Barbara A. Mitchell

The Family Environment and Leaving the Parental Home.

This study tests a set of hypotheses relating key aspects of the family environment to the timing of home-leaving among youths. A central research question is whether youths living in stepfamilies, single-parent families, and those with two biological parents display different patterns of leaving the parental home. The data used for this study were drawn from the 1984 Family History Survey collected by Statistics Canada on the timing of home-leaving, marriage, divorce, and remarriage, as well as a number of important sociodemographic variables. The total sample includes 14,004 respondents between the ages of 18 and 64. A multivariate analysis was performed on a subset of the data with multiple classification analysis. The results of the data analysis support the central hypothesis that exposure to stepand single-parent family types promotes earlier homeleaving. Number of children in the family, sex of the child, and region also arose as important predictors of age at final home-leaving. Contrary to the hypothesis, socioeconomic status of the family (measured by education) did not surface as a significant factor.

Unanticipated Consequences: A Comparison of Expected and Actual Retirement Timing Among Older Women

ABSTRACT The present study adds to the growing body of literature on women and retirement by means of a comparative analysis of the factors associated with anticipated retirement timing (among pre-retirees) and actual retirement timing (among retirees). Adopting a political economy of aging perspective, we argue that socially-structured patterns of gender inequality related to womens multiple roles across the life course affect patterns of retirement timing. Specifically, we hypothesize that the gendered nature of womens work-retirement decision-making is unanticipated during pre-retirement years. Logistic regression analyses are performed on data drawn from a sample of 275 women aged 45 and older living in the Vancouver area of British Columbia. A central finding is that while actual timing of retirement is affected by family caregiving responsibilities and by health/stress factors, pre-retirees do not perceive these to be important in their own expected retirement timing. Implications for social policy, education, and womens financial and psychological well-being in old age are elaborated.

Family Structure and Leaving the Nest: A Social Resource Perspective:

This article focuses on the role of family structure as a form of social capital (Coleman 1988) in the timing of and pathways for home-leaving behavior among youths. Using data from the 1987 Canadian Youth Foundation Survey, bivariate analyses of reasons for staying and leaving the nest and proportional hazards modeling of age at home-leaving support and extend previous research demonstrating the importance of family structure. Financial, human, and cultural capital, as well as sex and region, are also examined. The most striking finding is that youths exposed to biological and single-parent family environments are between five and six times as likely to remain at home than those exposed to stepfamily structures for the ages 15 to 24, net of the other variables. Interestingly, young adults living in both stepparent and single-parent families are more likely to report leaving home due to conflictual parent-child relations, and to leave the nest to achieve independence rather than to marry or pursue additional schooling. The findings are discussed in terms of their long-term consequences for youths.

Social Determinants of Health for Older Women in Canada: Does Rural–Urban Residency Matter?

Cette étude a fourni une analyse exploratoire des principaux déterminants sociaux de la santé des femmes âgées canadiennes, en se concentrant sur les différences entre la résidence dans régions rurals et urbaines, étant donné que le statut socio-économique (SES) et le capital social ont été démontrés diffèrent selon la résidence rurale-urbaine. Une analyse secondaire a été effectuée en utilisant l’Enquête de la santé communautaire canadienne, 2000/2001. Une analyse comparative de régression logistique a inopinément révélé que les variables de statut socio-économique et capital social étaient plus fortement associés à la santé des femmes plus âgées urbaines qu’avec leurs homologues rurales. Les associations entre les mesures de revenu de ménage et l’état de santé, de l’insécurité alimentaire et d’appartenance au communauté n’ont pas été pris en charge, pour la plupart, parmi les femmes rurales, mais ont été pris en charge pour leurs homologues urbains. Les conclusions concernant les applications du modèle social-déterminants-de-santé sont discutées pour expliquer les motifs de santé parmi les femmes âgées urbaines et rurales. This study provided an exploratory analysis of key social determinants of health for older Canadian women, with a focus on differences between rural and urban residency, given that socio-economic status (SES) and social capital have been shown to differ by rural–urban residence. Secondary analysis was conducted using the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey. A comparative logistic regression analysis revealed, unexpectedly, that SES and social capital variables were more strongly associated with the health status of urban older women than for the health status of their rural counterparts. Associations between health status measures and household income, food insecurity, and community belonging were largely not supported among rural women, but were for their urban counterparts. Findings are discussed concerning applications of the social-determinants-of-health model for explaining health patterns among older urban and rural women. Cost of living, access to health services, and dimensions of rural culture are discussed as potential explanations.

The Empty Nest Syndrome in Midlife Families A Multimethod Exploration of Parental Gender Differences and Cultural Dynamics

This study explores parental health and well-being in relation to “empty nest” transitions. Focus is placed on the purported empty nest syndrome (i.e., self-reported experiences of depression and emotional distress when children leave home) and variations by parental gender and cultural background. This study is primarily based on in-depth telephone interviews conducted in 2006 and 2007 with a subsample (n = 316) of parents from four cultural groups (British, Chinese, Southern European, and Indo/East Indian) living in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. A mixed-methodological approach is used whereby both quantitative and qualitative strategies are combined. Findings reveal that overall only a minority of parents report having experienced the empty nest syndrome. However, cultural background and other sociodemographic and relational processes are found to influence the likelihood of reporting this condition. With increasing cultural diversity in North American society, these results have the potential to shed light on a significant life course transition.

The Boomerang Age from Childhood to Adulthood:Emergent Trends and Issues for Aging Families

From a historical, cross-comparative, life course perspective, this paper examines changing family-related transitions to adulthood and emergent trends and issues for aging families. Primary focus is placed on Canadian families, although comparisons will be made with several Western industrialized countries (U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Sweden). Using nationally representative data, key findings reveal a general extension of young adulthood, in addition to continuation, diversity and reversibility of family behaviours. Future patterns are also explored, in light of other socio-demographic and socio-economic change. It is concluded that aging families of the future will likely display elements of both modified individualism and increased diversification.

Returning to the Parental ‘Nest’: Exploring a Changing Canadian Life Course

In this paper we focus on the phenomenon of young adult children returning to live at home drawing upon a random sample of 218 returners and 202 home-leavers (non-returners) in the Greater Vancouver area in 1993-94. First a descriptive account of returning home is provided on three dimensions: age at events (e.g. first home-leaving first return); number of returns (single vs. multiple returns); and reasons for returning home. Age sex and marital status variations are also explored. Second a proportional hazards analysis is performed on the rate of returning home using several variables drawn from the life course perspective. The major predictors of returning home include: childs marital status reason for leaving home childs main activity family type and age at home-leaving. Theoretical implications of the results regarding families and life course transitions are discussed. (SUMMARY IN FRE) (EXCERPT)

Home leaving trajectories in Canada: exploring cultural and gendered dimensions

In this exploratory study, we profile variations in home leaving, home returning, and home staying behaviour among four ethnocultural groups in Canada - British, Chinese, Indian, and South European. Data collected in a 1999-2000 survey of 1,907 young adults (ages 19-35) residing in the Vancouver area are used. Our principal foci are ethnocultural and gendered aspects of home leaving trajectories, specifically: ages at home leaving and returning, and reasons for home leaving, home returning and home staying. Special attention is paid to returners/boomerangers, given an increasing overall trend in home returning in Canada. We find that: (a) both ethnocultural origin and gender are important determinants of home leaving trajectory, (b) there is a distinct (but far from tidy) difference between European-origin and Asian-origin groups in home leaving trajectory, (c) British-Canadians leave home at the youngest ages and Indo-Canadians at the oldest ages, (d) the main reason for home leaving is independence for British-Canadians; schooling for Chinese-Canadians, and marriage for Indo-Canadians, (e) among all four groups, home returners leave home initially at younger ages and, with the exception of Indo-Canadian young men, who typically leave home for school, and (f) gender differences in home leaving trajectory are larger among the Chinese and Indo-Canadians than among persons of European origins. Overall, we conclude that the theorized trend of the individualized family life course holds for only some ethnocultural groups in Canada. We conclude with suggestions for future research directions on the topic of ethnicity and the home leaving life course transitions.

There's no place like home: an analysis of young adults' mature coresidency in Canada.

This article investigates the propensity for young adults to live in the parental home between the ages of 25 to 34—termed “mature coresidency.” Drawing upon a synthesis of life course theory and the concept of social capital, a rationale is developed for examination of emotional closeness to parents during childhood and a number of socio-demographic and structural factors deemed to be important. Using a subset of young adults aged 25 to 34 (N = 1,760) from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey, it is found that emotional closeness to mothers and fathers are major determinants of mature coresidency. Other important predictors include childs age, gender, marital status, and several family background factors. The implications of the findings are discussed for transitions to adulthood and family development against a changing social and economic landscape.

Intergenerational Exchanges and Perceptions of Support within “Boomerang Kid” Family Environments

Drawing on the social exchange perspective, we examine: 1) the extent to which adult children who have returned to the parental home (“boomerang kids”) exchange several types of instrumental and affective support with their parents, and 2) whether there is symmetry or incongruence in perceptions of support among these family dyads. The data used for this study are drawn from interviews with one child and one parent from 218 families in which the child has recently returned home. Findings indicate that children receive more frequent instrumental and emotional (affective) support than parents receive, and that parents perceive that they receive considerably more emotional support than boomerang children acknowledge donating. Implications for family relationships over the life course and household living arrangements are considered.