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This expectation has been bolstered by the myth of filial responsibility in Western nations, that is, that children in prior centuries somehow voluntarily cared for their aging parents. In consideration of other cultural areas the concept is often identified as "filial piety". A serious look at Western history has suggested that there is little corresponding reality to the myth for two reasons. First, as noted, old persons were formerly relatively uncommon, with life expectancy being on the average 50 years even as late as the beginning of the 20th century, and substantially lower before then.

Weber cogently pointed out that Protestant Reformation shaped the way Industrial Revolution took place in Europe rather than the other way around. If the role of the government is to shape the way social policy is formulated, institutionalisation of practices may be difficult to alter once the process has began. Leaders in Asia, may determine to follow an Asian value model, and, in doing so, largely ignore the current academic views on elder care. We have no reason to argue for or against any views in this book because, rightly or wrongly, a lot of people support them.

1991). Establishing the three relatively independent variables associated with the concept of burden provides one finding that has been reported in other forms. In particular, the fact that the variables are relatively independent means that many persons who have dependent relatives with objectively defined burdens do not subjectively feel they are burdened. The opposite, of course, is also a finding, namely that many persons who have dependent relatives who do not have many objectively defined burdens may still subjectively feel they are burdened (also see: Zarit et al, 1980; Noelker and Poulshock, 1982).