home-based community pension model. The only-child parents who are more inclined to live with their children exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. The only-child parents with higher acceptance of society old-age care services and stronger preference to participate in society activities exhibit a propensity to select the home-based community endowment pattern. The only-child parents with elevated understanding and acceptance of institutional pension exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern. The only-child parents with poor health, usually suffering from chronic diseases, exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern or sojourn pension model. The only-child parents with better health and better self-care ability exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern.
As shown in Table 4, the valid sample size of this study is 156 people. In terms of the selection of pension model, 50% of the samples choose the family pension model, 12.82% choose the institutional pension model, 25.64% choose the home-based community pension model, and 11.54% choose the sojourn pension model.The findings indicate that on the whole, the participants are still deeply impacted by the traditional notions of old-age care, which largely reflects that parents of only children in urban areas in Northeast China are still most inclined to choose family pension model.
Statistical distribution of frequency
| Item | Frequency | Percentage | Cumulative percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family pension model | 78 | 50.00% | 50.00% |
| Institutional pension model | 20 | 12.82% | 62.82% |
| Home-based community pension model | 40 | 25.64% | 88.46% |
| Sojourn pension model | 18 | 11.54% | 100.00% |
| Total | 156 | 100.0% |
Based on the data outcomes of the binary logistic regression model, at the significance level of α < 0.05, the impacts of four aspects including personal basic characteristics, economic income level, intergenerational support level, and cognition and demand for elderly care on the selection of family pension model, institutional pension model, home-based community pension model, and sojourn pension model are analyzed.
According to the Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test, Chi-square value is 13.765, Degrees of freedom is 8, P=0.088>0.05 in this model, indicating that the model is well established (in Table 5). Impact of sociodemographic factors on the choice of family pension mode by urban only-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 6) indicate that the influence of the age, marital status and physical health status of the only-child parents on the decision-making of family endowment pattern has passed the significance test, indicating that they have a substantial effect on the decision-making of family endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of age is 0.741, indicating that the older the only-child parents are, the more likely they are to be influenced by the traditional concept of old-age care, and they exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. Hypothesis 1 is confirmed. The partial regression coefficient of marital status is -1.200, indicating that only-child parents whose marital status is “married” can better support and take care of each other with their spouses, and exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. Hypothesis 4 is proved. The partial regression coefficient of physical health status is -0.592, indicating that the only-child parents with better physical condition have stronger self-care ability, can better take care of their own life, and exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. Hypothesis 10 is proved. The effect of income level on the decision-making of family endowment pattern by urban only-child parents. The regression operation findings (in Table 6) indicate that the significance level of income source and monthly income level of only-child parents is greater than 0.05, which does not have a substantial effect on the decision-making of family endowment pattern. The influence of intergenerational support level on the decision-making of family endowment pattern for urban one-child parents. The regression operation findings (in Table 6) indicate that the impact of the intergenerational support level of the parents of only children on the decision-making of family endowment pattern has passed the significance test, indicating that it has a a substantial effect on the decision-making of family endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of the intergenerational support level is -1.044, indicating that the only-child parents with higher intergenerational support level can better meet their diversified needs for elderly care, and exhibit a propensity to select the endowment patterns other than family elderly care. In addition, the parents of only children in the cities of Northeast China are still strongly influenced by conventional belief in kinship support system. Even if the level of intergenerational support is not high enough, parents of only children may still stick to the traditional choice of family endowment pattern. The influence of cognition and demand for old-age care on the choice of family pension mode by urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 6) indicate that the impact of the living mode of the parents of only children on the decision-making of family endowment pattern has passed the significance test, indicating that it has a profound effect on the decision-making of family endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of aged care living mode is -2.071, indicating that parents of only children who are more willing to live with their children exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. Hypothesis 6 is proved.
Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test
| Steps | Chi-square value | Degrees of freedom | Salience |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13.765 | 8 | .088 |
Binary logistic regression operation results of influencing factors of family pension mode
| B | Standard error | Wald | Degrees of freedom | Salience | Exp(B) | 95% confidence interval for EXP(B) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper limit | ||||||||
| Step 1 | Age | .741 | .283 | 6.838 | 1 | 009 * * * | 2.098 | 1.204 | 3.656 |
| Educational level | -.337 | .260 | 1.685 | 1 | .194 | .714 | .429 | 1.188 | |
| Occupation | -.053 | .222 | .058 | 1 | .810 | .948 | .614 | 1.465 | |
| Marital status | -1.200 | .471 | 6.482 | 1 | 011 * * | .301 | .120 | .759 | |
| Physical health status | -.592 | .273 | 4.701 | 1 | 030 * * | .553 | .324 | .945 | |
| Sources of income | -.521 | .416 | 1.568 | 1 | .210 | .594 | .263 | 1.342 | |
| Monthly income level | -.388 | .225 | 2.980 | 1 | .084 | .678 | .436 | 1.054 | |
| Level of intergenerational support | -1.044 | .433 | 5.804 | 1 | 016 * * | .352 | .151 | .823 | |
| Old age living mode | -2.071 | .713 | 8.427 | 1 | 004 * * * | .126 | .031 | .510 | |
| Knowledge of institutional eldercare | -.334 | .223 | 2.240 | 1 | .134 | .716 | .463 | 1.109 | |
| Acceptance of institutional care for the elderly | .034 | .237 | .021 | 1 | .885 | 1.035 | .650 | 1.647 | |
| Acceptance of community aged care services | -.364 | .269 | 1.835 | 1 | .175 | .695 | .410 | 1.177 | |
| Willingness to participate in community activities | -.413 | .289 | 2.042 | 1 | .153 | .662 | .376 | 1.166 | |
| constant | 12.090 | 2.767 | 19.089 | 1 | .000 | 178115.070 | |||
According to the Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test, Chi-square value is 5.861, Degrees of freedom is 8, P=0.663>0.05 in the modeling of this model(in Table 7), indicating that the model is well established. Impact of sociodemographic factors on the choice of institutional pension mode by parents of only children in urban areas. The regression operation findings (in Table 8) indicate that the impact of the health status of the parents of only children on the decision-making of institutional endowment pattern has passed the significance test, indicating that it has a substantial effect on the decision-making of institutional endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of physical health status is -0.997, indicating that parents of only children who are in better physical condition have stronger self-care ability and better ability to live independently in nursing institutions, although the demand for professional maintenance and medical services is relatively low. However, affected by the absence of the only child, the loss of a spouse, the search for a more identifiable atmosphere for the elderly, and the change of concepts, they will exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern. The influence of economic income level on the decision-making of institutional endowment pattern of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 8) indicate that the impact of the monthly income level of the only-child parents on the decision-making institutional endowment pattern passes the significance test, indicating that it has a substantial effect on the decision-making of institutional endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of monthly income level is 0.764, indicating that the only-child parents with higher monthly income level have the corresponding economic ability to pay for the needed pension services, their pension needs are more guaranteed, and they exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern and other pension modes other than family pension. Hypothesis 3 is proved. The influence of intergenerational support level on the choice of institutional pension mode of urban one-child parents. The regression operation results in Table 8 show that the significance level of the intergenerational support level of the parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not have a significant impact on their choice of institutional pension mode. The influence of cognition and demand for old-age care on the choice of institutional pension mode by urban one-child parents. The outcomes of the regression run (in Table 8) indicate that the influence of only-child parents’ understanding of institutional elderly care, acceptance of residential care facilities and acceptance of community elderly care services on the choice of institutional elderly care mode has passed the significance test. The outcomes indicate that they have a profound effect on the choice of institutional endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of understanding of institutional old-age care is 2.149, and the partial regression coefficient of acceptance of institutional old-age care is 1.316, indicating that the only child parents with higher understanding and acceptance of institutional old-age care exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern. Hypothesis 8 is proved. The partial regression coefficient of acceptance of community elderly care service is -1.271, indicating that parents of only children who are not willing to accept community elderly care service and prefer to enrich their later life through professional elderly care institutions and organizations are more inclined to choose institutional endowment pattern.
Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test
| Steps | Chi-square value | Degrees of freedom | Salience |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.861 | 8 | .663 |
Binary logistic regression operation results of influencing factors of institutional old-age care mode
| B | Standard error | Wald | Degrees of freedom | Salience | Exp (B) | 95%confidence interval for EXP(B) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper limit | ||||||||
| Step 1 | Age | -.063 | .388 | .026 | 1 | .871 | .939 | .439 | 2.009 |
| Educational level | -.018 | .446 | .002 | 1 | .967 | .982 | .409 | 2.355 | |
| Occupation | -.017 | .354 | .002 | 1 | .961 | .983 | .491 | 1.968 | |
| Marital status | 1.709 | .984 | 3.014 | 1 | .083 | 5.521 | .802 | 38.001 | |
| Physical health status | -.997 | .482 | 4.286 | 1 | 038 * * | .369 | .143 | .948 | |
| Sources of income | .768 | .644 | 1.421 | 1 | .233 | 2.155 | .610 | 7.612 | |
| Monthly income level | .764 | .376 | 4.128 | 1 | 042 * * | 2.147 | 1.027 | 4.485 | |
| Intergenerational support level | -.356 | .746 | .228 | 1 | .633 | .700 | .162 | 3.022 | |
| Elderly living style | 20.731 | 6950.739 | .000 | 1 | .998 | 1008071734.936 | .000 | . | |
| The degree of understanding of institutional elderly care | 2.149 | .631 | 11.609 | 1 | 001 * * * | 8.577 | 2.491 | 29.526 | |
| Acceptance of institutional eldercare | 1.316 | .516 | 6.494 | 1 | 011 * * | 3.728 | 1.355 | 10.257 | |
| Acceptance of community aged care services | -1.271 | .458 | 7.710 | 1 | 005 * * * | .280 | .114 | .688 | |
| Willingness to participate in community activities | -.351 | .470 | .557 | 1 | .456 | .704 | .280 | 1.770 | |
| Constant | -52.597 | 13901.480 | .000 | 1 | .997 | .000 | |||
According to the Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test, Chi-square value is 7.848, Degrees of freedom is 8, P=0.448>0.05 in this model, indicating that the model is well established (in Table 9). The influence of individual basic characteristics on the urban only-child parents’ choice of home-based community pension model. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 10) indicate that the significance level of each indicator of the basic personal characteristics of the parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not have a profound effect on their decision-making of home-based community endowment pattern. The impact of income level on the decision-making of home-based community pension mode of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 10) indicate that the significance level of income source and monthly income level of parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not have a profound effect on the decision-making of home-based community endowment pattern. The influence of intergenerational support level on the decision-making of home-based society pension mode of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 10) indicate that the significance level of the intergenerational support level of the parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not have a profound effect on the decision-making of home-based community endowment pattern. The influence of the cognition and demand of elderly care on the decision-making of home-based society pension mode by urban one-child parents. The regression running outcomes (in Table 10) indicate that the influence of only-child parents’ acceptance of institutional care, acceptance of society care services and preference to participate in society activities on the choice of home-based society care mode has passed the significance test. The findings demonstrate that they have a profound effect on the choice of home community care mode. The partial regression coefficient of acceptance of institutional old-age care is -0.617, indicating that the only-child parents who do not want to accept institutional elderly care exhibit a propensity to select the home-based community elderly care model. The partial regression coefficient of acceptance of society old-age care services is 1.012, and the partial regression coefficient of willingness to participate in community activities is 0.767, indicating that parents of only children who have a higher acceptance of society old-age care services and a stronger preference to participate in society activities to enrich their material, spiritual and cultural life in their later years exhibit a propensity to select the home-based community endowment pattern. Hypothesis 7 proved.
Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test
| Steps | Chi-square value | Degrees of freedom | Salience |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.848 | 8 | .448 |
Binary logistic regression operation results of determinants of community-based old-age care mode
| B | Standard error | Wald | Degrees of freedom | Salience | Exp(B) | 95%confidence interval for EXP(B) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper limit | ||||||||
| Step 1 | Age | -.573 | .364 | 2.482 | 1 | .115 | .564 | .276 | 1.150 |
| Literacy | .301 | .310 | .947 | 1 | .331 | 1.352 | .737 | 2.480 | |
| Occupation | -.199 | .264 | .567 | 1 | .451 | .819 | .488 | 1.376 | |
| Marital status | .634 | .530 | 1.430 | 1 | .232 | 1.884 | .667 | 5.324 | |
| Physical health status | .597 | .306 | 3.808 | 1 | .051 | 1.817 | .997 | 3.311 | |
| Source of income | -.255 | .574 | .198 | 1 | .656 | .775 | .252 | 2.384 | |
| Monthly income level | -.230 | .277 | .694 | 1 | .405 | .794 | .462 | 1.366 | |
| Level of intergenerational support | .887 | .498 | 3.177 | 1 | .075 | 2.428 | .915 | 6.438 | |
| Elderly living style | -.028 | .675 | .002 | 1 | .967 | .972 | .259 | 3.649 | |
| The degree of understanding of institutional elderly care | -.350 | .262 | 1.775 | 1 | .183 | .705 | .421 | 1.179 | |
| Acceptance of institutional care for the elderly | -.617 | .275 | 5.020 | 1 | 025 * * | .540 | .315 | .926 | |
| Acceptance of community aged care services | 1.012 | .389 | 6.758 | 1 | 009 * * * | 2.751 | 1.283 | 5.900 | |
| Willingness to participate in community activities | .767 | .374 | 4.199 | 1 | 040 * * | 2.153 | 1.034 | 4.484 | |
| Constant | -5.552 | 2.821 | 3.874 | 1 | .049 | .004 | |||
According to the Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test, Chi-square value is 5.052, Degree of freedom is 8, P=0.752 >0.05 in this model, indicating that the model is well established (in Table 11). The impact of personal attributes on the choice of sojourn pension mode of urban only-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 12) indicate that the significance level of each index of the individual basic characteristics of the parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not have a profound effect on their decision-making of sojourn endowment pattern. The influence of income level on the decision-making of sojourn endowment pattern of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 12) indicate that the impact of the monthly income level of the parents of only children on the decision-making of sojourn endowment pattern has passed the significance test, indicating that it has a substantial effect on their decision-making of resident endowment pattern. The partial regression coefficient of monthly income is 0.757, indicating that the elderly with a higher monthly income have the corresponding economic ability to pay for the needed pension services, their pension needs are more guaranteed, and they exhibit a propensity to select the endowment pattern other than the family pension model, such as the sojourn pension model. Hypothesis 3 is proved. The influence of intergenerational support level on the choice of sojourn pension mode of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 12) indicate that the significance level of the intergenerational support level of the parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not has a profound effect on their selection of sojourn endowment pattern. The influence of the cognition and demand of old-age care on the decision-making of sojourn endowment pattern of urban one-child parents. The regression operation outcomes (in Table 12) indicate that the significance level of each index of cognition and demand for old-age care of parents of only children is greater than 0.05, which does not possess a substantial effect on their decision-making of sojourn endowment pattern.
Hosmer-Lemeshow fit test
| Steps | Chi-square value | Degree of freedom | Salience |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.052 | 8 | .752 |
Binary logistic regression operation results of influencing factors of the resident pension mode
| B | Standard error | Wald | Degrees of freedom | Salience | Exp(B) | 95% confidence interval for EXP(B) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower bound | Upper limit | ||||||||
| Step 1 | Age | -.533 | .416 | 1.642 | 1 | .200 | .587 | .260 | 1.326 |
| Literacy | .100 | .336 | .088 | 1 | .767 | 1.105 | .572 | 2.135 | |
| Occupation | .283 | .255 | 1.232 | 1 | .267 | 1.327 | .805 | 2.186 | |
| Marital status | .429 | .435 | .970 | 1 | .325 | 1.535 | .654 | 3.602 | |
| Physical health status | .280 | .386 | .527 | 1 | .468 | 1.323 | .621 | 2.819 | |
| Source of income | .438 | .472 | .863 | 1 | .353 | 1.550 | .615 | 3.907 | |
| Monthly income level | .757 | .319 | 5.633 | 1 | 018 * * | 2.132 | 1.141 | 3.985 | |
| Intergenerational support level | .578 | .668 | .749 | 1 | .387 | 1.782 | .482 | 6.596 | |
| Elderly living style | 19.188 | 8000.814 | .000 | 1 | .998 | 215318461.497 | .000 | . | |
| The degree of understanding of institutional elderly care | -.016 | .299 | .003 | 1 | .958 | .984 | .548 | 1.768 | |
| Acceptance of institutional care for the elderly | .303 | .347 | .759 | 1 | .384 | 1.353 | .685 | 2.674 | |
| Acceptance of community aged care services | .249 | .452 | .304 | 1 | .581 | 1.283 | .529 | 3.113 | |
| Willingness to participate in community activities | .035 | .430 | .007 | 1 | .935 | 1.036 | .446 | 2.404 | |
| Constant | -46.564 | 16001.628 | .000 | 1 | .998 | .000 | |||
The analysis results show that the parents of only children in the cities of Northeast China are still deeply influenced by the conventional concept of elderly care. When the parents of only children are surveyed about their willingness to choose the pension mode, 50% of the survey samples choose the family pension mode, and 25.64% choose the home-based society endowment pattern. It is evident that the family pension model is still a mainstream pension model in Northeast China, which is inseparable from the profound foundation of the practical needs of family pension and the profound significance of cultural inheritance. At the same time, the basic characteristics, economic income level, intergenerational support level, cognition and demand of the parents of only children will have different degrees of influence on their choice of the endowment pattern.
In terms of the basic characteristics of the only-child parents, the age, marital status and physical health of the only-child parents have a substantial effect on their decision-making of endowment pattern. The older the only-child parents are, the more susceptible they are to the traditional concept of pension, and the more inclined they are to choose the family pension mode. The only-child parents in the married state can better support and take care of each other with their spouses, and exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. The only-child parents with better health condition, their self-care ability is also strong, can better take care of their own life, and exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern.
The income level of parents of only children, which has a profound effect on their decision-making of endowment pattern. The higher the monthly income level of parents of only children, the more economic ability to pay for the needed pension services, the more diversified needs of their pension can be guaranteed, and they exhibit a propensity to select a pension mode other than family pension.
In terms of the intergenerational support level of the only-child parents, the only-child parents with a higher level of intergenerational support can better meet their diversified needs for elderly care, are not confined to the family pension mode, but exhibit a propensity to select the endowment pattern other than family endowment pattern.
In terms of the cognition and demand of the parents of only children, the living mode of the only child, the understanding of institutional pension, the acceptance of organizational pension, the acceptance of community senior welfare provisions and the preference to participate in community activities have a substantial effect on their decision-making endowment pattern. The parents of only children who are more willing to live with their children, exhibit a propensity to select the family endowment pattern. The only-child parents with elevated acceptance of society old-age care services and stronger preference to participate in community activities exhibit a propensity to select the homebased community endowment pattern. The only-child parents with elevated understanding and acceptance of institutional pension exhibit a propensity to select the institutional endowment pattern.
As one of the most basic, safest and reliable modes of elderly care in society, family elderly care still plays vital fundamental role. Through investigation and research, it is not difficult to find that family pension model is still the primary choice of the pension model of only-child parents in Northeast China, so family pension model should not be abandoned, but should be strengthened and more effective continuation. On the one hand, the government can actively innovate more incentive policies to encourage qualified children to participate more in the family pension, develop and refine the financial support system suitable for the only child to fulfill the maintenance obligation, such as providing different levels of economic compensation according to the difference in the average income of the only-child family, and forming a family-based social insurance system. Conversely, in terms of old-age care services, it is essential to effectively carry out in the extension of family elderly care. Through corresponding institutional arrangements, the elderly care resources of the community and society can be brought to the households, breaking through the separation between family elderly care, home-based community elderly care and institutional elderly care models, and realizing the integrated development of family pension model, home-based community pension model and institutional pension model. The pension resources between various pension modes can be interacted to a certain extent, and while giving full play to the inherent advantages of family pension basic security, the combination of family pension and social pension can be realized to complement each other in function.
Many only-child families reject the institutional pension model, and the reasons can be summarized as follows: 1) Some elderly care institutions have body and mind abuse of the old-age, which has caused great harm to them. In recent years, domestic mainstream media have reported and exposed relevant events, which has triggered intense societal reactions. Although the management system of institutional elderly care is gradually improving and perfecting, the rectification of relevant elderly abuse is gradually increasing. However, for families with only one child, they still fear and reject nursing institutions psychologically. 2) The safety and health conditions of many elderly care institutions cannot be guaranteed, which is not beneficial to seniors’ overall well-being. 3) The environment of the nursing home is comparatively closed, and the time and space management is strict. When the elderly cannot meet their children often, they lead a life of “discipline” for a long time, and inevitably feel constrained, which is not beneficial to the holistic wellness of the elderly in the long run.
In order to alleviate these problems as much as possible, it is essential to comprehensively construct a professional service framework for institutional elderly care, attach importance to the training and supervision of geriatric care providers institutions, improve the professionalism and humanization of their services, and fundamentally eliminate the occurrence of elder abuse incidents. At the same time, it is also necessary to vigorously build elderly friendly institutions, pay full attention to and care about the personalized needs of aging populations and psychosocial well-being, help the old-age to carry out psychological counseling, attach importance to the dignity of the elderly, create a home atmosphere in the institution as far as possible, and improve the openness and freedom in time and space management.
Under the current background, home-based community care is an ideal model that can integrate various kinds of elderly care resources in China. It is necessary to rely on the government to continuously strengthen and consolidate the key role of community-integrated home support system and ensure the sufficiency and coordination of social resources and community resources required for home-based community care. However, over-reliance on the government’s promotion and support, and inadequate community elderly care service system are the main problems facing the current home-based community elderly care model, which requires promoting the participation of multiple subjects and fully mobilizing social forces such as volunteer service teams, public welfare organizations, corporate support to embed in the community-integrated home support system when building a community-integrated home support system, and fully revitalize the endogenous support network for home-based community old-age care. Simultaneously, it is also essential to actively explore and develop smart elderly care services combined with information technology “Internet +”, build a comprehensive information service platform for elderly care that can cover the community, establish a personal information database for elderly groups and a community home care demand information database, develop a smart monitoring system convenient for the old, and improve the corresponding technical support.
For the elderly, sojourn pension model is not only an emerging pension model, but also a sustainable way of life. Its improvement and optimization still have a large space and need to be considered in various aspects. The first thing is to further optimize and integrate the country’s resident care resources. All local areas should fully explore their natural and cultural advantages to build unique resident care projects, promote industrial scale benefits, and further improve relevant supporting facilities and professional service capabilities grounded in the genuine demands of older adults. The government should also promote the continuous improvement and implementation of laws, regulations and policy support for the evolution of remote old-age care and resident old-age care industry, and actively introduce more high-level professionals to provide a strong talent guarantee for the optimization of elderly care services. At the same time, the mode of old-age care can not be limited to the level of “living”, but should combine multiple functions such as medical care, culture and education, build a multi-dimensional complex of old-age care, better meet the diversified and personalized needs of the elderly group, and improve the quality of life of the elderly group.