Social Support and Social Functions of the Oldest Old in China: The Role of Family Support

China has entered a period of rapid aging since 2001. The Chinese oldest old population is projected to grow from 18 million in 2006 to 27 million by 2020. This paper described the social support and social functions of 875 nonagenarians and centenarians in the Dujiangyan region, an area with high prevalence of longevity in southwest China. Data on sociodemographics, social support, and social functions were collected by face-to-face interviews druing 2006. The great majority (91%) of the sample lived with their children. 82% of the sample were financially supported by their families and respondents have limited social contacts outside of their families. Compared with people who did not have living children at the time of the interview, respondents who had were 5.2 times more likely to be cared and 19.6 times more likely to be financially supported by their families. We also found that the number of living children had significant impact on their economic support, while the gender of living children had no impact. The average score of family function was 6.5 as measured by the family APGAR questionnaire. Significant predictors of family function included: living style, the satisfaction to family's economic status and their past occupations. The trunk family is the most important living environment and support system for the oldest old. The development of long-term care policy in China should take into consideration changes in family strcuture and support system to ensure sufficient support for the oldest old, especially for those lived in rural areas.