ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a number of aspects of aging that are influenced by culture, using examples from the literature on aging in Asia. Three-generation families are common in many Asian settings and are important sources for the physical care and emotional support of older people. The chapter focuses on the concept of culture itself and salient aspects of Asian cultures as the context of aging. Such salient aspects of culture include: cultural models of the life course and nature of old age; conceptions of old people in the family; caregiving roles within the family; and cultural knowledge about health, "successful aging," and the aging body. It is important to make a clear distinction between cross-cultural and cross-national research in aging-related studies. There are relevant cultural differences between social classes, genders, and rural and urban dwellers. The life course is framed by what are, at the core, biological events; however, life courses are culturally constructed.
