Coresidence

In reviewing research on coresidence and solitary living, results show that there are both costs and rewards for older individuals. Although sharing a household enhances the ability of older adults to receive needed instrumental services, such as help with activities of daily living, it has been shown to have little relation to emotional support from family and others. Older individuals who make the transition to the household of a child or other relative tend to be in poorer health and more likely to be widowed. In addition, older people who have greater limitations in physical functioning, often in conjunction with widowhood, enhance their likelihood of coresiding with an adult child or other relative. Given these findings, it is likely that health improvements in the older population has increased their functional independence and suppressed the need to live with others.

From another point of view, independent living may produce psychological benefits for older adults. Some scholars have argued that living independently from children allows older adults to enjoy more privacy and greater autonomy. All things considered, older parents generally appear to be satisfied living with their adult children, as this arrangement enhances their experience of closeness with the coresident adult child. However, the quality of the relationship sometimes suffers when adult children— especially in middle age—remain or become economically dependent on their parents.