This paper extends the search for neighborhood contextual effects to residential mobility. We propose that neighborhood consists of subjective and objective domains, both of which are crosscut by substantive (social/physical) and temporal (current/change) dimensions. Measures of neighborhood characteristics consistent with our conceptualization are used to estimate the impact of context on mobility thoughts and on actual mobility in a sample of Nashville residents. Although individual statuses such as age and tenure remain important antecedents of mobility, subjective features of neighborhood context also play a role--albeit limited and indirect--in the decision to move or to stay.

Spurred in part by the rapid growth of the Hispanic population, considerable progress has been made over the past several decades in documenting the family behavior of Hispanics. Scholars increasingly recognize the importance of disaggregating the Hispanic population by national origin and generation, but the literature remains inconsistent in this regard. With an emphasis on demographic indicators of family behavior, this review summarizes trends in marriage, fertility, and family/household structure among the major Hispanic subgroups and identifies key issues in the literature that attempts to explain existing patterns. The role of generation is systematically addressed, as are the shortcomings of the standard practice of using cross-sectional data on generation to draw inferences about assimilation. We conclude that new research designs are needed to address the complexities of the migration process and their links to family patterns. In addition, future research should push toward greater integration of cultural and structural perspectives on how Hispanic families are shaped.

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At least two important demographic changes will occur in the United States in the future: the growth of the Hispanic population and the growth of the second and third generations among Hispanics. We argue that the expansion of the Hispanic population is unlikely to slow the retreat from marriage, despite the pronuptial cultural orientations of some groups of immigrants and their native‐born coethnics. On the contrary, the second‐ and third‐generation descendents of immigrants will join in the retreat from marriage as a result of their exposure to the cultural and economic environment of the United States, as well as changes in the countries from which their immigrant parents originate. Sources of uncertainty about this scenario are noted.

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