Proximity to Mother : Cross-sectional and Life-course Aspects

1. HwaJung Choi PhD in Economics Research Analyst at Medical School University of Michigan Proximity to Mother:Cross-sectional and Life-course Aspects • Motivation: • Spatial availability among family members is important, especially for lower-income population. • Spatial availability is the key channel to provide care-giving for an unhealthy family member, which emerges as a social issue with growing, elderly population. • Yet, proximity among family members is under-explored. • Research Questions: • What is pattern of proximity to mother over life-course? • Are there disparities of such patterns across economic levels? • What are important factors in determining proximity to mother? • Previous Work: • [Lin and Rogerson (1995), Rogerson et al. (1993), Clark and Wolf (1992), Lee, Dwyer and Coward (1990)] • Data: • Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) • - Longitudinal Study (1968 – current) • - Main File, Family Mapping File, Geocode Match File • Analysis Sample: • Sample: • - PSID Core (SRC + SEO) • - Biological mother identified in PSID sample • Unbalanced Sample: Ages 17-50 / 23- 47 in 1984 - 1996 • Balanced Sample: • - Ages 23 - 35 in 1984 • - Stay in PSID in 1984 - 1996 • Overall Pattern of Proximity to Mother • Cross-sectional Factors • Life-course Factors • Life-course Events Proportion (Balanced Sample) • Multivariate Analysis Results (Balanced Sample): • Conclusion/Discussion: • The lower the income, the closer family members tend to reside to each other. This might be associated with both greater spatial restriction and greater incentive of pooling resources (e.g., risk sharing) • Aging mothers’ health problems might reduce significantly the tendency of further proximity to mother among adult children. This might be a reflection of care-giving for unhealthy mothers. • Such health impact on intergenerational proximity seems greater for lower-income population. • Non-caucasian, lower mother’s education, • fewer siblings significantly • associated with closer proximity • to mother. • Controlling after cross-sectional factors: • Children’s higher education, marriage • and working are associated with • further spatial location from mother. • Mother’s poor health associated with • closer proximity. Predicted Probability: Same Zipcode area with Mother by Mother’s Health and Economic Status Higher Economic Group (Top 25%) Mother in Good Health Mother in Poor Health Lower Economic Group (Bottom 25%) Mother in Good Health Mother in Poor Health