Increases in Multi-generational Households are Trending

A new article in the American Society on Aging  just published is an interesting look at how the composition of households is changing. A resurgence of multi-generational living is creating more options for care for aging relatives, as well as much needed child care for the increase in working women.

Interesting to see how the effects of children staying home longer before launching their own careers and families, adult children assuming more responsibility for aging relatives, and the mix in our society’s diverse cultures are all having impacts, not before predicted.

Aging and home care, or long term care, will be changed by these trends.  There are lots of reasons for this shift, but an excerpt from the article states it best, “There are a number of factors that explain the increase in America’s multigenerational households: immigration; the delayed marriage pattern; longer life expectancy; the housing crisis; “boomerang” youth; women entering the workforce; and the effects of the recession.

As America’s race and ethnicity demographics have changed, in part because of increases in immigration since the 1970s, we see more multicultural families with cultural norms of multigenerational living. According to the Pew Research Center, in the United States, 25% of Asians, 23% of African Americans and 22% of Hispanics live in multigenerational homes, in contrast with 13% of whites.”

As we consult with home care agencies and aging care businesses around the US, we are seeing shifts in how families buy services, what services they buy, and when they start thinking about and contracting for services. Wel, it is certainly never dull in a society that is changing as rapidly as ours.