Part 1 · The Concept · 3 min
Retirement Plan, Yarn?
A joke about children as a "retirement plan" hides a real question: what do Filipino youth feel they owe their families, and why?
A ten-part series · Utang na loob and family obligation
Retirement Plan, Yarn?
Is helping family a debt we feel, or a duty we were handed? Notes on gratitude, obligation, and the homes that raised us.
Four parts, one question
Read in order, or start with the part that sounds like your house.
Part 1
The Concept
What utang na loob is, where it comes from, and what it is not.
Posts 1–4
Part 2
The Duty
Family obligation, across borders and under pressure.
Posts 5–7
Part 3
The Link
Parents, children, and how the study tests the connection.
Posts 8–9
Part 4
The Road Ahead
What the numbers can and cannot tell us.
Post 10
From the journal
All 10 posts →Part 1 · The Concept · 3 min
What We Mean When We Say Utang na Loob
It is not a loan, and it is not just "thank you." A plain-language tour of one of the most discussed ideas in Filipino psychology.
Part 1 · The Concept · 3 min
Kapwa Comes First
Utang na loob makes more sense once you see the self the way kapwa does: as part of a "we."
Part 1 · The Concept · 3 min
Gratitude Isn't a Receipt
Gratitude research from outside the Philippines helps explain why "paying back" can never fully capture what thankfulness is.
Part 2 · The Duty · 3 min
Pananagutan: The Weight of Being the Responsible One
Family obligation is not only money. It is also the quiet work of being answerable for people you love.
Part 2 · The Duty · 3 min
Filial Piety Travels
Respect and care for parents exists in many cultures, but it changes with place, era, and stage of life.
The research behind it
Where the questions come from
These essays grow out of a BS Psychology research proposal at the University of Caloocan City. The study will test whether a stronger sense of utang na loob goes with a stronger sense of family obligation.
Read the study at a glance →- Design
- Quantitative, correlational
- Survey
- 30 items, 5-point scale
- Test
- Pearson r
- Respondents
- Filipino youth, 18–25