The Aging of Populations and Societies

Cowgill, Donald O.

doi:10.1177/000271627441500102

Cited by 84 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2 reveals a distinct lag between the decline of farming and the decline of intergenerational families. By 1920, only 22 percent of younger-20 In the early twentieth century, observers commented on the decline in both economic circumstances and authority of the aged as a result of the shift from agricultural to industrial employment (e.g., Epstein 1928;Squier 1912), and this view was echoed in the academic literature (e.g., Cowgill 1974;Graebner 1980). More recently, revisionist scholars have challenged this decline; see Haber and Gratton (1994), Gratton (1996), and Carter and Sutch (1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wirth and other theorists argued that urban institutions undermined the family by taking over traditional family functions, such as economic production, education, and social support. The view that small conjugal families are especially suited to cities was pervasive in mid-twentieth-century sociological theory (e.g., Burgess 1960;Cowgill 1974;Goode 1963). …”

Section: Social and Geographic Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the early twentieth century, however, "more and more of the young, rural population left the farms … by the time people got old, the children had already left and gone to the city." Thus, Eliot concluded, there was "an increase in the problem of the needy aged" (Eliot 1961).Eliot's interpretation is consistent with that of Le Play, and many other twentieth-century analysts of aging expressed similar ideas (e.g., Burgess 1960;Cowgill 1974;Nimkoff 1962). The hypothesis they articulated differs distinctly from the affluence hypothesis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Decline of Intergenerational Coresidence in the United States, 1850 to 2000

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the mid-nineteenth century, almost 70 percent of persons age 65 or older resided with their adult children; by the end of the twentieth century, fewer than 15 percent did so. Many scholars have argued that the simplification of the living arrangements of the aged resulted primarily from an increase in their resources, which enabled increasing numbers of elders to afford independent living. This article supports a different interpretation: the evidence suggests that the decline of coresidence between generations had less to do with the growing affluence of the aged than with the increasing opportunities of the younger generation. Using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), I examine long-run trends in the characteristics of both the older and the younger generations to gain insight into changing motivations for coresidence. In particular, I investigate headship patterns, occupational status, income, and spatial coresidence patterns. I also reassess the potential impact of the Social Security program. I conclude that the decline of intergenerational coresidence resulted mainly from increasing opportunities for the young and declining parental control over their children.During the past century and a half, the living arrangements of the aged in the United States shifted dramatically. The dimensions of change are illustrated in Figure 1. In 1850, twothirds of whites age 65 or older lived with an adult child. The percentage of elderly whites residing with adult children declined steadily from 1850 to 1980, reaching a nadir of 13 percent in 1990 before rising slightly in 2000. Among blacks, the trend was less dramatic but still sizeable; coresidence fell from 50 percent in 1870 to 22 percent a century later. 1 The transformation of the living arrangements of the aged was equally dramatic among unmarried men, unmarried women, and married couples, although there was slight variation in the timing of change (Ruggles 2003).This article examines explanations for this remarkable simplification of U.S. family structure. I assess historical evidence from the census to uncover clues about the formation of intergenerational families and the incentives for both the older generation and the younger generation to reside together. I argue that scholars have overemphasized the effects of rising income of the older generation and underestimated the role of growing economic independence of the younger generation. More broadly, I argue that the decline of intergenerational coresidence reflects a decline of patriarchal control brought about by the rise of wage labor and the decline of agriculture.Direct correspondence to Steven Ruggles, University of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center, 50 Willey Hall, 225 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (ruggles@umn.edu). The author is grateful for the comments and suggestions of Catherine Fitch, Miriam King, Carolyn Liebler, Evan Roberts, three anonymous reviewers, the editors of the ASR, and participants at several colloquia and the 2005 meeting of the...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social and Geographic Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Decline of Intergenerational Coresidence in the United States, 1850 to 2000

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Whether or not intergenerational ties are crucial to residential choice is a controversial issue. According to modernization theory, there has been a continuous process in society towards decreasing family support owing to individualization, the development of the welfare state, parent-child separation and urbanization (Cowgill 1974, Aboderin 2004. Weaker family ties have been interpreted as a prerequisite for, but also as a consequence of, urbanization and intergenerational separation.…”

Section: Intergenerational Distancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance to old parents

Malmberg¹,

Pettersson²

2007

DemRes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the present study, features of and trends in child-parent proximity in Sweden are analyzed using comprehensive register data. The results show that 85% of older parents have adult children within a radius of 50 km, of which 10% live 'just around the corner'; corresponding figures for adult children are 72% and 5%, respectively. The study gives no indication of increasing intergenerational distances. Results from logistic regressions show that adult children who are well educated, female, older, born in Sweden, who are not parents, who live in densely populated areas, and have siblings are less likely to stay in the same region as their parents.

show abstract

“…Cowgill (1974) identifies modern health technology, modern economic technology, education and urbanization as the four critical aspects of modernization that contribute to the decline in the status of the elderly. Improved health technology reduces mortality and prolongs life at all stages, thereby increasing the proportions of older persons in modern societies.…”

Section: Aging and Modernizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Testing of the Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI): A Composite Indicator to Measure Social Vulnerability in the Jamaican Elderly Population

Crooks¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Aging of Populations and Societies

Cited by 84 publications

References 0 publications

The Decline of Intergenerational Coresidence in the United States, 1850 to 2000

The Decline of Intergenerational Coresidence in the United States, 1850 to 2000

Distance to old parents

Development and Testing of the Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI): A Composite Indicator to Measure Social Vulnerability in the Jamaican Elderly Population

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About