How Intergenerational Coresidences Dissolve: Does the Difference at Their Origins Matter?

Yiduo Zhang, Johns Hopkins University

The pattern and determinants of the dissolution of intergenerational coresidence for older Americans has not received specific attention, leaving a blurred image of the last several years of life course. Using data from Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this study will address the question of whether variance in origins of intergenerational coresidence involving older parents (70+) and their adult children is related to the risk of their dissolution and what happens to the older parents thereafter. The different types of coresidence are defined as (1) older parents and children who always live together (2) coresidences to help older parents; (3) to help adult children; and (4) to help both. The differences among the types of coresidence have been recently noticed by Choi (2003), however, their impacts on dissolution of coresidence have not been closely studied.