Determinants of Parent-Child Coresidence among Older Mexican Parents: The Salience of Cultural Values

Abstract

The absence of direct empirical study of cultural values represents an important but neglected area of study. The results of this study highlight the importance of cultural values in shaping coresidence between older Mexican American parents and their adult children. This study examined the coresidence patterns of 2,058 Mexican parents age sixty-five and older. Logistic analyses estimated the impact and relative contribution of a direct measure of cultural values along with socioeconomic resources, parental needs, child network characteristics, and English proficiency. These data indicate that when older Mexican parents are examined separately, their tendency to coreside with adult children is more firmly grounded in cultural values than economic necessity. Analyses lend support to the significance of both cultural values and income but find that income is a positive predictor of coresidence and thus may serve to enable persons to act on cultural family and support values. Data also suggest that adult children may benefit a great deal from parent-child coresidence in later life. Greater daily living assistance needs, having a spouse, and greater number of children are also positive determinants of coresidence.