Trends in multi-generational family patterns -growing numbers of both end carers?

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Trends in multi-generational family patterns -growing numbers of both end carers?"

Alvin Stephens
5 years ago
Views:

1 Trends in multi-generational family patterns -growing numbers of both end carers? Emma Lundholm Gunnar Malmberg Anna Pettersson Ageing and Living Conditions Centre for Population Studies Umeå University

Multigenerational family structures 55-year-olds potentially: From The Times August 26, 2008 Carers for elderly parents Meet the supergrandparents Carers for grandchildren For people with ageing

2 Multigenerational family structures 55-year-olds potentially: From The Times August 26, 2008 Carers for elderly parents Meet the supergrandparents Carers for grandchildren For people with ageing parents and grandchildren to Family structure look after Both-end-carers? - a group known as the both-end carers - retirement is anything but restful Geographical distance Research questions: To what extent do people have grandchildren and elderly parents at age 55? To what extent do Grandparents grandchildren Hugh Janet Bostock and with parents their grandchildren live Grace, within Joe, Frank, Ed daily and Ruth reach? Naomi Westland When Janet Bostock retired in 2006 she was looking forward to spending more time with her two grandchildren, playing more tennis and getting an allotment. Has the multigenerational family patterns changed between 1990 and 2005? Two years and three more grandchildren later, she spends two days a week looking after them, and much of the rest of her time looking after her 97-year-old mother. Recently she has also been trying to fit in some paid gardening work. Is the pattern similar for people of high and low education? Janet, 63, is one of the 3.5 million grandparents in the UK whose mother or father is still alive. Last week, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of over-80s in Britain has doubled over the past three decades to 2.7 million. This increased life expectancy, and rising numbers of families with two working parents, has left many of today's grandparents squeezed from all sides. According to a study of people in their fifties and sixties by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, one in ten now care for their grandchildren as well as their own elderly parents. The need to top up pensions with part-time jobs only adds to the pressure. What role does intergenerational spacing and increased longevity have for changes in multigenerational family structures over time?

3 All 55-year-olds in Sweden Year of birth Age at first birth Civil status Geographical location Mother Father Civil status Geographical location Sex Education level Income 55- year old (1,200,000) Year of birth Civil status Geographical location Sex Education level Age at first birth Child 1 Child 2 Child 3 Child 4 Child 5 Grandchildren (number) Grandchildren (number) Grandchildren (number) Grandchildren Grandchildren (number) (number)

4 Percent of 55-year olds that have a living parent and/or grandchild Parents Grandchildren Parent and grandchild Childless

5 Share of 55 year olds having an adult child >age 25 and grandchildren 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% child>25/no grandchild child>25/grandchild no child>25/grandchild no child>25/no grandchild

6 Family structures % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% one generation two generations child three generations child+grandchild two generations parent three generations parent+child four generations

7 80% Percent of 55-year olds that have a living parent and/or grandchild (education level) 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Low educ level/parent Low educ level/grandchild Low educ level/four gen High educ level/parent High educ. Level/grandchild HIgh educ level/four gen

8 Percentage who have their family members within 50 km 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% grandchild parent parent and grandchild adult child

9 Percentage who have their first born child within 50 km 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% no grandchild grandchild

10 Results from logistic regression: dependant variable: 1=living<50 kilometres from first born child Mother (0=father) Married/cohabitant (0=single) High education (0=low education) Daughter (0=son) Only child (0=siblings) Childs age (continous) Grandchild (0=no grandchild) Child single parent (0=child married/cohabitant) Child High education (0=child low education) Year (continous) B Std. Error 0.303*** (0.004) 0.302*** (0.004) *** (0.005) *** (0.004) 0.044*** (0.005) *** (0.001) 0.129*** (0.005) 0.181*** (0.013) *** (0.004) 0.002*** (0.000) Constant *** (0.915)

11 Conclusions: Grandparenthood has become increasingly rare among 55 year olds Both end carers are therefore less common, despite more 55 year olds having living parents The main explanation is longer intergenerational spacing between the 55 year olds children and grandchildren no reason to assume that it will be an increasing phenomenon The incidence of grandparenthood is lower among high educated The majority lives within daily reach of their kin The geographical proximity is fairly stable over the time period studied

Figure 1a. Top 1% income share: China vs USA vs France

22% 20% 18% 16% Figure 1a. Top 1% income share: China vs USA vs China USA 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 Distribution of pretax national income (before taxes and