Living Arrangements and Aging in Mexico: Changes in Households, Poverty and Regions, 1992-2009

Abstract

This paper analyzes diverse socio-demographic variables in living arrangements among older people at national and regional levels in Mexico. Using the National Survey of Demographic Dynamics for 1992, 1997, 2006 and 2009, we develop two levels of analysis, household and individual, in order to show trends and changes in composition of households in Mexico focusing on those including elderly people. A multinominal logistic model was used to determine the effect of diverse variables on living arrangements. The findings show an increase in the percentage of households with elderly people living alone; at a regional level, the Yucatá n Peninsula has the lowest percentage of elderly households; old men are more likely to live in nuclear and extended families than women; people aged 80 and older currently employed have greater probabilities of living alone.Keywords: households, aging, regions, living arrangements. IntroductionThe demographic transition in Mexico is leading to an aging population. The decrease in mortality and fertility rates and increase in life expectancy have transformed households, thus becoming an important aspect when planning public policies. In 1930 the mortality rate was 26.7 deaths for each one 1000 inhabitants; in 2000 this indicator was 5.1 and 5.6 deaths for each one 1000 inhabitants in 2010 (Instituto Nacional de Estadí stica y Geografí a [INEGI] 2010). The global fertility rate in 1930 and 2010 were 6 and 2.1 children for women in reproductive age, respectively (INEGI 2010). The life expectancy in the same period was 34.7 years in 1930 and 75 years in 2010 (77 years for women and 73 years for men) (INEGI 2010). According with this demographic process, the main objective of this article is to present some of these transformations at both a national and regional level, as well as showcasing the influence of diverse socio-demographic characteristics on the types of households for the elderly population.As the population ages, individuals' economic and healthcare also needs increase. It is therefore essential to analyze the demographic, economic, and social characteristics of households. Using the National Survey of Demographic Dynamics, we analyze the most important changes in Mexican households from 1992 to 2009, giving emphasis to households including residents 60 and older. We also seek to understand the underlying motivations that influence the elderly population's decisions for living in a certain type of household.One aspect that we wish to highlight is the relation between composition of households and socioeconomic status (SES) and the regional distribution of the different types of households within the country. The literature has made it clear that families in Mexico choose to live together in order to optimize resources, but the situation concerning households which include the elderly has not been fully explored (Ramos 1994). We therefore examine the trends in Mexican households over the last two decades and the percentage of elderly households in different regions of ...

Living arrangement dynamics of older adults in Mexico: Latent class analysis in an accelerated longitudinal design

“…According to Ullmann, Maldonado Valera, and Nieves Rico (2014) , in such dissimilar countries as Uruguay, Bolivia, and Mexico, multigenerational households (those with individuals both under 15 and over 65 years old) exhibit the greatest economic vulnerability. As noted above, in Mexico this kind of living arrangement has been identified as an economic survival strategy in several studies and across different data sets ( Garay Villegas and Montes de Oca Zavala 2011 ; Montes de Oca et al 2014 ; Nava Bolaños, Ham Chande, and Ramírez López 2016 ; Sánchez and Escoto 2017 ; Ybáñez Zepeda, Vargas Valle, and Torres Martín 2005 ). Multigenerational households may increase social support through stronger structural ties in which resources (monetary, care, food, etc.)…”

“…Such a trend, if sustained, will certainly lead to different survival strategies, including multigenerational living arrangements (Ceballos Mina 2017;Redondo, Garay, and Montes de Oca 2015;Sánchez and Escoto 2017). In a recent study on household composition and aging in Mexico, Montes de Oca et al (2014) find that nuclear (36.4%) and extended (46.3%) households are the most common households among older adults aged 60 and over. However, the authors note the presence of a significant proportion of single-person households (16%).…”

“…A survey of the literature on older adults’ living arrangements suggests that most of the studies implement a basic comparative scheme of mutually exclusive categories, usually breaking households down according to kin relationships and cohabitation based on a couple of demographic markers typically found in household surveys. However, even with only a few demographic markers, there are several quite distinct ways to operationalize the typology of living arrangements ( De Vos 1990 ; Montes de Oca et al 2014 ; Montes de Oca and Hebrero 2008 ; Montes de Oca Zavala and Nava Bolaños 2017 ; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division 2005 ; Varley and Blasco 2003 ).…”

“…Conversely, in some low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) there is limited or no government-funded institutional support, and well-developed old-age support systems have yet to be created. In Mexico, older people frequently require social, economic, and physical assistance ( DeGraff, Wong, and Orozco-Rocha 2018 ; Montes de Oca et al 2014 ; Montes de Oca and Hebrero 2008 ), and many are unable to provide for themselves because of poor health and a lack of private savings, relying mostly on other family members for their well-being and survival ( Ham Chande 2010 , 2014 ; Nava Bolaños and Acosta 2018 ; Nava Bolaños, Ham Chande, and Ramírez López 2016 ).…”

“…Family life-cycle events, such as changes in marital status (divorce/separation, widowhood, remarriage), migration, gender differences in mortality, and precarious socioeconomic conditions may result in aging parents and adult children still living at home, grandparents raising grandchildren, and a growing trend of older women living alone. These living arrangements are associated with the health and well-being of aging populations (Gruijters 2017;Manfredini and Breschi 2013;Montes de Oca et al 2014;Montes de Oca and Hebrero 2008;Teerawichitchainan, Pothisiri, and Long 2015;Tohme et al 2011). An understanding of the living arrangement dynamics of older adults is urgently needed in order to design public policy on aging and to improve multi-faceted interventions aimed at improving quality of life in old age.…”