A follow-up Study of changes in alternation of generations and rural women's life course selection among stem families in a rural area in Japan

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25350053
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Home economics/Human life
• Research Institution: Wayo Women's University (2015-2016); University of Hyogo (2013-2014)
• Principal Investigator: Hiroko Sato 和洋女子大学, 生活科学系, 教授 (60165818)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): SODEI Takako お茶の水女子大学, 名誉教授
• Research Collaborator: KIM Ju Hyun 国立ソウル大学, 社会学部, 上級研究員 ; KIM Mijin 大妻女子, 大学助教
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 農村家族 / 農村女性 / 追跡研究 / ライフコース / 世代更新 / 結婚難 / 直系家族

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to clarify the family changes in rural area in Japan over 32-years. The data were based on the panel studies conducted in 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2014, respectively, in Okabe-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture, which is located in central part of Japan.
Over 32 years, a majority of households were composed of three generations. After deaths of parents, marriage of children and births of grandchildren, their composition shifted from “parents, subjects and their children” to “subjects, their children and grandchildren”. 84.2% of these households had their sons co-residing with the subjects. Over 40% of the surveyed households experienced an alternation of generations; 94.3% of them formed stem families. Households in this region maintain the stem family system. In 2014 survey, however, decrease in stem families exceeded formation of new ones due to the severe difficulties in marriage and the increase in children leaving the district.

Free Research Field

総合領域