“Pengci” and Population Aging: Promotion of Healthy Aging Based on Social Network Theory

Pengci, a new Chinese vocabulary coming from the Beijing dialect, known as blackmailing or injury feigning, is used to describe an opportunistic behavior mostly practiced by the elders to obtain compensation through playing the role of the victim. It is often thought that the elders should be blame for Pengci, but we consider it as a kind of social problem resulted from insufficient support and attention of the elders with the ongoing process of population aging and should be addressed without delay.

Therefore, in the first place, in-depth reasons why the elders attempt to get money or compensation through Pengci are discussed in the standpoint of the elders. Then,   from the perspective of Social Network Theory, features of the elders’ social behaviors and interactions will be analyzed mainly from the aspects of social relations, social resources and social structures to explain the increasing lack of care and attention for the elders. Furthermore, based on the analysis, we will explore the measures to be implemented to help the elders obtain social support and promote healthy aging.