Isik Aytac

Intergenerational financial support among Whites, African Americans, and Latinos

Recent empirical research has found that interhousehold exchanges of goods and services are more frequent among Whites than among African Americans or Latinos. This study explores racial and ethnic differences in kin support and focuses on financial support that adult children receive from their parents. We decompose the observed group differences in the incidence of adult childrens receiving assistance into those explained by behavioral patterns and those explained by resources. Contrary to earlier observations that financial support among poor, minority families is mostly to ease short-term crises, our results suggest that minority parents may be more concerned than White parents with the long-term effects of financial support for their children. When providing financial support, African American and Latino parents, more than White parents, favor adult children who acquire greater human capital resources (education and income). Key Words: African Americans, financial transfers, intergenerational support, Latinos, parents. One apparent conclusion from previous studies on racial and ethnic differences in kin support is that African Americans and Latinos are more likely to live in extended households than are Whites (Angel & Tienda, 1982; Hofferth, 1984). This difference in living arrangements has been the basis of numerous studies that emphasize the importance of kin networks among African American and Latino families. Studies based on ethnographic methods and small-scale surveys have argued for this premise (e.g., Hays & Mindel, 1973; Martin & Martin, 1978; Stack, 1974), and large-scale representative data have confirmed their findings (e.g., Aquilino, 1990; Hofferth, 1984). Recent studies, however, find that the interhousehold exchange of monetary and social support is more frequent among Whites than among African Americans or Latinos, although findings on group differences in some detailed aspects of interhousehold support are not yet conclusive. African American and Latino adult children are less likely than White adult children to receive financial and social support from their parents (Cox & Rank, 1992; Hogan, Eggebeen, & Clogg,1993; Hogan, Hao, & Parish, 1990; McGarry & Schoeni, 1995). It appears that the racial and ethnic patterns of interhousehold assistance vary according to the family context (such as different kin relationships and stages in the life cycle), as well as according to the type of support (e.g., Aytac & Waite, 1992; Eggebeen & Hogan, 1990; Hoyert, 1990; MacDonald, 1989; Silverstein & Waite, 1992; Waite & Harrison,1992). In particular, the lower likelihood of interhousehold kin support among African Americans and Latinos, compared with Whites, does not seem to hold for support for the aged. Among the aged, African Americans receive more informal support than do Whites, whether controlling for income and education or not (Mindel, Wright, & Starrett, 1986). Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Silverstein and Waite (1992) find that, controlling for economic and demographic characteristics, middle-aged African American women are less likely than middle-aged White women to provide instrumental support for noncoresiding relatives. After age 65, however, African American women are more likely to receive instrumental support and about as likely as White women to provide such support to noncoresiding relatives or friends. These findings seem to be consistent with the observations that older African Americans serve as an important resource for kin support and that they enjoy higher social status than their White counterparts (Gibson, 1986; Lubben & Becerra, 1987). A major research question in racial and ethnic comparisons of extended family living has been whether the higher prevalence of the extended family among African Americans and Latinos is a way of coping with economic difficulty or is a result of cultural preferences. …

Modernity, Traditionality, and Junior High School Attainment in Turkey.

This study focuses on the impact of modernityand traditionality on junior high schoolattainment of children in Turkey. Using thenationwide Turkish Family Structure Survey, theprimary objectives are to determine whetherjunior high school attainment varies by region,city size, and by family background. Based ona sample of 2025 16 year-old adolescents, weprovide the first multivariate, nationwideanalysis of the factors associated with juniorhigh school attainment of children in Turkey. The results of the multivariate logisticregression analysis show significant variationin childrens junior high school attainment byfamily background, region and urban location,which are factors that help explain persistentgender inequality in education.

Religiosity, the headscarf, and education in Turkey: an analysis of 1988 data and current implications

Previous research highlights the continuing relevance of family culture in explaining educational inequalities in Turkey, especially patriarchal beliefs and practices that discourage investment in the education of girls. We extend that research by introducing two much‐debated, but empirically untested, aspects of family culture – parental religiosity and headscarf preferences. An analysis of a nationally representative sample of 15–19 year olds in 1988 shows that while religiosity had no significant effect on educational attainment, children who lived in families whose fathers expected them to wear a headscarf in public had lower educational attainment, especially girls. The large negative headscarf effect suggests that the government ban on headscarves in schools may be an obstacle to eliminating gender inequality in education. The results are discussed in light of recent trends in Turkish society.

Unemployment, Economic Strain and Family Distress: The Impact of the 2001 Economic Crisis

This essay focuses on economic hardship in the wake of the 2001 economic crisis and the impact of the resulting economic strain on individual and family distress (i.e., stress, emotional distress, physical health, and marital problems). Previous research on the impact of the economic crisis in Turkey has relied on small and non-representative samples or was limited to descriptive analyses. This research analyzes a nationally representative sample of 1,107 urban households using multivariate techniques. The OLS regression results show that, while the negative effects of the economic crisis were widely felt, those who lost their jobs, had a longer duration of unemployment, and who experienced higher levels of economic strain were affected most. Economic hardship and high and increasing levels of economic strain had a strong negative effect on perceived stress levels, emotional distress, physical health problems and marital problems. Renters were particularly hard hit by the crisis and report more strain and personal distress than non-renters.