Extended Family Living Among Older People in Six Latin American Countries

Abstract

This study examined and compared demographic and urban/rural residence underpinnings to people 60 and over living in an extended family household in six Latin American countries. Household samples of the World Fertility Survey gathered in the middle 1970s were sued, as was a combination of crosstabular and logit techniques. We found that, in contrast to Western countries, a majority of the elderly population lived in extended family households. This was more likely in the Dominican Republic than in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, or Peru, which was, in turn, more likely than in Mexico. However, such differences were most apparent among the married, not the unmarried. In all countries, unmarried people were more likely to live in extended family households than were married people. Among unmarried elderly, the likelihood was greater for women than for men. Contrary to initial expectations, neither urban/rural residence nor age among the elderly themselves tended to be important.