Understanding the living arrangements of Latino immigrants: A life coarse approach

Using data from the 1990 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Latino Sample, this study examines three competing hypotheses for understanding extended family living among Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants. The findings indicate no significant relationship between living with extended kin and cultural indicators - such as English fluency - or economic factors - such as employment and income. Rather, the data support a life course explanation. Extended family living arrangements among Latino immigrants represent a resource generating strategy for caring for young children and older adults. Differences in age or relative location in the life course, and migration opportunities group variation in extended living arrangements for Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants. These findings verify patterns of household composition among Latino immigrants suggested by nonrandom, ethnographic samples.