4 minute read

Coresidence

Conclusion



Social, economic, health, and demographic changes have influenced the propensity of elders to live alone, with culture, values, and personal preferences playing a role in the decision whether to coreside with others or to live alone. However, factors that have enhanced the propensity of the elderly to live alone, such as gains in economic resources, declining fertility, and improving health, may be mitigated by the other factors, such as increasing ethnic diversity and the growing need for housing among younger adults. As can be seen from the phenomenon of grandparents raising grandchildren, it is important to consider the needs of all generations of the family in order to fully appreciate the dynamics of coresidence among the elderly.



Sharing a residence in later life enables the exchange of crucial services within and across generations. Increases in immigration and the swelling number of minority elders may continue to fuel the recent growth in multigenerational coresidence as the fulfillment of filial responsibility. However, young and middle-aged adults may enter old age possessing fewer filial, financial, and housing resources than earlier generations, limiting their potential for coresidence and testing the resilience of older adults to adapt to changing contingencies in their informal networks.

MERRIL SILVERSTEIN FRANCES YANG

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANDERSON, M. "The Impact on the Family Relationships of the Elderly of Changes since Victorian Times in Governmental Income-Maintenance Provision." In Family, Bureaucracy and the Elderly. Edited by Ethel Shanas and M. Sussman. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1977.

ANGEL, R. J., and TIENDA, M. "Determinants of Extended Household Structure: Cultural Pattern or Economic Need?" American Journal of Sociology 87 (1992): 1360–1383.

AQUILINO, W. S. "The Likelihood of Parent-Adult Child Coresidence: Effects of Family Structure and Parental Characteristics." Journal of Marriage and the Family 52 (1990): 405–419.

BRODY, E. M.; LITVIN, S. J.; HOFFMAN, C.; and KLEBAN, M. H. "Marital Status of Caregiving Daughters and Co-residence with Dependent Parents." The Gerontologist 35, no. 1 (1995): 75–86.

BURTON, T. "African-American Grandparents." In Handbook on Grandparenthood. Edited by Maximiliane Szinovacz. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. 1998.

CRIMMINS, E.; SAITO, Y.; and INGEGNERI, D. "Changes In Life Expectancy and Disability-Free Life Expectancy in the U.S." Population and Development Review 15, no. 2 (1989): 235–267.

FULLER-THOMPSON, E., and MINKLER, M. "African American Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A National Profile of Demographic and Health Characteristics." Health and Social Work 25, no. 2 (2000): 109–118.

GIARRUSSO, R.; SILVERSTEIN, M.; and BENGTSON, V. "Family Complexity and the Grandparent Role." Generations 20 (1996): 17–23.

GILLASPY, R. T. "Older Population: Considerations for Family Ties." In Aging Parents. Edited by P. K. Ragan. Los Angeles: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California. Pages 11–26.

GOLDSCHEIDER, C., and JONES, M. B. "Living Arrangements among the Older Population: Constraints, Preferences and Power." In Ethnicity and the New Family Economy. Edited by Frances K. Goldscheider and Calvin Goldscheider. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1987. Pages 75–91.

GOLDSCHEIDER, F. K., and LAWTON, L. "Family Experiences and the Erosion of Support for Intergenerational Coresidence." Journal of Marriage and the Family 60, no. 3 (1998): 620–632.

HIMES, C. L. "Future Caregivers: Projected Family Structures of Older Persons." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 47, no. 1 (1992): S17–S26.

HIMES, C. L.; HOGAN, D. P.; and EGGEBEEN, D. J. "Living Arrangements of Minority Elders." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 51, no. 1 (1996): 42–52.

KAMO "Asian-American Grandparents." In Handbook on Grandparenthood. Edited by Maximiliane Szinovacz. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Pages 56–79.

MCGARRY, K., and SCHOENI, R. F. "Social Security, Economic Growth, and the Rise in Elderly Widows' Independency in the Twentieth Century." Demography 37, no. 2 (2000): 221–236.

MUTCHLER, J. E., and BURR, J. A. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Household and Nonhousehold Living Arrangements in Later Life." Demography 28, no. 3 (1991): 375–390.

PEZZIN, L. E., and SCHONE, B. S. "Intergenerational Household Formation, Female Labor Supply and Informal Caregiving: A Bargaining Approach." The Journal of Human Resources 34, no. 3 (1999): 475–503.

PYNOOS, J., and GOLANT, S. "Housing for the Aged." In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 4th ed. Edited by K. Warner Schaie and Linda K. George. San Diego: Academic Press, 1996.

RUGGLES, S. Living Arrangements and Well-Being of Older Persons in the Past. New York: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat, 2000.

RUGGLES, S. "Prolonged Connections: The Rise of the Extended Family in Nineteenth-Century England and America." In Social Demography. Edited by Doris P. Slesinger, James A. Sweet, and Karl E. Taeuber. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996.

SOLDO, B.; WOLF, D.; and AGREE, E. "Family, Households, and Care Arrangements of Frail Older Women: A Structural Analysis." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 45 (1990): S238–S249.

SPEARE, A., JR.; AVERY, R.; and LAWTON, L. "Disability, Residential Mobility, and Changes in Living Arrangements." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 46, no. 3 (1990). 133–142.

SZINOVACZ, M. "Grandparenthood in the United States." In Handbook on Grandparenthood. Edited by Maximiliane Szinovacz. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.

UHLENBERG, P., and KIRBY, J. B. "Grandparenthood Over Time: Historical and Demographic Trends." In Handbook on Grandparenthood. Edited by Maximiliane Szinovacz. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Pages 23–39.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, 1998. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. "Household and Family Characteristics: March 1998 (Update) and Earlier Reports." Current Population Reports. 2001: P20–515.

WILMOTH, J. M. "Living Arrangement Transitions among America's Older Adults." Gerontologist 38, no. 4 (1998): 434–444.

WILMOTH, J. M. "Unbalanced Social Exchanges and Living Arrangement Transitions among Older Adults." Gerontologist 40, no. 1 (2000): 64–74.

CORONARY BYPASS

See REVASCULARIZATION: BYPASS SURGERY AND ANGIOPLASTY

COST OF LIVING

See CONSUMER PRICE INDEX AND COLAs

Additional topics

Medicine EncyclopediaAging Healthy - Part 1Coresidence - Diversity In Living Arrangements, Advantages And Disadvantages Of Coresidence, Changing Patterns In Coresidence, Conclusion