In grandmother's house we live - three-generation households

American Demographics, Dec, 1997 by Marcia Mogelonsky

Three-generation households headed by grandparents are more common in the 1990s than in previous decades, according to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In 1994, 5.3 percent of U.S. households with children under age 18 were headed by grandparents and included two younger generations. This is up from 3.9 percent in 1975.

The share of two-generation households with grandparents and grandchildren but no parents present is also up slightly, to 1.3 percent from 0.9 percent in 1975. Three-generation households headed by parents account for 1.8 percent of households with kids, down from 3.5 percent in 1975. Altogether, 8 percent of U.S. households with children have grandparents in residence, too.

Grandparents who live in a three-generation household headed by parents are the oldest, averaging 65 years old. Grandparents who head three-generation households are the youngest, at 54 years old, compared with 58 for those who live in two-generation households. The youngest grandparents are also most likely to be working; 56 percent are labor-force participants, compared with 44 percent of those who head two-generation households and 24 percent of those who live in a three-generation household headed by parents.

Their relative youth also explains why grandparents who head three-generation households consider themselves healthier than other grandparents. Almost 41 percent rate their health as excellent or very good, compared with 34 percent of those in grandparent-grandchild households and 32 percent of those living in a three-generation home headed by parents.

Although their health might be less than perfect, grandparents who live in a home headed by parents have one advantage over others who live with grandchildren. The poverty rate for three-generation households headed by parents is 14 percent, compared with 20 percent for three-generation households headed by grandparents and 25 percent for two-generation households with no parents present.

An analysis of NHIS data was presented at the 1997 Population Association of America annual meeting by Thyne S. Rutrough of the Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Social Work at Eastern Kentucky University, 122 Leimaur Drive, Richmond, KY 40475. Marcia Mogelonsky