The focus of this project is on the spatial distribution of kin both as a determinant of and as a consequence of migration behavior. Research on the family life of the elderly notes the importance of the proximity of their children. Nearby children have more frequent contact with their parents. Moreover, a nearby child is a more likely source of personal care and assistance with household tasks, both routine and extraordinary, than is a distant child. Some research suggests that social support activities by children on behalf of their parents improves the health and even the longevity of the elderly. There is also evidence that social support such as that provided by adult children delays or reduces the probability of institutionalization among the elderly. The spatial distribution of family members is also an important factor in migration decisions. Theoretical discussions, including numerous attempts to classify moves by the elderly into a few generic types, note the importance of moves whose intent is to bring the elderly closer to their children, or to join their household. This study will investigate the proximity of kin in two ways. First, we will estimate models of cross-sectional indicators of the proximity of older parents and their children. Cross-sectional patterns of proximity are important intervening variables between kin availability and several dimensions of intergenerational relations such as coresidence, personal care and assistance, and social contact and support. These models will use data from the National Survey of Families and Households and the National Long Term Care Survey, and will include models of the joint proximity of elderly parent(s) and all their children. Second, we will model the reciprocal relationships between parent-child spatial proximity and migration, taking into account the migration behavior of both parents and their children. This model will use longitudinal data from the PSID, merged with geographic detail from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Key life cycle events--departure from the parental home, marital status transitions, childbearing, retirement, the death of a spouse, and so on--will be interwoven with the mobility/proximity dynamics. Throughout the analysis we will distinguish between coresident parent-child pairs, and non-coresident but proximate parent-child pairs.
