The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the United States

235

167

The authors review demographic trends and research on families in the United States, with a special focus on the past decade. They consider the following several topics: (a) marriage and remarriage, (b) divorce, (c) cohabitation, (d) fertility, (e) same‐gender unions, (f) immigrant families, and (g) children's living arrangements. Throughout, the authors review both overall trends and patterns as well as those by social class and race–ethnicity. The authors discuss major strands of recent research, emphasizing emerging themes and promising directions. They close with a summary of central patterns and trends and conclude that recent trends are not as uniform as they tended to be in earlier decades, making the description of family change increasingly complex.

Section: Children's Living Arrangementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are exceptions to these general patterns. For example, some Asian groups are economically advantaged, but Asian children are more likely to live in three‐generation households than Black and Hispanic children (Amorim et al, ; see also Pilkauskas & Cross, ).…”

Section: Children's Living Arrangementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Demography of Families: A Review of Patterns and Change

Smock

Schwartz

2020

235

167

“…Although there is more work to be done to illuminate the nature and implications of these patterns, recent research shows that about one‐fifth of children live in shared households with extended family members or nonrelatives. Grandparents are especially important in this regard: A nontrivial number of children are being raised by grandparents (Dunifon, ), and nearly 30% of U.S. children will live with their grandparent(s) at some point during childhood (Amorim, Dunifon, & Pilkauskas, ). Indeed, the proportion of children living in multigenerational households has increased dramatically during the past 2 decades, to 9.8% in 2016, compared to 5.7% in 1996 (Pilkauskas & Cross, ).…”

Section: Recent Family Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Policy and Complex Contemporary Families: A Decade in Review and Implications for the Next Decade of Research and Policy Practice

Berger

Carlson

2020

Prior Journal of Marriage and Family decade‐in‐review articles have grappled with the definition and role of family policy for research and policy practice while emphasizing its value to both. In this article, we begin with a broad conceptualization of family policy that encompasses actions intended to achieve explicitly stated goals for families (explicit policies) and those that affect families without an explicitly stated goal for doing so (implicit policies), which we believe provides a solid framework for guiding and understanding both research and practice in the field. Second, we review major U.S. policy initiatives in the past decade and their documented and potential effects on families. Third, we describe several key aspects by which contemporary families have become more diverse and complex. Fourth, we discuss the implications of ongoing family complexity for public policies. We conclude with a discussion about future research and policy development in the context of contemporary family complexity.

“…Looking across all of childhood, 30% of all U.S. children will live with a grandparent at some point. Children are most likely to live with a grandparent in the first year of life, and racial and ethnic minority children are more likely to do so as well (Amorim, Dunifon, & Pilkauskas, ). Factors associated with living in a three‐generational household include maternal employment, single parenthood, being African American or Hispanic, and lower maternal education, whereas grandparent employment status is negatively associated with living in a three‐generational arrangement (Augustine & Raley, ).…”

Section: Variation In Grandparent Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Factors associated with living in a three‐generational household include maternal employment, single parenthood, being African American or Hispanic, and lower maternal education, whereas grandparent employment status is negatively associated with living in a three‐generational arrangement (Augustine & Raley, ). Research also suggests that three‐generational households are more common when children are younger (Amorim et al, ; Dunifon et al, ).…”

Section: Variation In Grandparent Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Backup Parents, Playmates, Friends: Grandparents' Time With Grandchildren

Dunifon

Near

Ziol‐Guest

2018

Time With GrandchildrenGrandparents play varied roles in their grandchildren's lives. Prior work has focused mostly on historical trends in and implications of grandparent coresidence and has not considered more broadly how grandparents and grandchildren interact. Using time-use diary data for 6,762 person-years from the 1997 to 2007 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Survey, the authors examine patterns in the amount and activity composition of time American children spent with their grandparents, differentiated by family structure, adult employment, and child's age. Results showed that although only about 7% of children lived with their grandparents, many more children spent time with their grandparents: about 50% of young children, 35% of elementary-age children, and 20% of teens spent at least some time with their grandparents in a typical week. This suggests that grandparents play a variety of roles in their grandchildren's lives, depending on the amount and kinds of support needed.Recent demographic trends suggest that grandparents may play increasingly influential roles in