Living Arrangements of Single Parents and Their Children in South Korea

As the divorce rate in South Korea increases, an increasing proportion of children are growing up in single-parent families. Given the limited public support and disadvantages for women in the labor market, it is expected that single parents in Korea, single mothers in particular, are more likely to use family ties to mitigate economic and social difficulties, including the option to live with their parents. We assessed the living arrangements of single parents and their children with respect to co-residence with the grandparents of the children using samples from the 2010 Korean Census and the Program for International Student Assessment conducted in 2009. We found that a fairly small proportion of single mothers live with their parents and that the prevalence of co-residence with parents among both single mothers and single fathers was relatively low in Korea compared with Japan and Taiwan. We also found that single parents with a higher level of education are more likely to live with their parents than those with less education, which contrasts with the pattern found in the United States. We discuss the implications of our findings in contemporary Korea, which has traditionally been regarded as a country with strong family ties.     

Tradition and Change in Vietnamese Family Structure in the Red River Delta

One of the key features of Vietnamese family organization is patrilocality—the preference of married couples to coreside with the husband's parents. With data drawn from a retrospective survey of persons in 1,855 households in the largest province in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam, we found that more than 75% of married respondents reported having lived with the grooms' family after marriage. The proportion of newly married couples that follow the patrilocal custom appears to have increased in recent decades, although the average duration of coresidence has declined. Some aspects of modernization, especially nonagricultural occupations and later age at marriage, contribute to a lower incidence of intergenerational coresidence, but the underlying cultural preference to live with the grooms' parents immediately after marriage appears to have become stronger in Vietnam. In contrast to some features of traditional family life that conflict with modernity, intergenerational coresidence can be quite functional in modernizing societies.     

Intergenerational Coresidence Among Small Farmers in Brazilian Amazônia

This article examines intergenerational coresidence among rural farm families near Santarém, Pará, Brazil using survey data collected by the authors on 896 children whose parents live in 175 households on 150 farms. Married adult children, daughters, and the best educated are more likely to live off their parents’ rural property (vs. on the property). Results support arguments that coresidence results from the interests of children rather than the control that parents exert over children. These results have implications for our understanding of intergenerational relations in the developing world and for the future development of similar areas.     

Generational Differences in Orientations to Coresidence in Chongju,South Korea

This study examines generational differences by assessing the advantages and disadvantages of intergenerational coresidence in Chongju, South Korea. In the past, it was traditional for the elderly to live with the eldest son. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have contributed to changing gender roles and living arrangements, and new values promote daughters sharing filial responsibilities with their brothers. To explore the perceived benefits and costs of coresidence, 50 intergenerational households were studied. Interviews about attitudes toward living in an extended family arrangement were conducted among the mothers and daughters-in-law in the 50 intergenerational households. Two separate regressions, one analyzing mothers and one analyzing daughters-in-law, were performed. The older generation reported more benefits and fewer costs than the younger generation, although the regression analyses for mothers' satisfaction was not statistically significant. The results are interested in the context of exchange theory. The results have implication for social welfare and housing policy in South Korea.     

The Legacy of Leaving Home: Long‐Term Effects of Coresidence on Parent – Child Relationships

This study investigated how early, “on‐time,” and late home leavers differed in their relations to parents in later life. A life course perspective suggested different pathways by which the time spent in the parental home may set the stage for intergenerational solidarity in aging families. Using fixed‐effects models with data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 14,739 parent – child dyads), the author assessed the effects of previous coresidence on intergenerational proximity, contact frequency, and support exchange more than 5 years after children had left home. The results indicated that, compared with siblings who moved out “on time,” late home leavers lived closer to their aging parents, maintained more frequent contact, and were more likely to be providers as well as receivers of intergenerational support. Overall, this evidence paints a positive picture of extended coresidence, revealing its potential to promote intergenerational solidarity across the life course.     

Parent–Child Coresidence: Who Moves in With Whom and for Whose Needs?

Using administrative data on all adult children living in The Netherlands age 30–40 and their parents (N = 1,999,700), we investigated the extent to which situations and events associated with the support needs and privacy needs of either generation determine intergenerational coresidence and the transition to coresidence. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that both generations' support needs increased the likelihood of coresidence and of a move of the generation in need into the other's home. Turning to privacy needs, we found that coresidence and the transition to coresidence was less likely when a partner or stepparent was present and more likely when the adult child was a never‐married single parent.     

Family Characteristics and Mate Selection: Evidence From Computer‐Assisted Dating in Japan

Research on mate selection rarely considers singles' preferences for their future partners' family configurations and experiences. Using online dating records from a matchmaking agency in Japan, a society with a strong emphasis on family and kinship, we examine how singles' responses to date requests correspond to potential mates' family circumstances. Results showed that singles' preferences for potential partners' family characteristics stem from a concern about future obligations toward the partner's family and stereotypes associated with certain family traits. Singles are less likely to accept requests from those from large families, which are seen as traditional. Being from a large family, however, hampers individuals' dating chances more if they are firstborn and have no brothers, two conditions that make them the designated child to care for elderly parents. We also find that Japanese singles seek partners with more of the universally valued family traits rather than traits similar to their own.     

Intergenerational Coresidence and Family Transitions in the United States, 1850 - 1880

This study uses a new source of linked census data (N = 6,734) to test theories proposed to explain the high intergenerational coresidence in 19th‐century America. Was it a system of support for dependent elderly, or did it reflect intergenerational interdependence? I focus on transitions from middle age to old age, and I assess key predictors of family transitions, including widowhood, retirement, disability, migration, and wealth. The results show that adverse events precipitated changes in the headship of intergenerational families but did not increase the likelihood of residing in an intergenerational family. The findings suggest that 19th‐century intergenerational coresidence was not principally a means of old‐age support; more often, probably, there was a reciprocal relationship between generations.     

Parents' Coresidence With Adult Children: Can Immigration Explain Racial and Ethnic Variation?

There is considerable racial and ethnic variation in the prevalence of intergenerational coresidence in the United States. Using data from the Current Population Surveys, we demonstrate that much of this is attributable to recent immigration and the relative economic position of immigrant parents. Multinomial logistic regression results reveal that recent immigrant parents, particularly Asian and Central and South American immigrant parents, are more likely to live in households in which their adult children provide most of the household income. The likelihood of living in this “dependent” role decreases with duration of residence in the United States. The likelihood of living in an intergenerational household in which the parent provides the majority of the household income is not as tied to nativity.     

Single Motherhood and Children's Health and School Performance in Japan

This article examines the well-being of Japanese children in single-mother families relative to children living with both parents. Using data from three rounds of the National Survey of Households with Children, I first demonstrate that single mothers report their children to have significantly worse health and lower academic performance. I then estimate regression models to assess the extent to which these differences reflect single mothers’ economic disadvantage, difficult work circumstances, and worse health and experience of stressful life events. Results indicate that economic disadvantage is particularly important for understanding lower levels of well-being among the children of single mothers. I conclude by discussing potential implications of these results for linkages between family behavior and inequality in Japan and for the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.     

Single Motherhood,Living Arrangements,and Time With Children in Japan

The authors examined relationships between single parenthood and mothers' time with children in Japan. Using data from the 2011 National Survey of Households with Children (N = 1,926), they first demonstrate that time spent with children and the frequency of shared dinners are significantly lower for single mothers than for their married counterparts. For single mothers living alone, less time with children reflects long work hours and work‐related stress. Single mothers coresiding with parents spend less time with children and eat dinner together less frequently than either married mothers or their unmarried counterparts not living with parents, net of (grand)parental support, work hours, income, and stress. The findings suggest that rising divorce rates and associated growth in single‐mother families may have a detrimental impact on parents' time with children in Japan and that the relatively high prevalence of intergenerational coresidence among single mothers may do little to temper this impact.     

Exploring Nonnormative Coresidence in Urban China: Living With Wives’ Parents

We model histories between two cohorts of urban Chinese couples (N = 1,191) of a rarely studied living arrangement—coresidence with the wife's parents—using a dynamic life history analysis in contrast to previous cross‐sectional studies of coresidence. We examine patterns of entry into and exit from coresidence with the wife's parents, comparing the predictive power of modernization theory to the effect of demographic change and the resources and needs of each generation. Given China's well‐known patrilineal family system, we find a surprisingly high number of couples ever residing nonnormatively, and significant differences between cohorts in what determines the pattern of coresidence. Resources and needs that reflect conscious choices to coreside most strongly influence nonnormative coresidence. Its importance may increase as the children of the One‐Child Family Policy grow up and marry.     

Coresidence With Elderly Parents: A Comparative Study of Southeast China and Taiwan

Using recent survey data from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) on 1,655 married persons born in 1964-1976 in southeastern China and Taiwan, we studied coresidence with elderly parents using a multinomial probit model for coresidence type and an ordered probit model for residential distance. The study yielded four findings: (a) Patrilocal coresidence was more prevalent in Taiwan than in China; (b) matrilocal coresidence was more prevalent in China; (c) practical factors mattered in both places; (d) in Taiwan only, a couple's economic resources facilitated breaking away from patrilocal coresidence. The findings suggest that, although economic development does not necessarily result in less traditional familial culture, personal economic resources may enable individual couples to deviate from tradition.     

Geographic distance and intergenerational relationships in Chinese migrant families

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effect of adult Chinese migrants’ geographic distance from home on their intergenerational relationships with parents who remain behind. We compared monetary and family care support as well as emotional relationships among four parent-child groups: older adults and international migrant children, older adults and internal migrant children (who migrated to other cities in China), older adults and coresiding children, and older adults and local children (living in the same city as their parents). Data were derived from 332 older adults in Beijing, China, with at least one child who migrated to another country or city. Results from chi-square tests, anaylsis of variance (ANOVA) tests, and regression analyses indicate that international and internal migrant children maintain similar intergenerational relationships with their parents, and that both of those groups are less likely than coresiding and local children to have family care exchanges and emotionally close relationships with their parents. The results may help professionals develop supportive services and policies for older adults in migrant families.     

Intergenerationale Fertilitätstransmission in Ost- und Westdeutschland

This study addresses intergenerational fertility transmission: How similar is the fertility behavior of parents and their children? I first discuss the implications of intergenerational fertility transmission for population development and review prominent theoretical mechanisms of fertility transmission. Using data from the German National Education Panel (NEPS), fertility transmission in East and West Germany is compared with fertility correlations and quantile regression models for count data. For the analysis cohorts (1944–66) we find relatively strong fertility transmission in West Germany but no effect in East Germany. In West Germany the impact of parents’ fertility is particularly strong in small and in large families. In line with previous research, the results support that intergenerational fertility transmission is stronger in liberal democratic societies compared with regulative restrictive regimes, such as the communist East. The article concludes that the intergenerational continuity in fertility that is usually found in developed societies was disrupted by the regulative communist regime in East Germany. Fertility in one generation therefore is generated at the intersection of family internal dynamics and macro-structural contexts.     

Do Young Mothers and Fathers Differ in the Likelihood of Returning Home?

Building on research examining “boomerang” adult children, the author examines multigenerational living among young parents. Returning home likely differs between young mothers and fathers given variation in socioeconomic characteristics, health and risk taking, their own children's coresidence, and union stability. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), the author finds that more than 40% of young parents (n = 2,721) live with their own parents at their first child's birth or subsequently. Mothers are generally less likely to move home than fathers but only when not controlling for child coresidence and union stability. Individuals who live with all their children are less likely to return home, and controlling for child coresidence reverses gender differences, though this association disappears in the full model. Young parents who are stably single and those who experience dissolution are highly likely to return home compared to the stably partnered, with the association significantly stronger for fathers than mothers.     

Residential Location and Proximity to Children Among Impaired Elderly Parents1

Abstract The availability of adult children as potential caregivers is particularly critical to the rural elderly because of the dearth of health and human services in rural areas. This paper analyzes proximity to adult children among a large sample of older persons with some degree of functional impairment, employing four residence categories and two indicators of proximity: coresidence with a child, and residence within a half-hour's travel time. Results show that older residents of large cities are most likely to live with children and that large-city and farm residents are more likely than small-city or rural nonfarm residents to live near children. Implications regarding the potential for family caregiving for the impaired elderly are discussed.     

Gay and Lesbian Adults' Relationship With Parents in Germany

Despite a rapid expansion of research on gay and lesbian family issues, a comprehensive account of intergenerational family relationships for a population‐based sample of adult homosexual children is still lacking. Using more than 7,500 baseline interviews from the German Family Panel (pairfam), this study aimed to fill this gap. The authors analyzed nationally representative data for 2 cohorts (born in 1971–1973 and 1981–1983, respectively) with regard to 5 outcome variables: (a) emotional closeness, (b) contacts, (c) geographic proximity, (d) conflicts, and (e) ambivalence. They found indications of modestly lower levels of emotional closeness to both parents as well as evidence for less frequent contacts of homosexual children with their fathers. Overall, however, the results suggest that adult gay and lesbian children's relations to parents do not differ substantially from those observed among their heterosexual counterparts. The article concludes with a discussion of limitations and potentials for future research.     

East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions

Stigmatization is a culturally widespread social justice challenge with broad implications for the development of children. This study examines the reflections of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on how stigma affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities and how they respond to these challenges. We conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all four cultural groups characterized the development of collaborative relationships with parents as critical to supporting the school success of children with disabilities. They also described challenges posed by stigmatization to those relationships, and solutions to those challenges. Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and expressed empathy to parents responding to stigmatization. South Korean educators avoided openly indicating children's struggles to parents, but provided them with education about disabilities to counter misperceptions. Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress due to stigmatization, and concealed their own negative emotional responses to such displays. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses to children's struggles. The perspectives of educators from diverse contexts can be used to identify cultural blind spots, and develop effective culture- and stigma-sensitive strategies to build relationships with parents to better support children with disabilities.     

Impact of Globalization on Social Mobility in Japan and Korea: Focusing on Middle Classes in Fluid Societies*

Abstract: We argue that the social mobility of the Japanese middle classes is becoming closer to that of their Korean counterparts thanks to their increasing exposure to globalization. Globalization upsets the balance between transaction costs and opportunity costs of Japanese economic institutions such as Japanese management practices and the long‐term relationship between the principal contractor and its subcontractors (the shitauke relationship). As a result, it makes social mobility of the new and old middle classes, which have been protected by such institutions, more fluid. Thus we make this argument based on the assumption that the Korean middle classes have already been exposed to globalization and thus are more mobile than their Japanese counterparts. Then we test its empirical validity by analyzing absolute and relative mobility of the middle classes in the two societies with national representative data sets assembled in Japan in 1975, 1985 and 1995 and in Korea in 1990. The results of the analysis show: (1) that the Korean middle classes are more fluid than their Japanese counterparts; and (2) that globalization has affected the social mobility of the old middle class much more than that of the new middle class in Japan. The second finding implies that Japanese management customs that have protected a certain portion of the new middle class are less affected by globalization than the institutions that have protected the old middle class. In other words, the practices have a stronger inertia of institution.