Multigenerational Households Research Articles

Future Living Arrangement for Aging Parents and Its Associated Factors

Background: Shift in demographic structure in Indonesia has raised concern over number of issues, including change in living arrangement of older people. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine adult children’s choice of future living arrangement for elderly parent and its associated factors. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 300 young adults in Central Java, Indonesia. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square and Fisher exact test were used to analyze the data. Results: Majority of respondents (97.3%) preferred parents to live at home, in multi-generational household with children and/or grandchildren (84.5%) in their old age. The choice was significantly influenced by children gender, marital status of parent, and family type (p=0.00; p=0.05, and p=0.05 respectively). Conclusions: In certain circumstances, living in multigenerational household still became a favorable option of living arrangement for elderly parents. Children gender, parent’s marital status and family type were likely to influence the choice. Further researches are needed to investigate which best living arrangement that support older people well-being.

HOUSEHOLDS AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS OF OLDER PERSONS AROUND THE WORLD

The household living arrangements of older persons – whether living alone, with a spouse or partner, with their children or in multi-generational households – can be an important factor associated with their health, economic status and overall well-being. Understanding the patterns and trends in older persons’ living arrangements is thus relevant for global efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals, in particular those targeting poverty, hunger and health. The United Nations Database on the Households and Living Arrangements of Older Persons 2018 presents evidence drawn from 672 unique data sources, including census and survey microdata samples archived at IPUMS-International and household rosters from Demographic and Health Surveys, among other sources. The resulting dataset describes older persons’ households across 147 countries or areas, representing approximately 97 per cent of persons aged 60 or over globally.

CAREGIVERS OF OLDER VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: FINDINGS FROM THE VIETNAMESE AGING AND CARE SURVEY (VACS)

Since the fall of Saigon, over 1.3 million Vietnamese immigrated to the U.S. making Vietnamese the 4th largest Asian ethnic but most vulnerable group to disparities. There is a paucity of knowledge on the health of elders and their caregivers. The Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey (VACS) was developed, and health data on 67 caregivers were collected in Houston, Texas. Adult-child caregivers (n=44) were on average, 45.3 years old, married (64%), working (91%), female (61%) in good/excellent health (90%). Spousal caregivers (n=23) were 70.6 years-old, retired (57%), female (78%) in fair/good health (73%). Adult-child received more help (43%) than spousal caregivers (29%), however, felt more caregiver burden (p=0.01) and perceived stress (p=0.05). Living in a multi-generation household, sharing caregiving, and working may alleviate their financial burden and provide psychological support. Findings suggest healthcare professionals to encourage caregivers to utilize available culturally-relevant social services to further ease their caregiving experiences.

CUSTODIAL AND CO-RESIDENT GRANDMOTHERS SERVICE USE AND NEEDS: 10 YEARS APART

The period between 2008 and 2017 spans a period of economic and societal flux in America, including the 2008 recession, the Affordable Care Act, and the emergence of the opioid crisis. These changes have had profound effects on families, including the rise in grandparent-headed and multigenerational households and their financial, resource, and service needs. We compared the service needs and utilization patterns of 334 co-resident grandmothers who were participants in two independent NIH-funded studies of grandmothers raising grandchildren, conducted 10 years apart (2008-2009:n=145 and 2018-2019:n=189) Researchers asked both samples whether they received or had an unmet need for 16 types of services (ex: financial, legal, substance abuse, respite care). There were statistically significant differences between the samples on 8 of 16 services received, and 15 of 16 unmet, but recognized, service needs, with our current sample reporting higher usage and need. The largest percentage increases in need were financial assistance (31.5%), respite care (29.9%), exercise/fitness (26.4%), and family therapy (25%). Although there is a 7% increase in legal services received between the samples, 48.1% of the 2018-19 sample still report unmet legal needs, compared to 16.6% of the 2008-09 sample. We observed a significant difference in an unmet need for help to families dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, with 23% of current participants reporting unmet need, compared to 9% in the prior study. Our results highlight a gap in resources available to grandfamilies and highlight the need for intervention and evaluation research targeting service needs to inform policy change.

THE INFLUENCE OF RECESSION HARDSHIPS ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF SANDWICHED AND FILIAL CAREGIVERS

The 2007-2009 U.S. Great Recession impacted the lives of many families, and it has been documented that multigenerational households in the U.S. increased by 10% during this period. Given the vulnerability of providing care to multiple generations, there is a need to examine the influence of recession hardships on sandwiched caregiving and psychosocial well-being in the context of more normative caregiving (e.g., filial caregiving). Informed by the life course perspective, this study assessed the impacts of types of family caregiving (sandwiched and filial caregivers) on psychosocial well-being (e.g., affect, environmental mastery, and social actualization) and the moderating role of recession hardships (e.g., job loss, foreclosure). Sandwiched and filial caregivers (N=127; Mage=53; SD=11.02) from the Refresher Cohort of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Survey provide information on demographics, recession hardships, family caregiving, and well-being. Results from regression analyses showed that sandwiched caregivers exhibited lower levels of positive affect and environmental mastery than filial caregivers. Moderation analyses showed that filial caregivers with lower recession hardships exhibited lower positive affect and social actualization when compared to sandwiched caregivers with lower recession hardships. Filial caregivers with lower recession hardships exhibited lower positive affect and social actualization than sandwiched and filial caregivers with greater recession hardships. These results illustrate the complexity of family caregiving in that providing care to multiple generations does not necessarily translate to lower levels of well-being. Study findings have the potential to inform programs that may promote sandwiched caregivers’ well-being and support filial caregivers navigating financial disruptions.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH COMMUNITY-LEVEL SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF MORTALITY IN OLDER ADULTS: AN ASSESSMENT OF RHODE ISLAND CITIES AND TOWNS

Addressing the causes of place-based health disparities among older adults have focused on understanding social determinants of health on a large geographic level, such as region, state, or county. However, there is a growing realization for the need to understand how place-based characteristics at smaller geographic areas relate to population health and contribute to successful aging. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of the associations between place-based social determinants and life expectancy (LE) among older adults and related measures. Methods: LE at age 50 (LE50) and age 65 (LE65), and the age-specific mortality rate (ASMR) for ages 65+ (ASMR65) were calculated from mortality data (2009-2011) from the Rhode Island (RI) Department of Health (RIDoH) using abridged life table methods for each RI city/town. City/town-specific LE and ASMR were linked to the US Census, RIDoH, and other databases that include social determinants: demographics, household composition, wealth, education, environment, food insecurity, crime, transportation, and rural-urban status. Bivariate and partial correlations were examined between city/town-level LE50, LE65, and ASMR65. Results: LE50, (range: 29.3-34.0 years) was most strongly associated with the percent of the population with at least a bachelor’s degree (r=0.652, p<0.001), per capita income (r=-0.632, p < 0.001), and percent multigenerational households (r=-0.489, p=0.003). The associations between both LE65 and ASMR65 and examined social determinants were more attenuated, however. Discussion: These results highlight substantial place-based disparities in mortality and potentially addressable social determinants that could improve population health for older adults and reduce place-based disparities among neighboring communities.

Solidarity between Generations in Extended Families: Old-Age Income as a Way Out of Child Poverty?

AbstractWe analyse intergenerational solidarity within multigenerational households (MGHs) and assess how the formation of these households is related to poverty across European countries. Our aim is to assess how this type of household is a coping strategy with respect to financial distress for families with children. Using data from EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), we examine three specific empirical questions with regards to this complex form of intergenerational solidarity, notably (i) we identify to what extent co-residence within MGHs is financially beneficial to the young and/or the old generation; (ii) we analyse how the income brought into these households by the old generation impacts on child poverty, and (iii) we test how sensitive this impact is to hypotheses about the way resources are shared in the household. We define MGHs as those households where three generations cohabit. The results indicate that the formation of MGH operates mainly as solidarity from older to younger generations. Although not designed for this purpose, pensions alleviate child poverty in countries where MGH is most prevalent.

The Increase in Multigenerational Households in the UK: The Motivations for and Experiences of Multigenerational Living

ABSTRACT Many worldwide live in households with multiple generations of related adults. This paper shows that the number of UK multigenerational households has been increasing but UK multigenerational households have been little studied. The research found that the motivations for multigenerational living are diverse and reflect multiple intersecting structural pressures, including an ageing population, worsening housing affordability and later household formation amongst young people. These intersect with individual circumstances, such as divorce or illness, to make multigenerational living the most practical option for some families. However, forming a multigenerational household is also often an individual and family choice, based on the expectation of mutual benefits brought about by multigenerational living. The research suggests that the extent to which living in a multigenerational household is a positive experience is determined by an individual’s degree of agency and choice in the arrangement, rather than an ability to cope with wider structural pressures.

A cross-disciplinary mixed-method approach to understand how food retail environment transformations influence food choice and intake among the urban poor: Experiences from Vietnam

Nutrition insecurity among urban poor in modernizing Asian metropolises is a critical issue. It is well recognized that in urban Asia the poor are food insecure. Across Asia the food retail environment is transforming rapidly, in which supermarkets increasingly replace traditional food vending, like markets and street vendors that the urban poor depend upon. The question is, how these transformations impact the diets of the urban poor? What drives their food choice? What are their daily shopping practices and how does that affect their dietary intake? To investigate this, we developed a cross-disciplinary nutrition and social practices study with a sequential quantitative-qualitative mixed-method design. Building on empirical evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam, the study links (i) food choice and measured dietary intake, with (ii) food retail environment, through (iii) food shopping practices and preferences of 400 women of reproductive age within the context of (iv) their transformative urban lifestyles. Methods included are a retail census with GPS coordinates to map the food retail environment, a household survey, a 24-h diet recall, multi-generation household interviews and shopping trips. We demonstrate that integrated sociological and nutritional perspectives are productive in rapidly generating evidence to comprehend the complex trade-offs between food safety and nutrition in everyday food consumption practices. We describe and reflect on our theoretical mix of dietary intake and social practices research, and our holistic mixed method approach which besides combining quantitative and qualitative methods, also voices the urban poor first hand.

Role of Interpersonal Relationships in Mothers’ Foods Choice Decisions for Children Ages 1 < 5 Years in Rural Mexico (P10-051-19)

ObjectivesTo understand how mothers’ interpersonal relationships influence food choice decisions they make to feed children ages 1 to <5 years old in rural Mexico. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 46 mothers from 3 rural communities in Mexico in November and December 2016. Mothers were asked about their daily activities, their own knowledge about child feeding, the social ties from which they obtain information about child feeding, and local normative beliefs about food. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Thematic coding was used to identify the underlying values and meanings mothers ascribed to foods and the influential figures in their social circle to understand how interpersonal relationships influenced child feeding decisions. ResultsMost mothers had no formal employment and spent their day in activities such as upkeep of home, caring for their children, getting food, preparing meals, looking after their animals, and harvesting. Most mothers lived in multigenerational households or near relatives. Mothers’ knowledge about child feeding had a foundation in practices from their own mothers, being child caregivers to their siblings, employment as child caregivers in urban settings, and having older children. Mothers had prominent figures who influenced their decisions about child feeding. These figures were older women living in the household, other mothers within their social circle, health and social program personnel, children’s fathers, and children themselves. Mothers described specific foods and preparations locally acceptable to feed to children, noting that some beliefs and practices might conflict with others. In making decisions about what to feed their children, mothers appraised who their social ties were and their feeding practices. For example, mothers took in information from other mothers based on their perception of whether the child was well-fed, which included child appearance. ConclusionsMothers’ interpersonal relationships played an important role in their child feeding decisions. When designing a program to improve food choice, identifying and accounting for mothers’ key social ties regarding child feeding could enhance positive behavior change. Funding SourcesSPARC Graduate Research Grant from University of South Carolina.

Fortifying futures: how older boomerangers in English multigenerational households boost resilience through social capital accumulation and distribution

Multigenerational households (MGHs) are the UK’s fastest growing household type. This paper critically explores the relative influence of ‘Generation X’ in shaping social capital accumulation and distribution strategies within English MGHs. We contend that this cohort, described here as ‘amalgamation generation’, (older ‘boomerangers’) recognize how the quintessential inter/intra generational forms of social capital present in MGHs may be consolidated to boost resilience at a time of economic uncertainty and social instability. We challenge therefore the largely negative discourse surrounding boomerangers which exist in existing scholarship. Our analysis highlights the dialectical relationship between the concepts of resilience and social capital when applied to multigenerational living. In doing so, we highlight the relevance of network centrality, shared family values, an awareness of the natural life cycle and the importance of family ‘social capital bank’ in promoting the overall cohesion of the MGH. The extent to which English MGHs may be construed as a liquid, temporal and fluid asset over space, place and time is explored.

Grandmaternal childcare and kinship laterality. Is rural Greece exceptional?

Grandmothers provide more childcare for their daughters' children than for those of their sons, almost everywhere. Exceptions occur where virilocal (patrilocal) postmarital residence makes the children of sons more accessible, but even under virilocality, preferential care of daughters' children, net of the effects of proximity, is often demonstrable. A unique counter-example has been reported by Pashos (2000, Evolution & Human Behavior, 21, 97–109) who found that rural Greek grandmothers cared more for their sons' children even when effects of proximity were controlled; however, this result was based on an analysis in which everything from living in the same household to living in nearby villages was treated as equally close. Here, we present new analyses that replicate Pashos's result, based on a large European survey with a finer differentiation of residential proximity. In interviews conducted in 2004–2007, rural, but not urban, Greek women indeed reported more care of sons' than of daughters' children, net of the effects of proximity and other variables, This rural reversal of the usual uterine (matrilateral) bias was not observed elsewhere in Europe. Greeks were not surveyed again until 2015, whereupon the pattern had disappeared, with rural women now exhibiting a strong uterine bias in grandchild childcare. It seems likely that the financial crisis of 2008–2009, which hit Greece especially hard, played some role in this dramatic change, but it cannot readily be traced to increases in either unemployment or multigenerational households.

From abandonment to autonomy: Gendered strategies for coping with climate change, Isiolo County, Kenya

Access to resources, both material and social, are central elements in responding to social and environmental transition, and adapting to change, yet the ways in which such access is negotiated within and across varying household structures is not well understood. In semi-arid Kenya, persistent drought has made male incomes from pastoralism insecure, and contributed to women’s growing engagement with trade, farming and other independent enterprises, for survival. This has, however, raised questions about women’s dependence on men for household provisioning, and enhanced expectations of reciprocity in both production and reproduction within households. While demographers note the rise in female headship in sub-Saharan Africa, and female headed households are often the target of policy attention, the situation on the ground is much more complex. Polygamy, separation and consensual unions, multi-generational and multi-locational households, point to a growing diversity in gender and generational relationships, in rights, responsibilities and norms. Based on data from household surveys, focus group discussions and life history interviews with differently positioned women and men within pastoralist communities in northern Kenya, the paper explores the implications of changing household structures beyond headship, in particular the loosening of marriage ties, frequent separation and regrouping, on relational vulnerability and the micro-politics of adaptation in the region.

Are grandparents a blessing or a burden? Multigenerational coresidence and child-related spending

Economic investments in children may represent a powerful mechanism to explain differences in child outcomes across family types. Unfortunately, evidence on child-related spending across family structures remains poorly understood. Using the Consumer Expenditure Survey (1996–2015), this study is the first to investigate patterns of child-related spending in an increasingly common type of extended family household: multigenerational households, in which children reside with at least one parent and grandparent. This study also contributes to a growing literature giving primacy to parents' socioeconomic disadvantage as moderating the association between multigenerational relationships and child well-being. Results indicate that, when compared to similar two-generation households, multigenerational households are associated with increased spending on education and with decreased spending on child care. Differences in child-related spending between multigenerational and two-generation households differ according to parents' income and relationship status. Overall, living with grandparents represents an adaptive strategy that helps low-income or single parents invest more money in their children's education, hobbies and activities, and to save on the costs of child care.

Liberal and Conservative Trends in Post-Soviet Social Policies for Children

This study examines the framework documents capturing the political rhetoric on children as well as different versions of the Russian law on children’s rights to explore how government agencies perceive and treat children as a social group and what social policy values and norms are at play in this field in Russia. The sample includes documents of two genres: general child protection policies and existing laws. Content analysis allows identifying the underlying values and the principles of treating children (universalism, self-direction, benevolence, conservation, openness to change) as well as the methods of social policy (incentivization, normalization, prohibition) that have been reflected in the legislative documents. Analysis of how social policies for children were changing from the 1990s through the 2010s shows that both liberal and conservative trends were present. The liberal trend of the 2010s consisted in taking terms and values from the international legislative experience. In particular, children have come to be recognized as social actors and full-fledged participants of societal processes; the government’s perception of children as a social group has become more individualized; orphanage deinstitutionalization is occurring; children’s need for belonging and love has been acknowledged; the values of autonomy, such as independence and responsibility, are being encouraged in children. The conservative trend in social policies for children manifests itself in a statistically significant growth of support for the traditional values, such as multigenerational households, parental authority, and family loyalty.

Well-being and living arrangement of elderly people from European comparative perspective

Recent decades have seen numerous changes in family structures and typologies in response to the progressive ageing of the population. The main aim of this analysis is to explore how the structure of the households where people live affects their quality of life and well-being. The analysis presented here is based on data from the countries participating in the third wave of the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) in 2012. The methodological approach is based on a combination of descriptive and explanatory analysis. The findings presented highlight the relevance of the family in the subjective well-being and quality of life of elderly people in European countries. The data analysed point to the conclusion that the intensity of the multigenerational households is inversely related with perceived well-being and quality of life. This inverse relationship may indirectly be explained by the degree of development of social policies, which is higher in countries with lower intensity of this type of household.

Relações sociais informais em idoso com Hipertensão e/ou Diabetes

Objetivo: avaliar as relações sociais informais dos idosos com diagnóstico de hipertensão e/ou diabetes, moradores de Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Método: estudo transversal de base populacional. Foram entrevistadas 1.593 pessoas com 60 anos ou mais, das quais 947 tinham diagnóstico de hipertensão e/ou diabetes. A prevalência “relações sociais informais” foi distribuída em fraca, moderada e forte. A diferença estatística entre os grupos foi avaliada com teste qui-quadrado e intervalos de confiança de 95%. Resultados: a prevalência de relações informais fracas foi de 51,0% sendo estatisticamente significativa entre os idosos com idade superior a 74 anos, menor escolaridade e classificação socioeconômica C e D, residindo em domicílios multigeracionais, com maior número de pessoas e em áreas cobertas pela Estratégia Saúde da Família. Conclusão: os resultados reforçam a necessidade de desenvolver mecanismos de proteção social a idosos com morbidades crônicas, de modo a minimizar o risco de viver isolado.

The Involvement of Russian Households in Intergenerational Transfers 2008-14

This paper investigates how households of various demographic compositions are involved in private intergenerational transfers in Russia. The authors provide a descriptive analysis of private exchanges using household surveys. The Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey—Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE, 2004, 2008, 2013), The Comprehensive Monitoring of Living Conditions (KOUG, Rosstat), The Survey of the Population Income and the Participation in Social Programs (VNDN, Rosstat). The study demonstrates that the demographic composition of households is an important predictor of household involvement in private exchanges of different goods and services. Single-person households and households represented by couples without children show their particular donor capacity in private intergenerational transfers. The recipients of private material transfers are primarily one-parent families and couples with under-age children. Multigenerational households and other households are also recipients of private material transfers. This paper demonstrates that the role of a household’s private exchange is related to their financial situation, but the role of private intergenerational transfers is not limited to giving assistance to the poor.

Do household living arrangements explain gender and ethnicity differences in receipt of support services? Findings from LiLACS NZ Māori and non-Māori advanced age cohorts

AbstractServices providing practical support are a key component in the spectrum of social care assisting older people to age in place. Te Puāwaitanga o Ngā Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu/Life and Living in Advanced Age: A Cohort Study in New Zealand (LiLACS NZ), a longitudinal study of Māori and non-Māori in advanced age, aims to determine predictors of successful ageing and to understand trajectories of health and wellbeing. This paper investigates whether household living arrangements (living alone or with others) might explain previously reported gender and ethnic differences in support service utilisation. We had shown that women and non-Māori received more services than men and Māori despite better health. The results of analyses in this paper show that, as expected, poorer physical function led to increased service use. After controlling for functional status, household living arrangements (living alone) were the next strongest driver of service use. In a fully adjusted model, previously observed differences around gender and ethnicity were no longer significant predictors of support service use. However, gender and ethnicity do shape living arrangements in advanced age. Women in advanced age are more likely to live alone, consequently needing more outside support, whereas men are more likely to have a spouse/partner able to provide care. Māori are more likely to live in multigenerational households, the care available at home meaning they are less likely to qualify for formal support. This study points to a need for understanding how gender and ethnicity interact with living arrangements and suggests that inequities may not be absent when the presence of others in a household renders an older person ineligible for formal care.

Living Arrangements, Offspring Migration, and Health of Older Adults in Rural China: Revelation From Biomarkers and Propensity Score Analysis

Objective: We examine the combined effects of living arrangements and outmigration of adult children on rural older adults' health profiles, measured by biomarker data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011. Method: We employ biomarker data and propensity score analysis which allows us to effectively deal with selection issues that are commonly observed in the literature. Results: We show complex health implications of living arrangements and offspring migration. Living in a traditional multigenerational household has limited health benefits to older adults. However, older parents of migrants who live in a multigenerational household have better fitness in blood pressure. Their advantage over parents of migrants in other living arrangements suggests added benefits of the presence of grandchildren. Discussion: This study bridges the living arrangement and migration literature on health by showing that health effects of adult children's migration on older adults are contingent upon their living arrangements.