[Family care for the elderly and the importance of filial piety].

A decreasing birthrate, rising numbers of women pursuing careers, work pressures, tensions between parents and children, and a weakening in traditional filial piety mores have changed Taiwanese society in recent years. Such changes may result in poorer levels of family care. The personal ideas of children regarding filial piety determine their future willingness to take care of elderly parents. Recently, concepts associated with filial piety have shifted from a focus on authoritative filial piety to one on reciprocal filial piety. Thus, good or poor interactions between parents and children will impact on the willingness of children to take care of their parents. When children show a reduced level of filial piety than expected, they lower their parents' hopes, which may cause uncertainty and a fear of abandonment among elderly family members. Moreover, such may also give rise to abuse from family caregivers. Therefore, those involved in the care of the elderly should evaluate the relationship between a family and its elderly members and, if the family needs more care support, resources should be provided. The result will be better overall, more holistic care of the elderly. In the future, a study in the community that examines the relationship between children's concepts of filial piety and family care of the elderly is suggested. The results of such may be used in education.