In Whose Home?
In Whose Home?
Multigenerational Families in the United States, 1998-2000
By Philip N. Cohen and Lynne M. Casper
ABSTRACT
This article examines multigenerational living arrangements
of white, black, and Latino individuals using data from the Current
Population Surveys. We describe people in multigenerational
households as "hosts" or "guests." In terms of resources, guests have
no home of their own, whereas hosts maintain an important source of
independence. By age, the proportion of adults living as guests peaks
in the late twenties, then declines until the late seventies. In contrast,
hosting rates peak in the fifties. Men have higher guest rates and
women have higher host rates at almost all ages. While blacks and
Latinos are more likely than whites to live in multigenerational
households, those with higher incomes are less likely to live in
multigenerational households and if they are living in multigenerational
households are less likely to be guests, regardless of race-ethnicity.
We interpret this as consistent with the assumption that residential
independence is generally preferred.