Intergenerational family support processes from young adulthood through later life: Do we need a new national survey?
Issue title: Assessing the need for a new nationally representative household
panel survey in the United States
Subtitle:
Guest editors: Robert Moffitt, Robert F. Schoeni, Charles Brown, P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Mick P. Couper, Ana V. Diez-Roux, Erik Hurst and Judith A. Seltzer
Affiliations: Department of Sociology and California Center for Population Research, University of California, 264 Haines Hall, 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1551, USA. Tel.: +1 310 825 5646; Fax: +1 310 206 9838; E-mail: seltzerj@ucla.edu
Abstract: I argue that the United States needs new survey data on intergenerational
relationships in light of the dramatic demographic changes in parent-child
and couple relationships that were not anticipated when many major family
datasets were designed. Increases in nonmarital childbearing, the
instability of parents' relationships and high rates of repartnering
challenge conventional approaches to data collection on families. Large
race-ethnic and socioeconomic differences in the extent of these changes and
their impact on intergenerational support may contribute to growing
inequality. A new study must collect data on both household relationships
and relationships among family members who live apart because most U.S.
parents and adult offspring do not co-reside. The survey should obtain
information on the timing of family transitions and include multiple cohorts
to take account of differences in societal conditions that influence family
experiences. A longitudinal design would show how parent-child relationships
unfold over time and build on past histories. The paper identifies the
dimensions of intergenerational ties that should be measured and explains
why existing data cannot address the need for a new study.
Keywords: Family support, inequality, intergenerational relationships, kin networks, life course, safety net, transfers
