(Photo/Chinanews.com)

An increasing number of Chinese adults live off their parents in the name of keeping them company, according to a survey co-conducted by the Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily and wenjuan.com last week.

The survey report claimed that 77.3 percent of 2,002 respondents across the country said they know adults who live with their parents and depend on them for money or food.

63.4 percent of respondents said it was an undutiful act, noting that some young adults just don’t want to work, preferring instead to rely on their parents financially.

The survey shows that the reason behind the social phenomenon is divided, as some senior parents need children around while some grown-ups are simply not self-reliant. However, 72.1 percent of respondents believed that in order to take full responsibility, children should be financially independent.

There's no problem with adults living with their parents or accepting financial help, as long as it benefits both sides, said Zhang Baoyi, director of the sociology institute under the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences.

Today, China has a growing number of seniors in need of care. With their children around, the elderly can enjoy being taken care of by close family, Zhang said.

For this reason, most parents are willing to give their children some money, as hiring nursing staff is much more expensive, the researcher noted.

Facing an aging society, Zhang suggested an improved social security and insurance system for elderly care, which will also help support working adults.

The survey covers respondents of different age groups from a range of places, from first-tier cities to urban areas, in which those born between 1980 and 1999 account for almost 80 percent.