Intergenerational Financial Support among Whites, African Americans, and Latinos

• Published in: Journal of marriage and family Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 426 - 441
• Main Authors: Lee, Yean-Ju, Aytac, Isik A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden National Council on Family Relations 01-05-1998; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adult Children; Adults; African American culture; African American education; African Americans; Behavior Patterns; Children; Ethnography; Families & family life; Family; Family Income; Females; Finance; Financial aid; Financial investments; Financial Support; Hispanic Americans; Hispanics; Human Capital; Intergenerational Relations; Intergenerational relationships; Marital Status; Minority Groups; National Surveys; Parent Child Relations; Parents; Preferences; Psychological Patterns; Race; Racial Differences; Sexuality. Marriage. Family relations; Social Status; Socioeconomics; Sociology; Sociology of the family. Age groups; State Surveys; U.S.A; Whites; United States Of America; Afro-American; Human capital; Poverty; Income; Whites; Social Exchange; Parent-Child Relationship; Ethnic group; Ethnic Minority; Intergenerational relation; Services; Latino-American; Consumer goods; Education; Young adult; Race; Racial minority; Family relation; Typology; Comparative analysis; Aid; Financial aid; Lower Class
• ISSN: 0022-2445; 1741-3737
• DOI: 10.2307/353859

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 children's 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).