More Americans live in multigenerational households; 33% since 1980

[jimmy olsen]

America is becoming Italianized!


http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-18-pewmultigens18_ST_N.htm

More Americans live with multiple generations of family

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY
More people than ever before are bunked together in multigenerational households across the USA as a record 49 million (16.1% of the population) share close quarters either permanently or temporarily, a report today by the Pew Research Center shows.

Since 1980, the share of Americans living in such households jumped 33%. That represents a sharp reversal from earlier recent trends in which children grew up, left home and didn't return except for a visit, and grandparents retired to sunny spots or stayed put in their own homes.


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From 1940 to 1980, Pew found that the proportion of people living in multigenerational households had declined by more than half — from 25% in 1940 to 12% in 1980.

"Our cultural norms shifted," says Paul Taylor, director of Pew's Social & Demographic Trends project, which analyzed Census data as well as its own surveys for the report.

The new growth, Pew says, is a byproduct of various factors — such as momentary high unemployment, mounting numbers of home foreclosures and demographic changes such as increased immigrants in the population and the rising median age of first marriage.

About one in five Americans 25-34 and one in five of those 65 and older live in households in which at least two adult generations, or a grandparent and at least one other generation, share the same roof, Pew found.

The struggling economy most definitely accelerated the trend. Pew found that from 2007 to 2008, the number of Americans living in a multigenerationalfamily household grew by 2.6 million.

And since last year, President Obama's family also made the trend chic as Marian Robinson, the president's mother-in-law, moved into the White House, creating a multigenerational first family.

Generations United, a national organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on intergenerational programs and policies, has seen soaring numbers of people downloading the website's fact sheet about multigenerational households.

The economy has taken a toll on retirees, forcing many to move in with adult children, says Donna Butts, the group's executive director.

"Older people who had planned for a comfortable retirement lost a pretty serious chunk of their capital and don't have the potential to earn it back the way somebody in their 50s can," she says.

And, Butts says, the retirement community approach to life is not as popular as it once was.

"We don't think it's healthy for older adults to just live with older adults," Butts says. "All they do is talk about who's died, what hurts and what medication they're on."
 

[Martinus]

Tim, you are an idiot. This is not the same as the Italian phenomenon (which is about young guys living with their parents and not starting families or getting jobs, not about multigenerational households), and is in fact a rather positive thing in terms of social cohesion and e.g. reducing young parents' anxiety.

I know we often say that you should comment on the articles you post, but when you do, it just shows what retard you are, so maybe you shouldn't.

[Martinus]

For the record, "multi-generational" means "more than 2 generations", it doesn't mean two generations (like in Italy). God, Tim so fucking annoys me with his idiocy.

[jimmy olsen]

Tim, you are an idiot. This is not the same as the Italian phenomenon (which is about young guys living with their parents and not starting families or getting jobs, not about multigenerational households), and is in fact a rather positive thing in terms of social cohesion and e.g. reducing young parents' anxiety.

I know we often say that you should comment on the articles you post, but when you do, it just shows what retard you are, so maybe you shouldn't.

If you took that as serious commentary you need to get a grip.

[Jaron]

And you need to get a clue.

[Brazen]

momentary high unemployment

[Caliga]

  I like where this thread is going.

[Grey Fox]

Yes. Houses are expensive, ya know.

@ Marti : Grand-ma, mommy, kid = 3 Generations.

[Valmy]

Good.  The nuclear family is an unrealistic model these days.  Families and friends need to have each others' backs.

[Martinus]

Yes. Houses are expensive, ya know.

@ Marti : Grand-ma, mommy, kid = 3 Generations.

Exactly. As opposed to an adult son living with parents = 2 Generations.

[Brazen]

For the record, "multi-generational" means "more than 2 generations", it doesn't mean two generations (like in Italy). God, Tim so fucking annoys me with his idiocy.

I hate to be a language pedant... actually, no, I love it...but "multi-" is a prefix based on "multiple", which means simple more than one (not more than two).

[Martinus]

For the record, "multi-generational" means "more than 2 generations", it doesn't mean two generations (like in Italy). God, Tim so fucking annoys me with his idiocy.

I hate to be a language pedant... actually, no, I love it...but "multi-" is a prefix based on "multiple", which means simple more than one (not more than two).

Well perhaps in terms of the word's etymology, but for the term "multi-generational" to have any meaningful usage, it has to apply to more than two, because a standard family household (parents and kids) is two-generational, so such households propping up would be no news at all.

[Brazen]

For the record, "multi-generational" means "more than 2 generations", it doesn't mean two generations (like in Italy). God, Tim so fucking annoys me with his idiocy.

I hate to be a language pedant... actually, no, I love it...but "multi-" is a prefix based on "multiple", which means simple more than one (not more than two).

Well perhaps in terms of the word's etymology, but for the term "multi-generational" to have any meaningful usage, it has to apply to more than two, because a standard family household (parents and kids) is two-generational, so such households propping up would be no news at all.

No, the article is clearly referring to adult children living at home, cf "at least two adult generations".

[Faeelin]

Good.  The nuclear family is an unrealistic model these days.  Families and friends need to have each others' backs.

Eh. I would argue that's a sign we need to figure out why we're poorer than our ancestors.

[HVC]

Good.  The nuclear family is an unrealistic model these days.  Families and friends need to have each others' backs.

Eh. I would argue that's a sign we need to figure out why we're poorer than our ancestors.

We want more stuff then they did.