KINSHIP NETWORK OF THAI ELDERLY IN A RURAL AREA: CASE STUDY OF NANGRONG DISTRICT, BURIRAM PROVINCE

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KINSHIP NETWORK OF THAI ELDERLY IN A RURAL AREA: CASE STUDY OF NANGRONG  DISTRICT, BURIRAM PROVINCE
        This study investigates the kin preferences of elderly in rural Thailand, the availability of kinship networks who potentially are elderly's care givers, and factors affecting the availability of potential kin living within a village. The longitudinal dataset collected in Nang Rong district in Buriram province, Thailand is used. The survey at three levels of individual, household, and community has been conducted in 1984, 1994, and 2000 by the Nang Rong Project. This three-wave longitudinal study provides the essential demographic data, the complete social network data among kin, and geographic locations of dwelling units. The dataset allows a researcher to investigate demographic change as well as kinship network during the period. The quantitative approach was used to analyze the dataset. Besides, the qualitative approach was conducted during April 2012 to find the explanation for quantitative findings. In addition, the integrated disciplines including social network, spatial analysis, statistical method are introduced to this demographic study.
    It has been found that most of the present generation of elderly in rural Thailand were able to access their preferred kin in a village to take care of them for various types of assistance and support: meal preparation, personal care, transportation, financial support, and emotional support. Factors affecting the availability of kin preference depends upon types of support and gender of care takers. Spouse, daughter, son, grandson, and granddaughter are on the top ranks of kin preference. Siblings and neighbors are helpful when their close kin are not available.
    In Theravada Buddhism culture, caring older parents is an obligation of children, especially a daughter, to pay back their gratitude of nurturing in childhood. The necessary assistance for the elderly's daily living, which is meal preparation and personal care, are considered female tasks. Regarding matrilocal residential norm existing in the northeastern Thailand, a daughter plays an important role as a care giver. The most concern of elderly care in the future is that the next generation who are becoming the elderly may lack of kin taking care of them because the percentage of kin availability in a village dramatically dropped about 18 percent. Most of existing kin in the village are in school age or work in the agricultural sector who are more likely to migrate for some reasons.