Latina/o Children of Immigrants Household Compositions: Membership in Single-parent and Extended Family Households

• In Event: 4412 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Latina/o/xs and Place through the Lifespan

Abstract

The wellbeing of Latina/o children of immigrants in the United States are an important concern as they come of age and are increasingly represented in early educational contexts. Household compositions, capturing the number and types of members in a household, are a focus of research since they can place children at a disadvantage. However, relatively little research considers the household compositions of Latina/o children of immigrants in a U.S. context. I compare Latina/o children of immigrants and Latina/o native-born children to White native-born children and draw on family structure theories to analyze household compositions. I utilize the 2010-2011 cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K:2011), a nationally representative sample of children. I argue that Latina/o children’s household compositions in kindergarten differ between those of White native-born children. These differences are clear when comparing Latina/o children by immigrant generation to White native-born children. Latina/o native-born children and Latina/o children of immigrants are overall more likely to belong to an extended family household than White native-born children. However, Latina/o children’s membership in an extended household varies by immigrant generation. Similarly, compared to White native-born children, Latina/o children of immigrants are significantly less likely to belong to a single-parent household while Latina/o native-born children are significantly more likely to belong to a single-parent household. I add nuance to explanations of why some children are more likely to live in a single-parent household or extended household than others. These findings emphasize the need for comparisons across immigrant generations and motivate holistic depictions of Latina/o households that can contribute to characterizations of Latina/o immigrant households and inform work on the impact of household compositions on children’s outcomes.

Author

• Daniel Millan, University of California-Irvine