Beyond Household Walls: The Spatial Structure of American Extended Kinship Networks

Empty chairs at the dinner table: Black-white disparities in exposure to household member deaths

As a result of Black-White inequities in life expectancy, recent research has indicated that Black individuals are disproportionately exposed to the deaths of multiple family members compared to White individuals. Black individuals are also more likely to live in coresident households-that is, households that extend beyond the nuclear family. However, it is unclear the degree to which this population may be disproportionately exposed to the loss of deaths marked by the geographic closeness of the household. In this study, I use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to provide the first nationally representative estimates of Black-White disparities in exposure to household member deaths. I find that Black people are significantly more likely than White individuals to have experienced the death of a household member. Based on these findings, I argue the dual inequities of racial disparities in life expectancy and racial disparities in coresidence are an overlooked, salient source of racial disparities in exposure to death. By illuminating a broader range of network sources that contribute to racial inequities in exposure to death, this study sets forth a new conceptual unit of analysis-that of the household-to investigate the intergenerational reproduction of inequality in health and socioeconomic status due to exposure to death.

Internal migration following adverse life events: Assessing the likelihood of return migration and migration toward family

There are well-documented associations between life course changes and migration; yet, the occurrence, order, and timing of reasons for migrating are growing increasingly diverse. Migration following adverse life events, such as a divorce or an involuntary job loss, may be qualitatively distinct from migration undertaken for other reasons. Moves, especially long-distance moves, following adverse life events, may be defined more by seeking family and familiar locations. Moreover, a heightened probability of migration may occur not only immediately after an adverse life event but also in the years after. We explore these questions in the US context with longitudinal data from the 1983 to 2019 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which provides information on residential locations, locations of family members, and adverse life events for individuals over time. We focus on five specific events: divorce, the death of a spouse, involuntary job loss, the onset of a chronic physical health condition, and the onset of a chronic mental health condition. Using multivariate regression, we find that divorce and job loss induce long-distance moves, especially return moves and moves towards family. Chronic physical conditions deter moving in general but increase the chances of return moves (after a period of time) and moves towards family. These results have implications for understanding migration as a response to adverse life events, both immediately and over time.

Keeping kin close? Geographies of family networks by race and income, 1981-2017

Objective

This study examined changes in geographic proximity to family members among race and income groups in the United States from 1981 to 2017.

Background

Close geographic proximity to family members can facilitate mutual support and strengthen family bonds. Some scholars argue that institutional sources of support have replaced many core family functions, which might mean that households are likely to live increasingly farther away from family. Advancing technology and changing labor market opportunities might reinforce this pattern. Yet, the ongoing cultural and emotional salience of family might curtail the effects of these factors on the increasing distance to family.

Method

We conducted a quantitative analysis of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We utilized the multigenerational structure of the PSID and restricted-use geocodes to map kin proximity at every interview from 1981 to 2017. We cross-classified our sample by race and income, focusing on Black and White respondents across income quartiles (n = 171,501 person-periods).

Results

High-income White respondents showed the greatest increases in distance from kin over time, whereas proximity to kin among other race-income groups was relatively stable.

Conclusion

Proximate kin has become less central in the lives of high-income White households over time, whereas close proximity to kin has been the norm over time for other racial and income groups. These results have implications for racial and income differences in kin relations over time.

Roles, Relationships, Resources, and Renal Exchange: Applying Social Capital Theory to Role Effects on Living Kidney Donation Behaviors

Two largely separate schools of sociological theory seek to explain to whom we turn in times of need. The first argues that we turn to network members who occupy socially important roles, highlighting how support behaviors cluster in certain social roles (i.e., role effects). The second argues that we turn to network members possessing relevant resources and with whom we have strong ties. The authors unite these perspectives, examining how role effects on living kidney donation behavior are explained by role groups' endowments of situationally relevant resources and tie strength. The authors analyze two original data sets: a sample of kidney transplantation patients reporting on their social networks (n = 70 patients and 1,421 ties) and a separate sample surveying kidney disease patients' family members (n = 1,560). The authors find that role effects on living kidney donation behavior are largely explained by the conjunction of relevant resources and tie strength, which offers several key lessons for medical support-seeking research.

Communication with Kin in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study investigates patterns of communication among non-coresident kin in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the New York City Robin Hood Poverty Tracker. Over half of New Yorkers spoke to their non-coresident family members several times a week during the pandemic and nearly half increased their communication with non-coresident kin since March 2020. Siblings and extended kin proved to be especially important ties activated during the pandemic. New Yorkers were most likely to report increased communication with siblings. A quarter of respondents reported that they increased communication with at least one aunt, uncle, cousin, or other extended family member. While non-Hispanic White respondents reported the highest frequency of communication with kin, it was those groups most impacted by COVID-19 - foreign-born, Black, and Hispanic New Yorkers - who were most likely to report that they increased communication with kin in the wake of the pandemic.

Time, money, and entry into parenthood: The role of (grand)parental support

Objective

The study's objective is to understand how parental propensities to provide support, as predicted by parental characteristics, shape adult daughters' and sons' entry into parenthood in the United States.

Background

Much research explores the influence of parental support on adult children's fertility, but the evidence is mixed and primarily focuses on European contexts. Theoretical approaches suggest that to best understand how parental support shapes adult children's outcomes, it is important to account for different forms of parental support, that is, time and money, and variation in parental characteristics.

Method

This study combined different data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics: the 2013 Roster and Family Transfers module, main interview data file, and the Childbirth and Adoption History File. We implemented a two-step analysis strategy. In the first, we built two different measures of propensities to receive parental support (PPS) in the form of time and money. In the second, we used discrete-time logistic regression models to analyze the effects of these propensities to receive parental support on adult daughters' and sons' fertility.

Results

We find a positive and consistent effect of all types of PPS measures on adult daughters', but not adult sons', likelihood of entry into parenthood. The fertility decisions of adult daughters are highly responsive to the prospect of receiving parental support in the form of time or money.

Conclusions

Our results reflect the importance of informal support for women's entry into parenthood and highlight gender differences in the perceived and actual costs of becoming parents.

Exacerbating Inequalities: Social Networks, Racial/Ethnic Disparities, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

OBJECTIVES

The disruption and contraction of older adults' social networks are among the less discussed consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to provide an evidence-based commentary on racial/ethnic disparities in social network resources and draw attention to the ways in which disasters differentially affect social networks, with meaningful insight for the ongoing pandemic.

METHODS

We draw upon prior research on social networks and past natural disasters to identify major areas of network inequality. Attention is given to how pre-pandemic racial/ethnic network disparities are exacerbated during the current crisis, with implications for physical and mental health outcomes.

RESULTS

Evidence from the literature shows a robust association between strong social networks and physical and mental health outcomes. During times of crisis, access to social networks for older adults is disrupted, particularly for marginalized groups. We document pre-pandemic disparities in social networks resources and offer insight for examining the impact of COVID-19 on disrupting social networks among older adults.

DISCUSSION

Importantly, racial/ethnic disparities in social networks both prior to and as a result of the pandemic intensify existing inequalities and demonstrate the necessity of better understanding social network inequalities for marginalized older adults, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis.