Household Extension and Life Expectancy: Estimates of Durations of Dependency

• In Event: 1483 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 02. Social Contexts of Aging, Health, and Dying

Abstract

Objectives: This paper examines life expectancy by living arrangements for Mexican-Origin elderly individuals.
Methods: We analyze data from Waves 1-8 of Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE). We examine transitions in living arrangements from independence to dependency on care givers. We create a typology of independent and dependent living arrangements based on marital status, headship status, and household size. We look at probability of transition between different living arrangements between waves, the differences in risk of mortality among living arrangements, and estimate life expectancies in each living arrangement using the Stochastic Population for the Analysis of Complex Events (SPACE) program.
Results: State-dependent life table analysis reveal that total life expectancy does not vary by living arrangements but partial life expectancy in different states vary by initial state. Individuals who are in married spouse only household transition into single households through widowhood, extended their households by adding additional family members while maintaining headship or to death. Single households rarely transition into married households, instead transitioning into extended households by adding family members and maintaining headship, or transition into extended households in which they do not maintain headship, or to death. Extended households in which the respondent maintains headship more fluid: there are into married and spouse only homes, into single homes, or losing headship of the household. Finally, extended households where respondents do not maintain headship status rarely transition into other arrangements and more often experience death. These results suggest that living as a non-head is likely a final destination for Mexican-origin elderly adults.

Author

• Phillip Cantu, University of Texas