The Gerontologist
Vol. 40, No. 6, 729–737
Copyright 2000 by The Gerontological Society of America
Proximity of Older Women to Their Children:
A Comparison of Britain and Italy
Karen Glaser1 and Cecilia Tomassini1
distance” (Rosenmayr & Köckeis, 1963). Studies have
shown that norms of mutual responsibility between
parents and children can often be met through proximity and do not necessarily require coresidence
(Mancini & Bleiszner, 1989). Thus, it has become increasingly important to analyze the spatial proximity
of elderly people and their kin, in addition to intergenerational coresidence, in order to provide a more
comprehensive view of the availability of family support to older people.
Research on the spatial proximity of elderly people
and their kin is largely American (Clark & Wolf, 1992;
Clark, Wolf, & Schulte, 1994; Lin & Rogerson, 1995),
although there have been some European studies
(Warnes, 1986). A few descriptive studies have examined intercultural variations in spatial closeness
between older people and their kin (Finch, 1989;
Hölinger & Haller, 1990). These studies have shown
that individuals from Northern European countries
(e.g., Britain) are much less likely to live close to their
mothers than those from Southern European countries
such as Italy (Finch, 1989; Höllinger & Haller, 1990).
Differences in proximity were thought to reflect the
strength of cultural attitudes in maintaining close kin
interactions, rather than socioeconomic factors such as
the availability of housing and jobs (Finch, 1989).
This study examined similarities and differences in
the effects of demographic and socioeconomic determinants on the proximity of older women (aged 60–74)
to their children in Britain and Italy using data from
the British Retirement Survey follow-up in 1994, and
the 1995 Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie.
Demographic and socioeconomic factors, which may
be responsible for the higher levels of parent–child
proximity observed in Italy, are discussed in this article.
Differences in residential proximity are not expected
to reflect variations in the availability of children, as
women in the cohorts under comparison (those born
between 1920 and 1935) experienced similar fertility
trajectories. It is suggested that a combination of factors,
involving differences in housing and education policies, job opportunities, and especially cultural attitudes
with respect to the strength of family ties, provide a
better explanation of variations in residential propinquity between the two countries. As previous research
demonstrated important differences in cultural values
between Britain and Italy in terms of the desirability
This research examined differences between Britain and Italy
in the proximity of older women (aged 60–74) to their children. We hypothesized that in Britain proximity is more likely
to result from the needs of the older generation, whereas in
Italy it is more likely to reflect a cultural preference. Employing data from the British Retirement Survey follow-up in 1994,
and the 1995 Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie, we
applied multinomial logit models to examine the correlates of
proximity. Our findings showed that, in Britain, mothers’
health had a greater impact on proximity than in Italy, suggesting that the needs of the older generation in Britain were
important for determining proximity. An additional analysis
showed that children’s characteristics were also important in
determining proximity in Italy, mainly because of delayed
adult transitions. This supports the hypothesis that intergenerational proximity in Italy is more likely to be a response to the
needs of children than of parents.
Key Words: Coresidence, Distance, Elderly women,
Intergenerational relations
There has been a substantial increase in the proportions of elderly people living alone in the post-World
War II period. This change is apparent throughout the
European Union, even in Southern European countries, which have historically been characterized by
high rates of coresidence (Coleman, 1997; Pampel,
1992). This trend has led to increasing concerns that
family ties are growing weaker and that older people
are less supported by their families. Declines in
coresidence with kin among older people may, however, reflect preferences for living near, but not with
children, an attitude described as “...intimacy at a
The British Retirement Survey was commissioned by the U.K. Department of Social Security (DSS) and carried out by the Social Survey Division
of the Office of National Statistics (formerly the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys). The respondents were interviewed twice: once in
1988⁄89 and again in 1994. Views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the DSS or any other government department.
The Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie was analyzed by Cecilia
Tomassini while a researcher at the Istituto di Ricerche sulla Popolazione–
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
The British Social Attitudes Survey 1995 was made available by Social
and Community Planning Research, London via the Data Archive at the
University of Essex. Responsibility for the analysis and interpretation of
data reported here rests with the authors.
Address correspondence to Karen Glaser, ACIOG, King’s College London, Waterloo Bridge Wing, Franklin-Wilkins Building, Waterloo Road,
London SE1 8WA, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
1
Age Concern Institute of Gerontology (ACIOG), King’s College London.
Vol. 40, No. 6, 2000
729
Table 1. Percentage of Elderly Women (65⫹) Living Alone (1971,
1981, 1996): Britain and Italy
of intergenerational interactions and contact (Glaser,
Hancock, & Stuchbury, 1998; Walker & Maltby, 1997),
it is hypothesized that parent–child proximity in Britain
is more likely to arise from the needs of the older
generation, whereas in Italy it is more likely to reflect
a cultural preference regardless of parental need. In
addition, research has shown that children’s characteristics (in terms of the number of their own young children, their health, or economic circumstances) are also
important for determining intergenerational proximity
(Clark & Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995). In Italy,
delays in the transition to adulthood (e.g., higher ages
at school leaving, labor force entry, and marriage) have
been shown to affect intergenerational coresidence
(Billari & Ongaro, 1998; Iacovou, 1998; Sabbadini,
1999). Thus, this study also investigates the association
between adult children’s (aged 25–39) demographic
and socioeconomic characteristics and proximity to
the mother (for those with a living mother) using data
from the 1995 British Social Attitudes Survey and the
1995 Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie.
This research used multinomial logit models to examine differences and similarities in the correlates of
proximity to children among these older women. Our
findings showed that certain parental characteristics
such as health have a significant effect on proximity in
Britain but not in Italy, providing support for the hypothesis that parental needs may have a greater impact
in determining parent–child proximity in societies with
relatively low levels of desired kin interaction. Our
analysis of the relationship between adult children’s
demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with
proximity to mothers showed less of an association in
Britain than in Italy. The importance of adult children’s
needs for intergenerational proximity in Italy may explain, in part, why certain parental characteristics were
not as strong predictors of propinquity. Consequently,
differences between Britain and Italy in the spatial proximity of older women and their children may be a result
of several factors such as the effects of parental need,
cultural factors emphasizing close family ties, and the
socioeconomic circumstances of young adults.
Britain
Italy
1971
1981
1995–1996
34
22
40
27
48
35
Sources: Britain: 1971, 1981—Grundy, E. (1996). Population
Review: (5) The population aged 60 and over. Population Trends,
84, 14–20. 1996—Thomas, M., Walker, A., Wilmot, A., & Bennett, N. (1998). Living in Britain. Results from the 1996 General
Household Survey. London: The Stationery Office. Italy: 1971,
1981—Italian Institute of Statistics (Istat), Census data, 1995 Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie.
within the household, it is likely that these needs will
be met by kin living in close proximity. For this reason the issue of residential proximity of elderly people to their kin has become increasingly important
(Wolf, 1994). Furthermore, as nearby kin may be able
to provide similar support to coresident kin (Mancini
& Bleiszner, 1989), declines in coresidence may, in
part, reflect preferences among older people for living close to, but not with, their children, implying little or no loss of potential support.
Proximity
The proximity of older parents to their children is
clearly a consequence of migration behavior, that is,
parents and children normally coreside at birth, and
proximity in later life reflects responses over time to
the changing needs and resources of both generations (Greenwell & Bengtson, 1997). There are two
possible avenues to intergenerational proximity: (a)
adult children’s economic needs are an important influence on geographic distance earlier in the parental
life course, and (b) parental economic and health
needs are likely to influence geographic proximity to
adult children at older ages (Greenwell & Bengtson,
1997). In particular, declining health among older people is believed to be an important trigger for coresidence or proximity to an adult child, reflecting the
need for a greater level of support than that available
within the elderly person’s own household (Al-Hamad,
Flowerdew, & Hayes, 1997; Ford, 1993; Silverstein,
1995; Silverstein & Angelelli, 1998). Previous research has also found that the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of older people, such as
age, marital status, number of children, education,
and housing tenure (whether an individual is an
owner–occupier, that is, someone who owns his/her
home, rents from a private landlord, or is in social
sector housing as either a local authority or housing
association tenant) are important predictors of spatial
proximity (Clark & Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995).
Age showed a curvilinear effect on distance between
older parents and their children, with the odds that a
respondent lived near a child declining among the
“young elderly” and increasing thereafter (Clark &
Wolf, 1992). Widows were more likely than divorced
or separated women to live close to a child (Clark &
Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995). The number of
Trends in Living Arrangements and Their Implications
In the postwar period, Britain and Italy witnessed
rises in solitary living among older women (Pampel,
1992), although recent evidence for Italy suggests a
decline in the proportion living alone and an increase in the proportion living with children (Sabbadini, 1999; Tomassini & Wolf, in press). However,
the proportion of older women living alone has continued to remain higher in Britain than in Italy (Table
1). British General Household Survey (GHS) data
from 1996 show that 48% of women aged 65 and
older lived alone compared to 35% in Italy. The decrease in intergenerational coresidence among older
people has important implications for the exchange
of help and support (Sundström, 1994). Although
most older people remain healthy and are able to
look after themselves, the risk of disability rises with
age, increasing the vulnerability of those living alone.
If the needs of frail older people cannot be met from
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The Gerontologist
children had a significant positive effect on the likelihood that the older respondent lived near a child (Clark
& Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995). The more education an older parent had, the less likely they were to
live near a child (Clark & Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson,
1995). In Britain, housing tenure was found to be an
important determinant of proximity between older
parents and their adult children. Those in social sector
housing were found to be living closer to their children than owner–occupiers (Warnes & Ford, 1995b).
the United Kingdom than in Italy (Walker & Maltby,
1997). In addition, numerous studies using both the
1992 Eurobarometer data (Glaser et al., 1998; Walker,
1993; Walker & Maltby, 1997), and data from the
1986 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)
on social networks (Finch, 1989; Höllinger & Haller,
1990) have shown that the actual frequency of family
contact among older people is less in Britain than in
Italy, even when distance to mother is controlled for.
The 1986 ISSP data showed that 32% of Italians who
lived close to their mother saw her every day compared with 11% of British respondents (Finch, 1989).
British individuals were also less likely to be caring
for a dependent than their Italian counterparts. For
example, 10% of women aged 50–64 were providing
coresident care for an ill, handicapped, or elderly
household member in Britain compared with 17% in
Italy (Glaser et al., 1998). Given empirical evidence of
lower levels of both desired and actual kin interaction
in Britain compared with Italy, it is likely that differences in cultural values play an important role in determining the lower levels of parent–child proximity in
Britain. As cultural norms reflecting the desirability of
intergenerational contact are weaker in Britain than in
Italy, proximity in Britain may be more likely to reflect other factors, such as the need for assistance
among those with an illness or disability.
Fertility Patterns and Their Implications
Differences in residential proximity between Britain
and Italy are unlikely to reflect differences between the
British and Italian cohorts in the availability of children, given their similar fertility profiles. Women aged
60–74 at the time of the surveys (1994 in Britain and
1995 in Italy) would have been born between 1920
and 1935. Although there was a slight difference between the 1921 Italian and British birth cohorts in the
average number of liveborn children (2.1 in Britain
compared with 2.4 in Italy), the 1935 birth cohort experienced similar fertility levels, an average achieved
family size of about 2.4 liveborn children (Table 2).
As studies have found that younger children are
significantly more likely to live close to their parents
than older children (Lin & Rogerson, 1995), differences in proximity may reflect differences in mean
age at childbirth. However, the mean ages at childbirth in 1920⁄21 were similar in England and Wales
and Italy (28.6 and 29.1, respectively; Santini, 1974).
Educational Levels and Their Implications
Cultural Values and Their Implications
Given similarities in fertility patterns among these
birth cohorts of older women, differences in proximity
are likely to be explained by other factors. Cultural
values, reflecting differences in the desirability of intergenerational contact, frequency of contact with
kin, and provision of care for older relatives, are likely
to affect differences in residential proximity between
Britain and Italy. Research using the 1992 twin Eurobarometer surveys, which focused on attitudes toward
older people, showed that the desirability of intergenerational contact among elderly people was less in
Table 2. Average Achieved Family Size (by Age 45) by
Year of Birth: Britain and Italy
Birth Cohort
Britain
1921
1935
Italy
1921
1935
Average Number of
Liveborn Children per Woman
2.1
2.4
Housing Tenure and Its Implications
2.4
2.3
Sources: Britain: OPCS (1992). Birth statistics. Review of the
registrar general on births and patterns of family building in England and Wales, 1990. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Italy: Italian Institute of Statistics (Istat) (1997). Fertility in the Italian regions–Analysis by cohort–Years 1952–1993.
Vol. 40, No. 6, 2000
As studies have shown that parental educational
level is important for proximity (i.e., more highly educated individuals live further from their children), it is
necessary to consider possible differences in the educational backgrounds of the British and Italian cohorts
of older women. For nearly all the British women in
our sample, minimum school-leaving age was 14, although the very youngest would have been affected by
the increase to age 15 introduced in 1947 (Grundy &
Glaser, 2000). In Italy, these cohorts of older women
would also have experienced a minimum school-leaving age of 14 (introduced by law in 1923), although
this was largely disregarded until the mid 1970s
(D’Alessandro, 1996). In general, the educational attainment of the adult population is higher in Northern
Europe than in Southern Europe. For example, while
in the United Kingdom 52% of women aged 55–64
had attained at or above an upper secondary education (derived from typical graduation ages in each
country, 16–18 in the United Kingdom and 17–19 in
Italy), the figure for Italy was 13% (Organization for
Economic Co-Operation and Development, 1998).
The higher educational levels of older adults in Britain
compared with Italy may account, in part, for the
lower levels of intergenerational proximity in Britain.
731
In Britain, while the majority of older individuals
are owner–occupiers, there are significant variations
in housing tenure by cohort (Hancock, Askham, Nelson, & Tinker, 1999). A higher proportion of the
older birth cohorts are in local authority (social sec-
tor) housing, whereas the younger cohorts are more
likely to be owner–occupiers (Evandrou & Falkingham, 2000; Warnes & Ford, 1995a). Few individuals
are in privately rented accommodations, reflecting
declines in the availability of this type of housing. In
contrast, there is little social sector housing in Italy,
and the majority of individuals are owner–occupiers
or private renters.
Studies have shown that in Britain, social sector
housing tenants are more likely to live close to their
children than owner–occupiers (Warnes & Ford,
1995b). This may be because they have less choice
about the timing and destination of moves and are
more likely to move locally rather than long distances (Warnes & Ford, 1995a). In addition, tenure in
Britain is strongly associated with social class and income, and is often used as a measure of social status
(Fox & Goldblatt, 1982). Studies have found pronounced social class differences in mobility, so that
parents at the top of the class structure live further
from their children than those at the bottom of the
structure (Warnes, 1986). With regards to coresidence between older parents and their adult children, socioeconomic disadvantage, as measured by
housing tenure, appears to be associated with a decreased likelihood of coresidence (Grundy, 1993).
In Italy, the inheritance of property appears to play
an important role in the acquisition of housing
among adult children (Barbagli, 1997). In addition,
parents appear to provide considerable financial contributions to adult children toward the purchase of
their own homes (Barbagli, 1997). Recent surveys in
Italy have shown that 15% of all couples were given
a house by their parents or parents-in-law, and 12%
received substantial help in purchasing their homes
(Sabbadini, 1999). This kind of assistance may provide Italian parents with a greater say in where adult
children live, and may be one reason why a high proportion of adult children live close to or in the same
building as their parents (Barbagli, 1997; Cioni, 1997).
This research was based on female key respondents at the second wave of the survey (aged 60–74
in 1994), resulting in a weighted sample size of 992
ever-married women with at least one child.
The British Social Attitude Surveys (BSAS) are annual cross-sectional surveys of the population aged
18 and older that have been carried out every year
since 1983 with the exception of 1988 and 1992 (Lilley, Brook, Park, & Thomson, 1997). They were designed to monitor trends in attitudes and to understand attitudinal change. The 1995 survey contained
a module on family networks, which asked questions
on proximity between adult children and their parents as well as questions concerning frequency of
contact with kin. The 1995 BSAS had a total sample
size of 3,633 individuals aged 18 and older. Only a
portion of the sample (2,067) were given the module
on family networks as a self-completion questionnaire
(Jowell, Curtice, Park, Brook, & Thomson, 1996), resulting in a weighted sample size of 547 adults aged
25–39 with a living mother.
Italy.—The analysis used data from the 1995 Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie, a survey carried out
every year on the private household population of Italy. The unit of the sample is the “de facto” household selected from the Register of Population. The
survey covered a wide variety of topics including
questions on household structure, demographic background, housing, area of residence, health status, and
leisure time. The survey has a total sample size of
60,890 respondents from which two subsamples were
selected: ever-married women aged 60–74 with at
least one child (a weighted sample size of 3,940 respondents), and adults aged 25–39 with a living
mother (a weighted sample of 13,015 respondents).
Method
Dependent Variable.—The dependent variable, the
older woman’s proximity to her nearest child, was
composed of three categories: coresidence, lived close
(up to 10 miles), and lived far (more than 10 miles).
This variable was based on a question concerning distance to children available in both surveys. In Britain,
respondents who had children were asked, “How far
away does (the nearest/he/she) live?” In Italy respondents were asked how far away each of their children
lived (this question was asked for up to three children;
respondents with more than three children were asked
about the three closest ones). For the Italian data, an
algorithm was created to identify the child living closest to his/her mother. The responses were grouped into
the following categories: (1) women coresiding with
their nearest child (living in the same household); (2)
those living close to their nearest child (up to 10 miles
in Britain, up to 16 km in Italy); and (3) those living far
from their nearest child (more than 10 miles in Britain,
more than 16 km in Italy).
Methods
Data
Britain.—This study was based on the second
wave of the British Retirement Survey commissioned
by the U.K. Department of Social Security and carried out by the Office of National Statistics in 1994.
The original survey, conducted in 1988, interviewed
3,543 respondents aged 55–69 as well as 609 spouses
or partners outside of this age range, giving a total
sample of 4,152 (in private households). This study
focused only on key respondents; spouses outside of
this age range were excluded, as they did not constitute
a random sample. A follow-up was conducted of the
original sample 5 years later in 1994 with a 70% response rate for surviving key respondents (Disney,
Grundy, & Johnson, 1997).
Data were collected on the current financial circumstances of respondents, pension and job histories,
marriage and fertility histories, health, and distance and
frequency of contact with both parents and children.
Independent Variables.—Two dummy variables for
age were used in the model (65–69 and 70–74 with
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the youngest age group, 60–64, as the reference category). Other demographic variables such as marital
status and number of children were also included,
given the positive association between widowhood
and number of children to spatial proximity of an adult
child (Clark & Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995).
Health was included in the models, as “kinship migration” among older people is thought to be triggered by deteriorating health. Both the British and
Italian surveys contained questions on self-perceived
health. The British health question referred to the respondent’s health in the past 12 months (Over the
past 12 months would you say that, on the whole,
your health has been ...?), whereas the Italian survey
asked about the respondent’s health in general (Come
va in generale la sua salute?). The response categories
for the British health question were as follows: (1)
good, (2) fairly good, and (3) not good. Respondents
in Italy were asked to rate their health on a scale from
1 to 5, with 5 representing those in the best health
and 1 those in the worst health. In order to make the
British and Italian health variable comparable, the
Italian 5-point scale was collapsed as follows: good
(4,5); fair (3); and not good (1,2).
Previous studies had shown that education had a
negative effect on proximity, so that those individuals
who were more educated lived further from their
children (Clark & Wolf, 1992; Lin & Rogerson, 1995).
In order to retain comparability, given differences in
the educational systems of both countries and the
more limited information on education available in the
British data, individuals with high educational levels
were distinguished from those with lower levels. The
British Retirement Survey asked respondents for the
highest educational qualification attained. For the
purposes of this analysis, individuals with a university
degree, qualifications obtained from public examinations taken at secondary school usually at ages 16 and
18, or with a clerical, commercial, or trade qualification were grouped into the high-education category,
and those with no educational qualifications were
grouped into the medium/low category (this included
both individuals who may have attended some
school but did not achieve an educational qualification, and those with no education). In Italy, the educational category was more detailed, so that those in
the high-education group were classified as having a
university degree or a high school diploma (usually obtained about age 18), and those in the medium/loweducation group had either less than a high school diploma or had received no education.
Housing tenure, given its strong association with
proximity in Britain, was also included in the model
(Warnes & Ford, 1995b). In order to have similar categories between the two countries, a dummy variable was created that distinguished owner–occupiers
from those in other tenures (largely social sector tenants in Britain and private renters in Italy).
tionally, to examine demographic and socioeconomic factors that may affect the proximity of adult
children (aged 25–39) to their mothers. We used a
multinomial logit model for the probability distribution across three possible categories of proximity between older women and their nearest adult child (0 ⫽
coresidence; 1 ⫽ up to 10 miles; 2 ⫽ more than 10
miles). For clarity and ease of interpretation, the coefficients from all three contrasts are presented in Table
4, although this is redundant as the coefficients are
additive.
Results
Descriptive Analysis
Table 3 shows the frequencies of the variables
used in the model. In Britain, 15% of women aged
60–74 lived with their nearest child, whereas more
than twice as many Italian women in this age group
did so (38%). Also, 23% of British women aged 60–
74 lived far from their nearest child (more than 10
miles), compared with only 7% of their Italian counterparts.
The mean age of women in the 60–74 age group
was slightly higher in Britain than in Italy (67.3 vs
66.6, respectively), and the mean number of children
was also higher for Britons. A higher proportion of
British women in this age group were separated and
divorced compared with their Italian counterparts
(5.7% vs 1.9%). The distribution of health was similar
between the two countries, with around 20% of
women aged 60–74 reporting poor health. Eightyone percent of the British women aged 60–74 had a
medium to low education compared with 91% of
Italians in this age group. A larger proportion of British than Italian older women were in either social
sector housing or privately rented accommodation,
largely reflecting the importance of social sector
housing in Britain.
Table 3. Variables Used in the Model and Their Percentages:
Britain and Italy
Variable
Britain 1994
Italy 1995
15.1%
62.3%
22.7%
67.3
37.8%
55.3%
6.9%
66.6
29.7%
5.7%
2.47
32.3%
1.9%
2.39
20.6%
37.5%
20.1%
38.6%
81.1%
91.3%
32.5%
22.5%
Model
Proximity
Living with children
Living up to 10 miles
Living far
Age
Marital Status
Widow
Separated/divorced
Number of children (mean)
Health
Bad health
Fairly good health
Education
Medium/low education
Housing Tenure
Other tenure
The aim of this analysis was to study the correlates
of older women’s proximity to children and, addi-
Note: All variables are dummy variables with the exception
of age.
Vol. 40, No. 6, 2000
733
Multivariate Analysis
children were in higher education. For both countries
low education had the same effect (those with lower
levels of education were more likely to live close than
to live far). In Britain, there was also a significant negative relationship between lower education and living
far from the nearest child compared with coresidence.
Another way of presenting the results from the multinomial logit model is to calculate the probabilities of
each category of the dependent variable for selected
characteristics of women. Two profiles were created,
the “less favored group” (Figure 1A, representing
women with greater potential need), and the “more
advantaged group” (Figure 1B, reflecting those with
more optimal characteristics). As shown in Figure 1, in
Britain the probability of living with a child or in close
proximity is greater among women in the less favored
profile group. In Italy the pattern is reversed, with
women in the more advantaged group having higher
probabilities of coresidence with children.
The results of the multinomial model provide only
a partial explanation for differences in intergenerational proximity between Britain and Italy. Research
has also shown that children’s economic needs are
important predictors of proximity and coresidence
with parents early in the life course (Clark & Wolf,
1992; Greenwell & Bengtson, 1997; Wolf, 1994). As
women aged 60–74 are representative of the younger
elderly, their children’s characteristics, rather than
their own, may have a greater impact on proximity.
Consequently, differences in the socioeconomic circumstances of children, rather than differences in parental characteristics, may provide a further explanation for variations in intergenerational proximity
between the two countries. For this reason we also
examined similarities and differences in the association of adult children’s characteristics and proximity
The coefficients, their corresponding standard errors, and level of significance are presented in Table
4. In interpreting the Betas, recall that they represent
the effects of the explanatory variable on the logodds ratios of the following probabilities: (1) living
close (up to 10 miles) versus coresidence with nearest child; (2) living far (more than 10 miles) versus
coresidence with nearest child; and (3) living close
versus living far from nearest child.
As indicated in Table 4, individuals aged 70–74 in
both countries were significantly less likely to coreside when compared to those in the younger age
group. In Italy, even among those aged 65–69, there
was a negative effect of age on coresidence.
Marital status had no effect in Britain, whereas in
Italy being widowed had a significant positive effect
on coresidence when compared with living close to,
or far from, the nearest child.
The number of children had the same effect for
both countries, that is, the more children a woman
had the more likely she was to coreside with her
nearest child (vs living close or far), and the more
likely she was to live close to her nearest child rather
than to live far. Higher parity women were more likely
to have had their last child at a later age than lower
parity women, increasing the likelihood of having a
child at home in later life.
Health had no effect on coresidence in either
country, although in Britain poor health was positively associated with living close to the nearest child
versus living far.
Low education had a positive effect for Italy on living close versus coresidence: the fact that more highly
educated women were more likely to coreside could
be explained by the greater likelihood that their own
Table 4. Multinomial Regression Model of Proximity to Nearest Child, Women 60–74: Britain and Italy
Britain 1994
Variable Effect
Close vs Coreside
Intercept
Age
65–69
70–74
Marital Status
Widowed
Divorced/
separated
Number of Children
Health
Fair/good
Not good
Education
Medium/Low
Housing Tenure
Other tenures
2.397 (0.345)a
.011 (0.224)
.657* (0.255)
Far vs Coreside
3.390 (0.419)
Italy 1995
Close vs Far
⫺.993 (0.298)
⫺.297 (0.210)
.308 (0.276)
.951** (0.307) ⫺.294 (0.218)
Close vs Coreside
Far vs Coreside
⫺.215 (0.135)
⫺.533 (0.247)
.713** (0.082)
1.024** (0.092)
⫺.343 (0.213)
⫺.430 (0.262)
⫺.706 (0.375)
⫺.223** (0.058)
⫺.047 (0.451)
⫺.659 (0.365)
⫺.263 (0.230)
⫺.741** (0.101)
.518** (0.090) ⫺.080** (0.024)
.007 (0.215)
.250 (0.262)
⫺.244 (0.254)
⫺.486 (0.329)
.087 (0.196)
⫺.448** (0.077)
Close vs Far
.318 (0.245)
.545** (0.167)
.973** (0.175)
.168 (0.164)
.051 (0.170)
⫺.421** (0.151) ⫺.027 (0.147)
⫺.961 (0.565)
.698 (0.558)
⫺0.561** (0.075) 0.481** (0.074)
.251 (0.183)
.101 (0.079)
.737** (0.245) ⫺.059 (0.095)
⫺.120 (0.153)
⫺.225 (0.188)
.221 (0.148)
.166 (0.183)
⫺.379 (0.293)
⫺1.345** (0.319)
.966** (0.198)
.320** (0.122)
⫺.342 (0.194)
.662** (0.189)
⫺.319 (0.209)
⫺.870** (0.269)
.551** (0.210)
.303** (0.083)
.249 (0.161)
0.053** (0.155)
Note: Reference categories: Education, high; Health, good; Tenure, owner–occupier; Marital status, married (includes few cohabitors
for Britain).
a
Standard errors in parentheses.
*p ⬍ .05; **p ⬍ .01.
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The Gerontologist
dren (aged 25–39) with a living mother, as well as the
associations between these characteristics and proximity to the mother (see Appendix, Note 1). In the
BSAS, proximity was created from a combination of
two variables, one identifying coresidence and the
other journey time to mother’s home. Thus, those
who were living under one hour’s journey from their
mother’s home were classified as living close, and
those living more than one hour away were categorized as living far. For Italy, the proximity variable remains the same as in the previous analyses.
In the age group considered here, the proportion of
young British adults coresiding with a living mother is
about a fourth of their Italian counterparts, while the
percentage living close is similar between the two
countries.
A lower proportion in Britain were single than in Italy (19% vs 35%), reflecting both higher rates of cohabitation in Britain and the slightly higher mean age
at marriage in Italy (see Appendix, Note 2). For example, 23% of childless women aged 25–29 were cohabiting in the United Kingdom versus only 0.3% in Italy
(Iacovou, 1998). Unemployment levels among this
age group were similar in the two countries, although
for those under age 25 unemployment levels in Italy
are substantially higher (Eurostat, 1996).
Although there were no sex differentials in proximity in Britain, gender differences were important in Italy, with Italian men being more likely to coreside
with parents. Whereas only 9% of British men aged
25–39 lived with their mothers, 39% of Italian men
did so. Although 31% of single people in this age
group were living with their mothers in Britain, 82%
of single people in Italy were living with their mothers. Adults in this age group in Britain with a high
level of education were more likely than their less
educated counterparts to live far from their mothers.
On the other hand, Italian 25–39-year-olds with
higher levels of education were more likely to core-
Figure 1. The probabilities of two profiles of women for living far
from, close to, or coresiding with adult children. A, “Less favored,”
aged 70–74, widowed, medium/low education, two children, social
sector housing/private renters. B, “More advantaged,” aged 60–64,
married, high education, two children, homeowner.
to their mother (for those with a living mother) in Britain and Italy using the 1995 BSAS and the 1995 Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie.
Tabular Analysis
Table 5 shows the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of British and Italian adult chil-
Table 5. Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Adults Aged 25–39 (%) and
Association With Proximity to Mother: Britain and Italy
Britaina
Characteristics
Total
Sex
Men
Women
Marital Statusa
Single
Married
Sep/div/wid
Education
Low education
High education
Work Status
Employed
Unemployed
Other
Student
Coresidence
Italyb
Close
Far
Total
Coresidence
Close
Far
Total
8.0
54.1
37.9
100.0
31.2
54.3
14.5
100.0
9.4
7.0
56.4
52.2
34.3
40.9
45.0
55.0
39.0
23.5
49.3
59.2
11.7
17.3
50.0
50.0
30.8
2.0
7.3
39.5
58.0
54.1
29.8
40.0
38.5
19.1
70.2
10.7
82.3
2.4
25.1
12.1
78.4
55.4
5.6
19.2
19.5
35.0
61.1
3.9
6.3
8.6
62.0
51.7
31.7
39.8
23.2
76.8
27.1
34.6
58.3
51.1
14.6
14.3
44.4
55.6
8.3
7.9
8.5
0.0
54.1
51.3
55.0
43.5
37.6
40.8
36.5
56.5
70.3
7.6
19.9
2.3
29.0
63.6
11.4
86.7
56.6
28.8
68.3
7.9
14.4
7.6
20.3
5.4
68.4
9.8
18.2
3.6
a
Of the variables used marital status showed the only significant association with proximity in Britain.
All of the variables used showed significant associations with proximity for Italy.
b
Vol. 40, No. 6, 2000
735
side than those with lower levels of education. Finally, only 8% of unemployed adults in this age
group coresided with their mothers in Britain, but
64% of their Italian counterparts were living with
their mothers.
The postponement of the transition to adulthood
in Italy appears to affect proximity, and in particular
coresidence, with parents. Consequently, proximity
in Italy may be more likely to be a response to the
needs of children than of parents in the young elderly
age group.
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Discussion
This study compared the correlates of proximity to
adult children among women aged 60–74 in Britain
and Italy. In our analysis, parental characteristics
such as health had more of an impact on intergenerational proximity in Britain than in Italy. This suggests
that parent–child proximity in Britain may be more
likely to arise from the needs of the older generation,
whereas in Italy, parent–child proximity may reflect a
cultural preference regardless of need. Although we
were not able to examine the effects of different cultural patterns on proximity, differences in attitudes
and values with regard to the desirability of intergenerational contact, and the norms of reciprocity between parents and children, are likely to affect residential propinquity between countries. Research has
shown that patterns of contact and assistance between generations appear to be greater in Southern
European countries such as Italy when compared
with Northwestern European countries such as Britain. This suggests that the closer intergenerational
proximity between elderly women and their adult
children found in Italy, when compared with Britain,
may be a desired outcome from the point of view of
both generations. Given lower levels of desired kin
interaction and intergenerational assistance in Britain, proximity between generations may be more
likely to arise out of parental need.
In addition, children’s socioeconomic background
in Britain had less of an effect on proximity and
coresidence than in Italy; thus, intergenerational
proximity in Italy may be more likely to be a response to the needs of children than parents. Delays
in the transition to adulthood in Italy have meant that
adult children are increasingly relying on continued
parental support. The strong norms in Italy concerning mutual aid between parents and children are
likely to have influenced the continuing assistance
provided by elderly parents to their adult children.
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Received October 12, 1999
Accepted May 23, 2000
Decision Editor: Vernon L. Greene, PhD
Appendix
Notes
1. In Italy, 9.0% of those aged 25–39 do not have a
living mother compared with 10% in Britain.
2. In 1994 the mean age at marriage was 29.4 and 28.2
for Italian and British men, respectively, and 26.4
and 26.1 for Italian and British women, respectively.
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737