The fall in household size and the rise of the primary individual in the United States

Kobrin, Frances E.

doi:10.2307/2060425

Cited by 189 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Demographers have frequently observed that changing demographic conditions have a direct effect on the availability of kin for intergenerational coresidence (e.g., Levy 1965;Burch 1967;Kobrin 1976;Ruggles 1994;Uhlenberg 1996;Schoeni 1998). The effects of demographic change differ greatly depending on the perspective of the observer.…”

Section: Demographic Change and Intergenerational Coresidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries

Ruggles

Heggeness²

2008

Population & Development Rev

126

132

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A sizable literature suggests that coresidence of elderly persons with their children is on the decline in most developing countries. These studies draw on a long tradition of theories that postulate an inverse association between household complexity and economic development. Our analysis of this topic uses new data and measures to assess changes in intergenerational coresidence in 15 developing countries.We have three main objectives. First, we measure trends in intergenerational coresidence in developing countries from the perspective of both the younger generation and the older generation. Second, we assess trends in intergenerational coresidence by household headship patterns. Finally, we conduct multivariate analyses to control for changes in population composition and to assess the relationship between intergenerational coresidence and economic development.The results indicate no clear trends in intergenerational coresidence over the past several decades. Some countries experienced modest increases in coresidence; other countries had modest declines. Even more intriguing, when we focus on intergenerational families headed by the older generation-the family configuration most closely associated with traditional stem-family and joint-family systems-we find significant increases in all but two of the countries examined. This suggests that traditional family forms are stable or increasing across much of the developing world. Moreover, multivariate analyses reveal that key measures of economic development are positively associated with intergenerational families headed by the older generation. Theories of coresidence and developmentIn the second half of the nineteenth century, Frédéric Le Play proposed that economic development was contributing to a decline of intergenerational coresidence. Traditionally, Le Play argued, generations had been bound together by property. The younger generation remained in the ancestral home, providing labor as the family patriarch grew old and eventually inheriting the farm. With commercial and industrial growth in the nineteenth century, fewer families had property to hand down. As a consequence, Le Play contended, more and more of the elderly began to reside separately from their children (Le Play 1884: 3-28).The idea that economic development is associated with simplification of the household and independent residence of the elderly became widely accepted in the twentieth century. Midtwentieth-century sociological literature highlighted the connection between industrialization and nuclear-family structure (e.g., Parsons 1949;Nimkoff 1962). Intergenerational coresidence was said to be undermined by growing wage labor opportunities, which provided incentives for the younger generation to leave the farm and move to urban areas. Moreover, many theorists argued that small nuclear families were best adapted to urban societies characterized by high geographic and social mobility (Wirth 1938;Parsons and Bales 1955;Burgess 1960). NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptPopul Dev Rev. Autho...

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Section: Demographic Change and Intergenerational Coresidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries

Ruggles

Heggeness²

2008

Population & Development Rev

126

132

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“…LAWTON, 1977 ;MADDOX & WILEY, 1976: RILEY, 1976SEELBACH & SAUER, 1977. 2 ABU-LABAN, 1980CRYSTAL, 1982 ;HARRISON, 1981 ;KOBRIN, 1976 ;RILEY & FONER, 1968 ;SHANAS et al, 1968 ;SHANAS & SUSSMAN, 1981 ;TREAS, 1977. 3 BERESFORD & RIVLIN, 1966 ;CANADA, 1984 a ;CHEVAN & KORSON, 1972et MICHAEL, FUCHS & SCOTT, 1980. Pour des données sur les Québécois qui vivent hors famille, voir Québec, 1984a.…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

“…2 LOCOH, 1973. 3 BELCHER, 1967HARRISON, 1981 ;KOBRIN, 1976 ;RILEY & FONER, 1968 4 CHEVAN & KORSON, 1972 ;LOCOH, 1973 ;RILEY & FONER, 1968 ;STEHOUWER, 1968 ;TREAS, 1977 ;TUNSTALL, 1966. 5 MINDEL 1979STEHOUWER, 1968 ;TREAS, 1977 ;TUNSTALL, 1966.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

république du silence

Delisle¹

2006

Classiques Des Sciences Sociales.

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“…Given that wives tend to outlive their husbands, the majority of the elderly living in one-person households are widows. The rise in the percentage of older adults living on their own has been linked with a number of demographic, economic, health and social factors (Beresford & Rivlin, 1966;Kobrin, 1976;Michael, Fuchs & Scott, 1980;Mutchler & Burr, I99l;Pampel, 1983). In the Netherlands, the reduction of the housing shortage has made it possible for more older adults to have independent households (Prins, 1990).…”

Section: Macro-social Trends Governing Living Arrangements and Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%