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

Author

Listed:
  • Mariana Amorim

    (Cornell University)

  • Rachel Dunifon

    (Cornell University)

  • Natasha Pilkauskas

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

Background: The likelihood that a US child will live with a grandparent has increased over time. In 2015, nearly 12% of children lived with a grandparent. However, the likelihood that a child will ever live with a grandparent is not known. Objective: We calculate the cumulative and age-specific probabilities of coresidence with grandparents during childhood. We stratify our analyses by types of grandparent-grandchild living arrangements (grandfamilies and three-generation households) and by race and ethnicity. Methods: We use two data sets – the pooled 2010–2015 American Community Surveys (ACS) and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY–97) – and produce estimates using life tables techniques. Results: Results indicate that nearly 30% of US children ever coreside with grandparents. Both three-generation and grandfamily living arrangements are more prevalent among racial and ethnic minority groups, with three-generation coresidence particularly common among Asian children. Black children are nearly two times as likely to ever live in a grandfamily as compared to Hispanic and white children, respectively. Children are much more likely to experience grandparental coresidence during their first year of life than in any other year. Conclusions: This paper suggests that the magnitude of grandparental coresidence is greater than previously known, particularly in early childhood. Contribution: This is the first study to calculate age-specific and cumulative probabilities of coresidence with grandparents during the whole childhood. Doing so allows us to better craft public policies and guide new research on family complexity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariana Amorim & Rachel Dunifon & Natasha Pilkauskas, 2017. "The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(52), pages 1695-1706.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:37:y:2017:i:52
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.52
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Natasha Pilkauskas & Melissa Martinson, 2014. "Three-generation family households in early childhood: Comparisons between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(60), pages 1639-1652.
    2. Christopher Wildeman, 2009. "Parental imprisonment, the prison boom, and the concentration of childhood disadvantage," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(2), pages 265-280, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kristen Jeffers & Albert Esteve & Ewa Batyra, 2024. "Non-family Living Arrangements Among Young Adults in the United States," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 40(1), pages 1-26, December.
    2. Natasha V. Pilkauskas & Mariana Amorim & Rachel E. Dunifon, 2020. "Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households in the United States: 1870–2018," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2269-2296, December.
    3. Natasha V. Pilkauskas & Christina Cross, 2018. "Beyond the Nuclear Family: Trends in Children Living in Shared Households," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2283-2297, December.
    4. Ian Lundberg & Louis Donnelly, 2019. "A Research Note on the Prevalence of Housing Eviction Among Children Born in U.S. Cities," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(1), pages 391-404, February.
    5. Hal Caswell & Lotte de Vries, 2025. "The formal demography of kinship VII: Lifetime kin overlap within and across generations," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 53(5), pages 123-174.
    6. Guarin, Angela & Costanzo, Molly, 2020. "Noncustodial fathers’ financial contributions to children in three-generation households," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    7. R. Kelly Raley & Inbar Weiss & Robert Reynolds & Shannon E. Cavanagh, 2019. "Estimating Children’s Household Instability Between Birth and Age 18 Using Longitudinal Household Roster Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(5), pages 1957-1973, October.
    8. Washington, Tyreasa & Despard, Mathieu, 2024. "Making a way out of no way: The importance of improving financial instability among African American kinship care families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    9. Peter D. Brandon & Danielle George-Lucas & Oleg Ivashchenko, 2022. "How architectural principles can help conceptualize and analyze breakups among intergenerational households," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Guarin, Angela, 2021. "Three-generation households in the U.S.: The first exit after a child’s birth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    11. Lawrence Berger & Maria Cancian & Marcia J. Carlson & Daniel R. Meyer & Quentin Riser & Nora Cate Schaeffer, 2024. "Defining the ‘Resource Unit’ for Poverty Measurement in Complex Contemporary Households: It’s Complicated," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-30, April.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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