Multigenerational living and children’s risk of living in unaffordable housing: differences by ethnicity and parents’ marital status

Abstract

A growing share of Canadian households are living in unaffordable housing (i.e., spending 30% or more of their pre-tax income on housing costs). During this time, the prevalence of multigenerational living has also increased. Ethnic minority families are more likely than White families to live in multigenerational households. These trends raise the questions: (a) is multigenerational living a strategy for families to navigate the housing affordability crisis? (b) do ethnic minority children benefit more from multigenerational living than their White peers?Using confidential data from the 2016 Canadian Census, we examine how multigenerational living shapes the housing experiences of children under the age of 16. Multigenerational living is associated with consistent reductions in children's odds of living in unaffordable housing. Yet, for those in single-parent families, this protective association is largest among White children.For those in dual-parent families, this protective association is largest among Black children.Socioeconomic disadvantage and a greater propensity for three-generation families to reside in metropolitan areas with expensive housing appear to suppress the benefits emerging from multigenerational living.

Living arrangements and housing affordability issues of young adults in Canada: Differences by nativity status

“…Young adults may be reducing their burden of paying for expensive housing by receiving housing support from parents and relatives in the form of co-residence or pooling resources with them (Keene & Batson, 2010). This result may also partly reflect the fact that parents who "double up" with their adult children are typically more socioeconomically advantaged than those who are unable to do so (Choi & Ramaj, 2023b). Nonetheless, our findings raise concerns about the wellbeing of family members who are buffering the impact of the housing affordability crisis.…”

“…Adherence to such norms tends to become weaker over prolonged durations of stay and across immigrant generations in Canada (Jeong;Hamplová, & Le Bourdais, 2014). Stronger adherence to familism means that foreign-born young adults are more likely than their Canadian-born peers to move in with family under less dire economic circumstances (Choi & Ramaj, 2023b). Thus, the protective effects of living with parents and relatives will be greater for the native-born than for the foreign-born.…”

Living Arrangements and Housing Affordability Issues of Young Adults in Canada: Differences by Nativity Status

“…Finally, in line with Hypothesis 4B, our results show that Canadian young adults benefit more from living with parents and extended kin than their foreign-born peers. This may be because foreign-born parents have fewer resources at their disposal and may have a much greater need to pool their resources with one another to pay for expensive housing costs (Kamo 2000;de Valk and Bordone 2019;Choi and Ramaj 2023b). It is equally possible that the emphasis on independent living may mean that Canadian-born who live with their parents and kin are a particularly disadvantaged group and living with kin alleviates much of their financial issues (Choi and Ramaj 2023b).…”

“…By contrast, in Canada, the native-born, who are disproportionately White, tend to originate from families that emphasize independent living (Kamo 2000). They will not move in with parents and relatives unless their economic situation is unusually dire (Choi and Ramaj 2023b). The implication is that the native-born who live with their parents and extended kin are a more negatively selected group than their foreign-born counterparts (Choi and Ramaj 2023b).…”

“…They will not move in with parents and relatives unless their economic situation is unusually dire (Choi and Ramaj 2023b). The implication is that the native-born who live with their parents and extended kin are a more negatively selected group than their foreign-born counterparts (Choi and Ramaj 2023b). The protective effects of living with parents and relatives will be much larger for the native-born than for the foreign-born.…”