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Stability of Mexican Immigrant Extended Family Households

High levels of co-residence with extended kin among immigrants have lead researchers and policy makers to view extended family support as a valuable resource for immigrants. But the social and economic value of extended family living arrangements is likely to depend in part on their stability. Social scientists currently know very little about the stability of extended family households and even less about the social and economic factors that underlie their stability. This project uses longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine the extent to which Mexican immigrants and natives enter into and remain in extended family households, and to examine the social and economic determinants of entry into and duration of such living arrangements. The research thus examines the dynamic nature of living arrangements. The research has important implications for the development and evaluation of those immigration and welfare policies that are based on the presumption of existing stable family support for new arrivals.