Family Cohesion and Ethnic Communities: Chinese, Italian, and Mexican Households, 1990 and 2000

Ann H. Kim, Brown University
Calvin Goldscheider, Brown University

The structural basis of ethnicity reveals the importance of community in reinforcing distinctive family patterns. In this study, we focus on patterns of family extension in households across Chinese, Italian and Mexican groups and the effect of ethnic concentration on these residential arrangements over two census years. Within each ethnic group, we examine the living arrangements of two subgroups, unmarried individuals over 25 years old and married couples. We use data from the 1990 and 2000 Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and multivariate logistic regression models. Preliminary bivariate results from 1990 suggest that ethnic communities reinforce family residential cohesion as both individuals and couples were more likely to live in "extended" households than on their own when they were located in areas with larger co-ethnic communities. This finding was consistent for all three ethnic groups and for singles and couples.