[ 英文摘要 ]

According to the official statistics, one tenth of the population in Taiwan will be at the age of 65 or above by the end of 2010. Aging, and related social policies, has become the most important social issue in Taiwan. When elderly people face physical deterioration and social disengagement, their living arrangements will impact their economic exchange, social interaction, and, most importantly, quality of life. Previous studies have claimed that the proportion of elderly people living with their married children is declining in Taiwan, but under the traditional values of filial piety in Asia, living with one's children is still considered a better living arrangement to improve elderly people’s life satisfaction. Studies of living arrangements often discuss co-residence preferences but rarely measure them, instead assuming that actual living arrangements are a partial consequence of preference, thus ignoring the actual preferences of elderly individuals. This study takes both preferred living arrangements and actual living arrangements into consideration. The results shows that as long as there is no gap between the ideal living arrangement and the reality, there is no difference in life satisfaction between living alone or living with children. Elderly people who cannot live as they prefer show low life satisfaction. The policy implications of this research suggest there is no single best living arrangement for elderly people in Taiwan; rather, it is important to take elderly people’s voices into consideration to assure their quality of life.