Special Collection 15

Living Alone: One-person households in Asia

Published 03 June 2015

This special collection, edited by Wei-Jun Jean Yeung and Adam Ka-Lok Cheung, adds new knowledge about the fastest growing type of household in Asia – one-person households (OPH). The 11 papers in the collection examine OPH in 15 countries in East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines) and South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan). The collected papers analyze the historical trends, the policy implications and impact on individual well-being of OPH. They were first presented at a conference convened by the guest editors at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore in December 2013. This collection is the first body of literature that systematically investigates one-person households outside of Western societies. The papers use data from censuses and large-scale household surveys, many with longitudinal or comparative analyses. Together, they provide an excellent basis for international comparison and future investigation. They illustrate both similarities to and differences from Western societies. The papers also reveal significant inter- and intra-national heterogeneities among those living alone in Asia. OPH will continue to increase in Asia in the next few decades due to rapid aging, declining marriage and fertility, and increasing divorce and migration. More theoretical and empirical research is needed to understand the complexity of this living arrangement and its impact.

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03 June 2015 | research article

Living Alone: One-person households in Asia

Wei-Jun Jean Yeung, Adam Ka-Lok Cheung

Volume: 32 Article ID: 40
Pages: 1099–1112
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.40

03 June 2015 | research article

Living alone in South and Southeast Asia: An analysis of census data

Chai Podhisita, Peter Xenos

Volume: 32 Article ID: 41
Pages: 1113–1146
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.41

03 June 2015 | research article

Emerging, transitory or residual? One-person households in Viet Nam

Christophe Guilmoto, Myriam de Loenzien

Volume: 32 Article ID: 42
Pages: 1147–1176
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.42

03 June 2015 | research article

Long-term trends in living alone among Korean adults: Age, gender, and educational differences

Hyunjoon Park, Jaesung Choi

Volume: 32 Article ID: 43
Pages: 1177–1208
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.43

03 June 2015 | research article

Temporal-spatial patterns of one-person households in China, 1982-2005

Adam Ka-Lok Cheung, Wei-Jun Jean Yeung

Volume: 32 Article ID: 44
Pages: 1209–1238
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.44

03 June 2015 | research article

One-person households in India

Premchand Dommaraju

Volume: 32 Article ID: 45
Pages: 1239–1266
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.45

03 June 2015 | research article

Living alone in Japan: Relationships with happiness and health

James Raymo

Volume: 32 Article ID: 46
Pages: 1267–1298
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.46

03 June 2015 | research article

The problem group? Psychological wellbeing of unmarried people living alone in the Republic of Korea

Jeong Hwa Ho

Volume: 32 Article ID: 47
Pages: 1299–1328
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.47

03 June 2015 | research article

What does living alone really mean for older persons? A comparative study of Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand

Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, John Knodel, Wiraporn Pothisiri

Volume: 32 Article ID: 48
Pages: 1329–1360
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.48

03 June 2015 | research article

Loneliness and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling elderly Singaporeans

Angelique Chan, Prassanna Raman, Stefan Ma, Rahul Malhotra

Volume: 32 Article ID: 49
Pages: 1361–1382
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.49

03 June 2015 | research article

Public transfers and living alone among the elderly: A case study of Korea's new income support program

Erin Hye-Won Kim

Volume: 32 Article ID: 50
Pages: 1383–1408
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.50

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