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Three-generation family households in early childhood: Comparisons between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia

Author

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  • Natasha Pilkauskas

    (University of Michigan)

  • Melissa Martinson

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

Background: Shifting demographic trends in the United States (US) have resulted in increasing numbers of three-generation family households, where a child lives with a parent(s) and grandparent(s). Although similar demographic trends have been occurring in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia, very little research has studied three-generation coresidence in these countries and no research has documented trends cross-nationally. Objective: We investigate differences in the rates of three-generation coresidence in early childhood cross-nationally. Methods: This study uses three longitudinal birth cohort studies to investigate cross-national differences in three-generation coresidence in early childhood: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort for the US, the Millennium Cohort Study for the UK, and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children - Birth Cohort. Results: We find that nearly one-quarter of US children live in a three-generation household during early childhood, compared to 8% of children in the UK and 11% in Australia. Although there are large differences in the frequency of coresidence cross-nationally, we find that similar demographic groups live in three-generation households across contexts. In general, younger, less educated, lower income, and minority mothers are more likely to live in three-generation households in all three countries.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:60
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.60
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Chapman & Mirkka Danielsbacka & Antti O Tanskanen & Mirkka Lahdenperä & Jenni Pettay & Virpi Lummaa, 2023. "Grandparental co-residence and grandchild survival: the role of resource competition in a pre-industrial population," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(3), pages 446-456.
    2. Peter D. Brandon & Danielle George-Lucas & Oleg Ivashchenko, 2022. "How architectural principles can help conceptualize and analyze breakups among intergenerational households," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Jingying He & Jia Wang, 2021. "When Does It Matter? The Effect of Three-generational Household Arrangement on Children’s Well-Being across Developmental Stages," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2471-2493, December.
    4. Haenim Lee, 2023. "Determinants of Living in a Three-Generation Household among Adolescents of Ethnic Groups in the U.S.: Family Structure, Social–Economic Status, and Cultural Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-10, July.
    5. Patty Doran & Paul Bradshaw & Susan Morton & El-Shadan Tautolo & James Williams & Chris Cunningham, 2020. "Growing up Healthy in Families Across the Globe: Cross-Cultural Harmonisation of Childhood Risk-Factors Using Longitudinal Studies from Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 1921-1935, December.
    6. Anna Bartczak & Wiktor Budziński & Susan Chilton & Rebecca McDonald & Jytte Seested Nielsen, 2021. "Altruism and efficient allocations in three-generation households," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 113-135, April.
    7. Jan E. Mutchler & Nidya Velasco Roldán, 2023. "Economic Resources Shaping Grandparent Responsibility Within Three-Generation Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 461-472, June.
    8. Elizabeth Anne Bardoel & Robert Drago, 2016. "Lifetime probabilities of multigenerational caregiving and labor force attachment in Australia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(52), pages 1537-1548.
    9. 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.
    10. Nina A. Stoddard-Bennett & Jordan Coburn & Mikaela J. Dufur & Jonathan A. Jarvis & Shana L. Pribesh, 2023. "Family Structure and Child Behavior Problems in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-24, January.
    11. Rachel Margolis & Ashton M. Verdery, 2019. "A Cohort Perspective on the Demography of Grandparenthood: Past, Present, and Future Changes in Race and Sex Disparities in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1495-1518, August.
    12. Mirkka Danielsbacka & Lenka Křenková & Antti O. Tanskanen, 2022. "Grandparenting, health, and well-being: a systematic literature review," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 341-368, September.
    13. Xinpei Xu & Lihong Song & Xiaoyun Li & Yan Li, 2022. "The Impact of Mothers’ Perceived Unsupportive Intergenerational Co-Parenting on Children’s Social Competence: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. 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.
    15. Antti O. Tanskanen & Mirkka Danielsbacka, 2017. "Association Between Grandparental Co-Residence and Early Childhood Injury in the UK," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(3), pages 825-837, September.
    16. Harkness, Susan, 2022. "The accumulation of disadvantage: how motherhood and relationship breakdown influence married and single mothers’ economic outcomes," ISER Working Paper Series 2022-03, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Ian Lundberg, 2020. "Does Opportunity Skip Generations? Reassessing Evidence From Sibling and Cousin Correlations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1193-1213, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    early childhood; grandparents; coresidence; cross-national research; multigenerational households;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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