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Cited by 86Intergenerational Family Dynamics and CaregivingFamily Dynamics and RelationshipsIntergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies

Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households in the United States: 1870–2018

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Pilkauskas, Natasha V., Amorim, Mariana, Dunifon, Rachel E.·2020·Demography
DOI 10.1007/s13524-020-00920-5
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Abstract

Over the last two decades, the share of U.S. children under age 18 who live in a multigenerational household (with a grandparent and parent) has increased dramatically. Yet we do not know whether this increase is a recent phenomenon or a return to earlier levels of coresidence. Using data from the decennial census from 1870 to 2010 and the 2018 American Community Survey, we examine historical trends in children’s multigenerational living arrangements, differences by race/ethnicity and education, and factors that explain the observed trends. We find that in 2018, 10% of U.S. children lived in a multigenerational household, a return to levels last observed in 1950. The current increase in multigenerational households began in 1980, when only 5% of children lived in such a household. Few differences in the prevalence of multigenerational coresidence by race/ethnicity or education existed in the early part of the twentieth century; racial/ethnic and education differences in coresidence are a more recent phenomena. Decomposition analyses do little to explain the decline in coresidence between 1940 and 1980, suggesting that unmeasured factors explain the decrease. Declines in marriage and in the share of White children most strongly explained the increase in multigenerational coresidence between 1980 and 2018. For White children with highly educated parents, factors explaining the increase in coresidence differ from other groups. Our findings suggest that the links between race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status and multigenerational coresidence have changed over time, and today the link between parental education and coresidence varies within racial/ethnic groups.

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  • 24% of children between birth and four years old live in a multigenerational household; these children are disproportionately non-White.

    “In addition, 24% of children between birth and four years old, live in a multigenerational household; these children are, similarly, disproportionately non-White [25].”

    From Parental and Other Caregiver Loss Due to COVID-19 in the United States: Prevalence by Race, State, Relationship, and Child Age (2023) · cites this paper as [25]

    The Introduction reports that 24% of children in a recent cohort had lived in a multigenerational household by age five, not that 24% of children aged birth through four currently live in one. It also reports higher rates of multigenerational coresidence over childhood among non-White children, but does not give that comparison specifically for children under five. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Haines, M. R. (1994). Estimated life tables for the United States, 1850-1900 (NBER Historical Paper No. 59). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber. org/papers/h0059.pdf
  2. Pilkauskas, N. V. (2012). Multigenerational family households: Differences by family structure at birth. Journal of Marriage and Family, 5, 931-943.
  3. In T. K. Hareven (Ed.), Aging and generational relations over the life course: A historical and cross-cultural perspective (pp. 254-271). Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.
  4. Ruggles, S., Flood, S., Goeken, R., Grover, J., Meyer, E., Pacas, J., & Sobek, M. (2019). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 9.0 [Dataset]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V9. · DOI

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Authors
Pilkauskas, N. V., Amorim, M., & Dunifon, R. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Washington State University (US)
  • Cornell University (US)
Corresponding author
Pilkauskas, Natasha V.
ORCID
Venue
Demography
Publisher
Duke University Press
Published
2020-10-01
Volume
57
Issue
6
Pages
2269-2296
ISSN
  • 0070-3370 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-7790
DOI
10.1007/s13524-020-00920-5
OpenAlex
W3090818224
Cited by
86
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2
FWCI
12.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Demography (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
Keywords
multigenerational families, children's living arrangements, historical trends, racial and ethnic differences, parental education, marriage decline, socioeconomic status, decomposition analysis, United States
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Educational Status, Ethnicity, Family Characteristics, Humans, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Intergenerational Relations, Reproductive Behavior, Racial Groups, History, 19th Century, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century

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