Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biologically Childless Women 60+ Often Live in Extended Family Households in Latin America

  • BRIEF REPORT
  • Published:
Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. With 0 or Unknown Children Ever Born

  2. Subsequent historical research suggests that before colonization, polygamy may have been practiced among wealthy people in certain areas of Latin America (Bernand and Gruzinski 1996).

  3. An argument could well be made that differences are more a matter of degree along a continuum than a simple dichotomy. For instance, when reflecting on the situation in three presumably Northern societies Stehouwer observed:

    For example, we find that … older persons in Denmark seem to get less help from children and give less help to children than older people in Britain and in the United States. These differences are so marked that they cannot be due to possible differences in the approach used by the interviewers or to the older person’s interpretation of the questions. … Meanwhile, in the absence of complete data some tentative explanations of cross-national similarities and differences must be sought in the cultural and institutional background of each of the three countries. (1968: 182)

  4. Data came from the University of Minnesota’s International IPUMS project (https://internal.impums.org/international) which in turn obtained the data from Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses; Brazil’s Institute of Geography and Statistics; Chile’s National Institute of Statistics; Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics; Costa Rica’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses; Ecuador’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses; Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Informatics; and Venezuela’s National Institute of Statistics.

    Censuses were of both the de hecho and de jure kind while “household” (familia) was defined in slightly different ways (such as eating together or sharing a common budget). None of this makes any practical difference (see Appendix in De Vos 1995).

    Some of the data are of questionable quality and the resulting findings thus rather tentative. For instance, according to the Census figures used here, the proportion of elderly women who were biologically childless in 1990 in Venezuela was 18.9 %, 9.1 % reporting 0 Children Ever Born and an additional 9.8 % not reporting anything. Similarly, the proportion of elderly women reporting 0 Children Ever Born in Ecuador was 11.9 % with an additional 6.4 % not reporting anything; the figures for Colombia in 1993 were 6.6 and 7.0 percent. It still made sense to include the data sets but to also note their tentative quality.

  5. Some censuses automatically considered “unknown” to be zero, did not have a separate category for “unknown,” and did not provide the researcher the option of separating “unknowns” from zero. So we had to apply that definition everywhere to be comparable.

    In addition, as part of a larger (future) study considering socio-economic determinants of the living arrangements of biologically childless elderly women, we also concentrate on those who live in private households (almost everyone).

  6. Marital status here includes informal marriage as reported in the census.

References

  • Ambler, K. (2011). Bargaining with grandma: The impact of the South African pension on household decision making. Research Report, Report 11–741. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan (retrieved from http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/abs/7307).

  • Bernand, C., & Gruzinski, S. (1996). Children of the apocalypse: The family in Meso-America and the Andes. In A. Burguiére, C. Klapisch-Zuber, M. Segalen, & Z. Françoise (Eds.), A History of the Family Volume II: The Impact of Modernity (pp. 161–215). Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengtson, V., Rosenthal, C., & Burton, L. (1990). Families and aging: Diversity and heterogeneity. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (3rd ed., pp. 263–287). San Diego, New York, Berkeley, Boston: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonturi, M. (2002). The Brazilian pension system: Recent reforms and challenges ahead. (OECD, Economics Department Working Papers No. 340).

  • Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jürges, H., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J., Weber, G., et al. (2005). First results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Mannheim: Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (Retrieved from http://www.share-project.org/uploads/tx_sharepublications/SHARE_FirstResultsBookWave1.pdf).

    Google Scholar 

  • Burch, T. K., & Matthews, B. J. (1987). Household formation in developed societies. Population and Development Review, 13, 495–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connidis, I. A. (2012). Family ties & aging (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: SAGE Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connidis, I. A., & McMullin, J. A. (2002). Sociological ambivalence and family ties: a critical perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 558–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K., & Blake, J. (1956). Social structure and fertility: an analytical framework. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 4, 211–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Vos, S. M. (1995). Household Composition in Latin America. New York: Plenum Publishing.

  • De Vos, S. (2004). Revisiting the classification of household composition among elderly people. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 19, 135–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dykstra, P. A. (2009). Childless old age. In P. Uhlenberg (Ed.), International handbook of population aging (pp. 671–690). The Hague: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dykstra, P. A., & Hagestad, G. O. (2007). Roads less taken: developing a nuanced view of older adults without children. Journal Of Family Issues, 28, 1275–1310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fokkema, T., ter Bekke, S., & Dykstra, P. A. (2008). Solidarity between parents and their adult children in Europe (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute No. Report 76). Amsterdam: KNAW Press | Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelman, C. R. (2014). Caregiving of Latinos with Alzheimer’s disease. Research on Aging, 26, 40–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, K., Tomassini, C., & Grundy, E. (2004). Revisiting convergence and divergence: support for older people in Europe. European Journal of Ageing, 1, 64–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goode, W. J. (1963). World revolution and family patterns. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haber, C. (2006). Old age through the lens of family history. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (4th ed., pp. 59–75). Amsterdam, Boston: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hajnal, J. (1965). European marriage patterns in perspective. In D. Glass & D. E. C. Eversley (Eds.), Population in History: Essays in Historical Demography (pp. 101–143). London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammel, E., & Laslett, P. (1974). Comparing household structure over time and between cultures. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 16, 73–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hank, K., & Wagner, M. (2013). Parenthood, marital status, and well-being in later life: Evidence from SHARE. Social Indicators Research, 114, 639–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hareven, T. K., & Uhlenberg, P. (1995). Transition to widowhood and family support systems in the twentieth century, northeastern United States. In D. I. Kertzer & P. Laslett (Eds.), Aging in the past: Demography, society and old age (pp. 274–301). Berkeley, London: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayford, S. R. (2013). Marriage (still) matters: the contribution of demographic change to trends in childlessness in the United States. Demography, 50, 1641–1661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Höllinger, F., & Haller, M. (1990). Kinship and social networks in modern societies: a cross-cultural comparison among seven nations. European Sociological Review, 6, 103–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingoldsby, B. B. (1991). The Latin American family: familism vs. Machismo. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 22, 57–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • John, R., Resendiz, R., & De Vargas, L. W. (1997). Beyond familism?: Familism as explicit motive for eldercare among Mexican American caregivers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 12, 145–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. L. (1982). Sibling solidarity: its origin and functioning in Italian-American families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 44, 155–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsella, K. (2008). Global perspectives on the demography of aging. In J. Sokolovsky (Ed.), The cultural context of aging (3rd ed., pp. 13–29). Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinsella, K., & He, W. (2009). An aging world: 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau No. P95/09-1). Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohli, M., Albertini, M., & Künemund, H. (2010). Linkages among adult family generations: Evidence from comparative survey research. In P. Heady & M. Kohli (Eds.), Family, kinship and state in contemporary Europe (Vol. 3, pp. 225–248). New York, Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohli, M., Künemund, H., & Lüdicke, J. (2005). Family structure, proximity and contact. In A. Börsch-Supan, A. Brugiavini, H. Jürges, J. Mackenbach, J. Siegrist, & G. Weber, (eds.), Social and family context: Health, ageing and retirement in Europe - First Results from SHARE (Section 4.1 pp. 164–169). Retrieved 16 May 2010, from http://www.share-project.org/t3/share/index.php?id=69.

  • Kreager, P. (2004). Where are the children? In P. Kreager & E. Schröder-Butterfill (Eds.), Ageing without children (pp. 1–45). Oxford: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreager, P., & Schröder-Butterfill, E. (Eds.). (2004). Ageing without children. Oxford: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreager, P., & Schröder-Butterfill, E. (2007). Gaps in the Family Networks of Older People in Three Indonesian Communities. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 22(1), 1–27

  • Litwak, E. (1965). Extended kin relations in an industrial democratic society. In E. Shanas & G. F. Streib (Eds.), Social structure and the family: Generational relations (pp. 290–323). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

  • Litwin, H. (2010). Social networks and well-being: a comparison of older people in Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 65B, 599–608.

  • Macfarlane, A. (1980). Demographic structures and cultural regions in Europe. Cambridge Anthropology, 6, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, E. (2002). The Articulated Peasant. Boulder, CO; Oxford: Westview Press.

  • Naldini, M. (2003). The family in the Mediterranean welfare states. London, Portland: Frank Cass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nutini, H. G. (1976). Introduction: The nature and treatment of kinship in Mesoamerica. In H. G. Nutini, P. Carrasco, & J. M. Taggart (Eds.), Essays on Mexican Kinship (pp. 3–27). Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nydegger, C. N. (1983). Family ties of the aged in cross-cultural perspective. The Gerontologist, 23, 26–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poston, D. L., Jr., & Trent, K. (1982). International variability in childlessness. Journal of Family Issues, 3, 473–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reher, D. S. (1998). Family ties in western Europe: Persistent contrasts. Population and Development Review, 24, 203–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowland, D. T. (2007). Historical trends in childlessness. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 1311–1337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubinstein, R. L. (1987). Childless elderly: theoretical perspectives and practical concerns. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 2, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabogal, F., Marin, G., Otero-Sabogal, R., Marin, B. V., & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Hispanic familism and acculturation: what changes and what doesn’t? Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 397–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schröder-Butterfill, E. (2004). Adoption, Patronage and Charity: Arrangements for the Elderly Without Children in East Java. In P. Kreager & E. Schröder-Butterfill (Eds.), Ageing without children (pp. 106–146). Oxford: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segalen, M. (2010). The modern reality of kinship: Sources and significance of new kinship forms in contemporary Europe. In P. Heady & M. Kohli (Eds.), Family, kinship and state in contemporary Europe (Vol. 3, pp. 249–270). New York, Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverstein, M. (2006). Intergenerational family transfers in social context. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (4th ed., pp. 165–180). Amsterdam, Boston: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith-Morris, C., Morales-Campos, D., Alvarez, E. A. C., & Turner, M. (2013). An anthropology of familismo. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35, 35–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stehouwer, J. (1968). The household and family relations of old people. In E. Shanas, P. Townsend, D. Wedderburn, H. Firis, P. Milhoj, & J. Stehouwer (Eds.), Old people in three industrial societies (pp. 177–226). New York: Atherton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sussman, M. (1976). The family life of old people. In R. H. Binstock & E. Shanas (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 218–243). New York, Cincinnati, Toronto, London, Melbourne: D. Van Nostrand Compoany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, P. (1957). Family life of old people. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2005). Living arrangements of older persons around the world. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Viazzo, P. P. (2010). Macro-regional differences in European kinship structure. In P. Heady & M. Kohli (Eds.), Family, kinship and state in contemporary Europe (Vol. 3, pp. 271–294). New York, Frankfurt: Campus Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilmoth, J. M. (2001). Living arrangements among older immigrants in the United States. The Gerontologist, 41, 228–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zsembik, B. A. (1992). Determinants of living alone among older Hispanics. Research on Aging, 15, 449–464.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Demography of Health and Aging, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Susan De Vos

Authors
  1. Susan De Vos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan De Vos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

De Vos, S. Biologically Childless Women 60+ Often Live in Extended Family Households in Latin America. J Cross Cult Gerontol 29, 467–480 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-014-9240-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-014-9240-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation