Racial and Ethnic Differences in Extended Family Households

Prevalence of extended family households and factors associated with them are examined for non-Hispanic whites, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics using data from the 1990 U.S. Census. Nuclear family households and three distinct types of extended family households (upward, downward, and horizontal) are identified, and racial/ethnic differences in the distribution of these types are noted. I contend that household extensions occur as a result of a combination of economic, demographic, and cultural factors. To examine economic aspects of household extension, I first examine income distributions across various household types. Then, using multinomial logistic regression, I identify economic, demographic, and cultural factors related to the three different types of extended family households. Even after racial/ethnic differences in demographic and economic variables are accounted for, preferences for downward extension among African Americans, upward extension among Asians, and horizontal extension among Hispanics still remain, suggesting an independent effect of racial/ethnic culture regarding household extension.