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Abstract

Childhood family structures are crucial for long-term health and well-being. However, the effects of an increasingly common family structure—multigenerational households comprising a child, parent(s), and grandparent(s)—remained underexplored. Using panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and its young adult sample (N = 8,230), we examine trajectories of psychological distress among White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents and young adults across three dimensions of early life multigenerational coresidence: presence, duration, and onset. We find that Hispanic children who lived in multigenerational households, especially those beginning coresidence before age 1, reported steeper declines in distress and improved mental health over time. By contrast, multigenerational coresidence was consistently associated with higher distress levels among White adolescents and young adults. We do not find evidence of an association between multigenerational coresidence and Black children’s mental health trajectories. These findings highlight potential racial patterns and add to our understanding of racial disparities in health.

Keywords

mental health multigenerational coresidence race-ethnicity

Extensive research demonstrates that family structure in early childhood and adolescence affects child well-being due to varying socioeconomic resources, family dynamics, and related stressors (Barrett and Turner 2005; Brown 2004; Kleinschlömer et al. 2024; McLanahan and Percheski 2008). One study estimated that about one in four American children ever live in a multigenerational household that consists of a child, a child’s parent(s), and a child’s grandparent(s)¹ (Amorim, Dunifon, and Pilkauskas 2017). This family structure likely plays a crucial role in children’s development, potentially influencing their mental well-being throughout their lives.

Despite the noteworthy proportion of children who spend time in a multigenerational household at some point in their lives, many of the studies that examine the consequences of a multigenerational household on children’s mental well-being have significant limitations. First, past work tends to focus on single-mother multigenerational households and does not include an examination of two-parent family multigenerational households. However, a recent study shows that a similar number of children of kindergarten age grow up in single-mother and two-parent multigenerational households (Steadman, Everett, and Geist 2024). Second, scholars have demonstrated the importance of examining how early patterns in family structure matter for children’s well-being beyond childhood and into adolescence and adulthood, yet few studies on multigenerational households follow children past the critical developmental age to examine the long arm of childhood on adolescent and adult well-being (Avison 2010; Dunifon, Ziol-Guest, and Kopko 2014). Lastly, prior work has documented notable racial and ethnic variations in multigenerational coresidence rates and intergenerational family dynamics (Amorim and Pilkauskas 2023; Cross 2018; Fomby and Johnson 2022). However, it remains unclear whether the effects of multigenerational coresidence on mental health trajectories differ among White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents and young adults.

Guided by a life course perspective, we aim to address key gaps in the research by examining the following question: How does living in a multigenerational household during childhood associate with psychological distress during adolescence and young adulthood? Specifically, we focus on three dimensions of multigenerational coresidence: coresidence presence (whether a child ever lived with a grandparent in the same household), coresidence duration (the length of time spent living in a multigenerational household), and coresidence onset (when such coresidence started). Furthermore, we analyze these associations separately for White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents and young adults. To answer these questions, we use growth curve modeling techniques and draw on extensive intergenerational data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), incorporating information from both the original cohort (NLSY79) and the young adult sample (NLSY79-YA).

Background

Multigenerational Households and Children’s Health and Well-Being

Existing literature has established that family structure in childhood has lasting effects on children’s development and well-being across the life course (McLanahan and Percheski 2008). In particular, children with two married parents tend to have more positive developmental outcomes and better mental health relative to children with two cohabiting parents or children within single mother headed families (Barrett and Turner 2005; Brown 2004; McLanahan and Percheski 2008). Although this population-level pattern is well established, scholars suggest that diversity within each of these family structures may further disadvantage or protect child well-being (Dunifon et al. 2014; Williams et al. 2013). For example, children in single, cohabiting, and married family structures may also live within a multigenerational household—a household that includes a child, a child’s parent(s), and a child’s grandparent(s). Multigenerational households, which have been increasing since at least 1980, made up 7.2% of all U.S. households (U.S. Census Bureau 2023). Using data from the American Community Survey, Amorim and Pikauskas (2023) estimated that about 10.8% of American children lived in a multigenerational household in 2020.

Overall, little research examines the impact of childhood multigenerational coresidence on children’s long-term mental well-being. Existing studies primarily focus on children’s short-term outcomes, such as school performance or behavioral problems (Dunifon et al. 2014). One exception is the study by Harvey (2020), which found that compared to children who grew up with their mother (possibly including their father or mother’s romantic partner but no other adults), coresidence with grandparents during childhood was not negatively associated with young adults’ educational milestones and health outcomes, including depression at age 20. However, this work did not examine children’s mental health changes during adolescence or beyond age 20. We seek to expand the understanding of how multigenerational coresidence during childhood shapes the trajectories of psychological well-being during adolescence and young adulthood. To guide our study, we develop an integrated framework by drawing on the life course perspective on health and well-being and the theoretical work on family and child development.

A Life Course Perspective: Multigenerational Coresidence during Childhood and Mental Well-Being during Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Presence of multigenerational coresidence

According to a life course perspective, early family experiences can have lasting effects on health, including mental well-being (Avison 2010; Umberson and Thomeer 2020). Therefore, childhood experiences do not necessarily “stay in childhood” but may shape adults’ mental health trajectories due to the progressive nature of biological and psychological development (McLeod and Almazan 2003). Within this framework, multigenerational coresidence with grandparents during childhood—a unique type of household and family environment—may have enduring impacts on children’s mental well-being over time (Harvey 2020; Lee et al. 2021). Current research has shown that such coresidence increases the prominence of grandparents’ role in providing emotional, monetary, and instrumental assistance to their adult children and grandchildren (Amorim 2019; Zeng and Xie 2014).

A life course perspective further suggests that the “linked lives” of children and their grandparents may serve as a platform for the transmission of resources, opportunities, and stressors over time (Gilligan, Karraker, and Jasper 2018). Prior research has indicated that the strong ties between children and their grandparents do not change systematically during grandchildren’s emerging adulthood, even when the frequency of intergenerational contact declines (Geurts, van Tilburg, and Poortman 2012; Sciplino and Kinshott 2019; Wetzel and Hank 2020). In fact, a closer relationship with grandparents was found to be associated with the subjective well-being of grandchildren ages 10 to 25 (Jappens and Bavel 2020). Another study found that closer ties with grandparents reduced depressive symptoms among young adults, especially those raised in single-parent families (Ruiz and Silverstein 2007). Furthermore, grandparents can help grandchildren accumulate social capital because closer ties with grandparents likely increase opportunities for young adults to stay in contact and develop trustworthy relationships with extended family members (Ma 2024). Thus, children who build a close relationship with grandparents through early life coresidence may continue to draw on support from grandparents and grandparents’ social network to maintain or improve their mental well-being.

On the other hand, cross-generational interactions can be stressful, especially when grandparents and grandchildren clash over values related to issues such as gender expression and sexual orientation (McCandless-Chapman et al. 2024). Additionally, grandchildren may face caregiving stress as their grandparents’ health declines (Fruhauf and Orel 2008). These stressors may be amplified if children develop close relationships with their grandparents through early life coresidence, potentially impacting their mental health. Altogether, prior research suggests that childhood experiences of multigenerational coresidence may influence children’s mental health during adolescence and young adulthood in positive or negative ways.

Duration of multigenerational coresidence

Within the life course perspective, the concept of cumulative advantage and disadvantage provides a framework for examining the complex dynamics of family arrangements and child well-being (Umberson and Thomeer 2020). According to this perspective, the duration of childhood multigenerational coresidence may play a key role in shaping children’s mental health trajectories. Specifically, prolonged access to the additional resources and support provided by a coresiding grandparent may be particularly beneficial for children’s mental well-being. Conversely, an extended duration of childhood multigenerational coresidence may lead to prolonged exposure to family stressors and caregiving strain, such as conflicts over parenting styles, financial pressures, or caregiving responsibilities. These stressful family environments during childhood can trigger interconnected biological, psychological, behavioral, and social processes—such as heightened cardiovascular reactivity, increased emotional sensitivity, substance use, and disrupted educational trajectories—that cumulatively shape mental well-being over the life course (Miller, Chen, and Parker 2011; Repetti, Robles, and Reynolds 2011). In this case, prolonged experience in a multigenerational household may contribute to increased psychological distress for children over time.

Onset of multigenerational coresidence

The life course perspective also highlights the importance of timing, emphasizing that the critical period when significant experiences first occur can have lasting effects on individual outcomes, such as mental health (Avison 2010; Umberson and Thomeer 2020). Although the concepts of critical periods and cumulative advantage/disadvantage are interconnected, they suggest distinct pathways through which exposures to a multigenerational household may shape children’s mental health over time.

Existing sociological studies employing a critical periods model to examine health emphasize the importance of life experiences during developmentally salient periods—typically early childhood in shaping health outcomes over the life course (Colen 2011; Haas 2008). This perspective builds on interdisciplinary research in psychology, epidemiology, and neuroscience, which underscores that early exposure to stress and trauma, during a time of heightened neuroplasticity, can be linked with psychiatric disorders and other mental health outcomes (Gee and Casey 2015). For example, Dunn et al. (2017) found that experiencing traumatic events such as emotional abuse or witnessing interpersonal violence between ages 0 to 5, compared to experiencing these adversities and stress during later developmental periods, was associated with elevated risks of depression in adulthood. Research has also shown that multigenerational coresidence can be particularly valuable for families with young children, when the childcare demand and young parents’ work–family conflicts are high and coresiding grandparents’ support is most needed (Mustillo, Li, and Wang 2021; Pilkauskas 2014). The infant stage, in particular, can be especially stressful due to the high cost of infant care and the heightened risk of marital distress (Bogdan, Turliuc, and Candel 2022; Pew Research Center 2024).

Taken together, positive effects gained from multigenerational coresidence during infancy and early childhood may be particularly influential for children’s long-term mental health. By contrast, multigenerational coresidence formed later in a child’s life may not primarily address the child’s needs because it may instead arise from grandparents requiring care or support from their adult children. As a result, children in these households may receive fewer resources and less support, limiting the potential positive effects of multigenerational coresidence. Overall, the additional support and stress associated with multigenerational coresidence may activate different psychosocial pathways depending on the timing of the coresidence, leading to varying impacts on children’s mental well-being over time.

Race of the Children

Black and Hispanic children are considerably more likely to experience multigenerational coresidence than White children (Cross 2018). According to Pilkauskas, Amorim, and Dunifon (2020), in 2018, 13% of Black and Hispanic children lived in multigenerational households, compared to 7% of White children. These patterns may reflect differences in family needs and household stress, family dynamics and support exchanges, and the cultural significance of multigenerational coresidence, each with important implications for children’s long-term mental health.

Historically, multigenerational coresidence has served as an important strategy for pooling resources and enhancing economic security. On average, Black and Hispanic households have lower income and less wealth than White households (Taylor et al. 2011), which likely contributes to the historically lower prevalence of multigenerational coresidence among White families compared to Black and Hispanic families (Cepa and Kao 2019; Lei and South 2016; Reyes 2022). The racial variation of coresidence prevalence may also suggest distinct patterns of selection into multigenerational household and varying family needs across racial groups. Pilkauskas (2014) posited that in groups where multigenerational coresidence was less common, individuals might opt for such living arrangements due to significant family or economic stressors. Consequently, children in these multigenerational households may report worse well-being than those who have never lived in these households. This trend may be particularly pronounced among demographic groups with lower rates of coresidence, such as White children. On the other hand, in contexts where coresidence is more common, the roles of both parents and grandparents are likely to be better defined, even in the face of economic scarcity. Such clarity in roles may lead to less family conflict and more support for the children (Mollborn, Fomby, and Dennis 2011). Black and Hispanic children, who experience higher rates of multigenerational coresidence, may derive particular benefit from these household arrangements.

In the context of entrenched economic inequality by race, the family dynamics of multigenerational coresidence further vary across racial groups. Specifically, Black and Hispanic grandparents are highly involved in their grandchildren’s lives by providing a wide range of care, such as childcare, emotional support, and even surrogate care (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler 2007; Hunter and Taylor 1998; Sarkisian, Gerena, and Gerstel 2007). Black grandmothers, in particular, have long played a significant role in the lives of their children and grandchildren, a practice of extended familism dating back to the era of slavery (Hunter and Taylor 1998; Jimenez 2002). Hispanic families are often characterized by a familistic cultural orientation, or familismo, which emphasizes strong family ties, marriage, fertility, and nurturing members of both nuclear and extended families (Oropesa and Landale 2004). The additional care and support from grandparents may be particularly influential for the mental health of racial minority children.

The distinct cultural significance of multigenerational coresidence may continue to shape the beliefs and behaviors of individuals from racial minority groups beyond the period of childhood coresidence and across the life course. For example, compared to White individuals, Black and Hispanic adults are more likely to value the importance of providing housing for family members in need and to view home-sharing more positively (Burr and Mutchler 1999; Cepa and Kao 2019). Additionally, Black and Hispanic adults report more frequent contact with extended family members and higher levels of support compared to White adults (Comeau 2012; Taylor et al. 2022). Although Black and Hispanic communities have similarities in high coresidence rate and frequent family contact, Black and Hispanic children in these households may still have distinct experiences. For instance, a higher percentage of Black multigenerational households include a single mother compared to White and Hispanic households (Kahn, García-Manglano, and Goldscheider 2017; Lei and South 2016). Furthermore, family ties with female kin are particularly important among Black communities, whereas Hispanic families tend to be larger and more integrated (Fomby and Johnson 2022; Haxton and Harknett 2009). Taken together, these patterns suggest that multigenerational coresidence during childhood may have distinct impacts on the adult lives of White, Black, and Hispanic individuals.

The Current Study

Taken together, the primary goal of this study is to examine whether and how mental health during adolescence and young adulthood differs based on childhood experiences of multigenerational coresidence. We consider three dimensions of multigenerational coresidence in assessing the relationship between multigenerational coresidence during childhood and mental health trajectories during adolescence and young adulthood. We examine these associations separately for White, Black, and Hispanic individuals in recognition of the distinct cultural significance and family dynamics of multigenerational coresidence.

Specifically, we ask:

Research Question 1: How is any experience of childhood multigenerational coresidence associated with the mental health trajectories of adolescents and young adults, examined separately for White, Black, and Hispanic individuals?

Research Question 2: How is the duration of childhood multigenerational coresidence associated with the mental health trajectories of adolescents and young adults, examined separately for White, Black, and Hispanic individuals?

Research Question 3: How is the timing of first exposure to childhood multigenerational coresidence (i.e., no exposure, before the first birthday, between ages 1 and 5, and between ages 6 and 14) associated with the mental health trajectories of adolescents and young adults, examined separately for White, Black, and Hispanic individuals?

Data and Methods

Description of Data

We employed data from the National Longitudinal Surveys (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor 2018). Specifically, we combined information from the original sample (NLSY79) and the young adult sample (NLSY79-YA). The NLSY79 is a nationally representative, prospective cohort study that randomly selected 12,686 respondents ages 14 to 22 in 1979 and followed them annually or biennially for the next 40 years. Although this survey was originally designed to examine the labor market experiences of baby boomers as they moved from adolescence into adulthood, it provides one of the best sources of intergenerational family dynamics and health data across the life course.

Children of the NLSY79 mothers were also followed over time. This cohort of NLSY79 offspring formed the basis for the NLSY79-YA survey, which began in 1994 when the oldest children of the original NLSY79 respondents turned 14. The NLSY79-YA cohort consists of 11,551 children born to NLSY79 mothers. To construct our analytic sample, we first eliminated 282 children who either lacked valid information on multigenerational coresidence across all waves or never lived with their mothers from birth to age 14. Next, we retained respondents who had more than one wave of Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scores from 1994 to 2018 to ensure that each young adult had at least two data points for the growth curve analyses, as recommended by prior research (Raudenbush and Bryk 2002; Reczek et al. 2017). These steps resulted in an analytical sample of 42,796 cases from 8,230 young adults who were followed from 1994 to 2018 (ages 14 to early 40s). Thus, the unit of analysis in this study was person-years.

Description of Measures

Psychological distress

Our primary outcome, psychological distress, refers to “an unpleasant subjective state” that includes symptoms such as anxiety and depression (Mirowsky and Ross 1989). We measured this concept by using a seven-item version of the CES-D scale, which was evaluated consistently from 1994 to 2018 in the NLSY79-YA. This shortened form of the traditional CES-D scale was based on a series of questions asking respondents how often during the past week they experienced the following: “My appetite was poor,” “I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing,” “I felt depressed,” “I felt that everything I did was an effort,” “My sleep was restless,” “I felt sad,” and “I could not get ‘going.’” Young adults answered each item by choosing “rarely, none of the time, 1 day”; “some, a little of the time, 1 to 2 days”; “occasionally, moderate amount of the time, 3 to 4 days”; or “most, all of the time, 5 to 7days.” We added up the separate responses to create a summary score for respondent i in year t. The Cronbach’s alpha falls between .67 and .84 depending on the survey year in question.

Multigenerational coresidence during childhood

Multigenerational household was broadly operationalized as whether the NLSY-YA respondent lived in a household with at least one grandparent prior to the age of 14. Information on living arrangements was taken from the household roster in the NLSY79 survey for mothers. If the NLSY mother was living with her mother, father, mother-in-law, or father-in-law, then her child (NLSY79-YA) was considered living in a multigenerational household at the time of interview.

We derived three distinct variables to capture the complex nature of how household composition can change over the life course (i.e., ever, length, and critical period). First, we created a dichotomous measure that indicated whether the NLSY79-YA had ever lived with his/her grandparent prior to the age of 14. We then described the duration of exposure using a continuous measure of how many waves the NLSY79-YA lived with his/her grandparent before turning 14. Finally, to further delineate if exposure to multigenerational coresidence took place during a critical period of childhood development, we constructed a categorical variable based on the specific timing of first coresidence (i.e., never, during the first year of life, between ages 1 and 5, and between ages 6 and 14).

Race-ethnicity

Another key variable in this study was the race-ethnicity of participants from the NLSY79-YA. This time-invariant variable was based on the interviewers’ identification of the mothers’ race in the original NLSY-79 cohort. Light and Nandi (2007) indicate that interviewer-assigned and self-reported race are largely consistent. There were three mutually exclusive categories for this variable: non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic.²

Covariates

We included a host of covariates that may theoretically confound our relationship of interest (Dunifon et al. 2014; Harvey 2020; Steadman et al. 2024). Our control variables included NSLY79-YA’s demographic characteristics, such as sex, region of residence, and marital status. The sex of the young adult (0 = male, 1 = female) was a time-invariant variable based on maternal reports. Time-varying controls were marital status (0 = never married, 1 = married or cohabiting, other) and region of residence (0 = Northeast, 1 = Midwest, 2 = South, 3 = West). In terms of socioeconomic indicators, we used educational attainment and household income. If the NLSY79-YA was younger than 18, living with a parent, not married, not living with a partner, and had no children in a given wave, we used the educational attainment and household income of their mother from the NLSY79 to represent their socioeconomic status (SES). On the other hand, if the NLSY79-YA was independent at the time, we used their own educational attainment and household income from the NLSY79-YA for SES. The household income measure was adjusted in 2017 dollars and transformed with a log function in our models. Both SES indicators were time-varying variables.

Analytical Approach

We employed linear multilevel models with random intercepts and random coefficients (i.e., growth curve models) to examine how exposure to multigenerational coresidence during childhood (from birth to the age of 14) was associated with both baseline levels of depression at age 14 and changes over time as focal children transition from adolescence into young adulthood. The analysis used child’s age as the time unit. Data on children’s depression trajectories spanned the years 1994 to 2018. Growth curve models were suitable for the current study because they were flexible enough to recognize that individuals start with varying levels of psychological distress and that they experience varying rates of psychological distress over time. Therefore, growth curve models can differentiate between within-individual change and between-individual change. Additionally, we calculated robust standard errors using the Huber–White correction estimate and clustered them at the highest level of aggregation (i.e., NLSY79 mothers).

We employed multiple imputations with chained equations to handle missing data in the covariates (Royston 2005). Gibbs sampling techniques created conditional distributions for missing data on all variables (van Buuren 2012). Because the percentages of missing information were under 10% for income and under 2% for all the other covariates, we generated five distinct data sets for missing values (Allison 2001). Additionally, we conducted a sensitivity analysis by increasing the number of iterations from 5 to 20, and the results remained qualitatively unchanged. We used the imputed data to produce both descriptive statistics and regression results. Overall, our findings were consistent before and after applying multiple imputation.

We first generated descriptive statistics for the full sample and separately for White, Black, and Hispanic children. Next, to account for differences in the covariates, we used growth curve models to estimate children’s CES-D scores during adolescence and young adulthood. These multivariate models were stratified by race-ethnicity and included a quadratic term for age to account for the potentially nonlinear relationship between age and psychological distress. To better understand the results, we analyzed adjusted predicted margins and graphed the predicted values of psychological distress by each dimension of multigenerational coresidence for each racial group (Mize 2019). We produced the figures and conducted the relevant tests using the mimrgns command in Stata 15.0 for multiply imputed data (Klein 2020).

Results

Descriptive Results

Descriptive statistics for all variables are delineated in Table 1. We also present these statistics for each racial-ethnic group in Table 1. Among the 8,230 NLSY young adults, 29% resided with a grandmother or grandfather at some point during childhood (the 31% reported in Table 1 was based on person-year data). Among those who ever experienced multigenerational coresidence, the mean number of waves they spent in these households was 3.5 (see Appendix A in the online version of the article). When we decompose this percentage further, we find that about 14% and 11% of the NLSY-YA sample lived in a multigenerational household during their first year and prior to kindergarten, respectively. The mean CES-D score for the full sample is 4.4, and the average age of the NLSY-YA is 22 years. The sample consisted of 43% White, 35% Black, and 22% Hispanic young adults.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics of Analytic Sample, Means (with Standard Deviations) and Proportions, N = 42,796.

	Full	White	Black	Hispanic
Multigenerational coresidence	31.04	16.77	46.05^a	35.55^a,b
Waves in coresidence	1.08 (2.30)	.50 (1.55)	1.84^a (2.95)	1.04^a,b (2.01)
First exposure to coresidence
Never before 14	68.96	83.23	53.95^c	64.45^c
Before 1st birthday	13.90	5.67	24.05^a	14.13^a,b
Between ages 1 and 5	11.05	6.81	14.85^a	13.45^a,b
Between ages 6 and 14	6.08	4.29	7.15^a	7.97^a
CES-D score	4.39(3.80)	4.23(3.79)	4.74^a (3.88)	4.17^b (3.66)
Age	21.82(5.50)	21.34(5.19)	22.38^a (5.83)	21.87^a,b (5.46)
Female	50.37	49.59	52.35^a	48.77^b
Race and ethnicity
NH White	43.45
NH Black	34.70
Hispanic	21.85
Region of residence
Northeast	13.43	14.87	11.38^c	13.82^c
Midwest	24.33	35.78	19.54^a	9.18^a,b
South	42.45	32.67	62.20^a	30.51^b
West	19.79	16.68	6.88^a	46.50^a,b
Marital status
Never married	82.80	80.19	87.17^c	81.06^c
Married or cohabiting	13.35	16.22	8.92^a	14.66^b
Other	3.85	3.59	3.91	4.28
Education
Less than high school	18.61	12.69	21.59^a	25.63^a
High school	37.20	35.23	40.13	36.45
Some college	30.62	32.35	29.34	29.20
College and above	13.58	19.73	8.94	8.72
Household income	8.21(4.45)	9.14(9.14)	7.17^a (4.96)	8.03^a,b (4.60)
n (person-years)	42,796	18,596	14,850	9,350
n (children)	8,230	3,711	2,717	1,802
n (mothers)	3,556	1,720	1,127	709

Data Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979–Young Adults, 1994–2018.

Note: NH = non-Hispanic; CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale.

Significant difference from NH White group (p < .05).

Significant difference from NH Black group (p < .05).

Reference category.

Examining racial differences in these key variables reveals significant variations. According to Table 1, White young adults³ had the lowest rate of multigenerational coresidence at 17%, followed by Hispanic young adults at 36% and Black young adults at 46%. Turning to the results in Appendix A (in the online version of the article), we see that among those who experienced multigenerational coresidence, Black children spent the most time in a multigenerational household during their childhood, averaging four waves. The onset of multigenerational coresidence also differs by race. Among those who ever lived in multigenerational households, more than half of Black children started living with a grandparent before their first birthday, compared to 40% of Hispanic children and 34% of White children. Black young adults were older and reported higher CES-D scores than White and Hispanic young adults.

Turning to the covariates, we also observe significant racial variations in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. First, most Black young adults (62%) resided in the South, and a large proportion of Hispanic young adults (47%) lived in the West. White young adults were more likely to live in the Midwest. Black young adults had significantly lower rates of being in a married or cohabiting relationship compared to their White and Hispanic peers. White young adults reported the highest household income, followed by Hispanic and then Black young adults.

Multivariate Results

Presence of multigenerational coresidence

Table 2 contains results predicting CES-D trajectories based on coresidence presence for the full sample and by race. Results from the full sample show that as NLSY young adults moved through successive stages of the life course, their levels of psychological distress increased (b = .04, p < .1). The negative coefficient for the quadratic term of age suggests that this trajectory flattened over time. Multigenerational coresidence was generally associated with higher levels of depression. Respondents who had experience living in a multigenerational household had CES-D scores that were, on average, .58 points higher compared to those who never lived in such a household. The interaction term between age and coresidence was not statistically significant (p < .1), indicating that the rate of change in CES-D score trajectories did not vary based on multigenerational coresidence in the full sample.

Table 2.

Results from Growth Curve Models Predicting CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (Yes/No), N = 42,796.

	Full		White		Black		Hispanic
	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a
Age	.04⁺	.02	–.02	.04	.13***	.03	.00	.04
Age × Age	–.00**	.00	–.00	.00	–.00**	.00	–.00	.00
Multigenerational coresidence	.58**	.18	.87*	.35	.32	.28	1.15**	.34
Age × Coresidence	–.01⁺	.01	–.01	.02	–.02	.01	–.04**	.02
Female	.80***	.06	–.78***	.08	.96***	.09	.57***	.11
Race and ethnicity
NH White	Ref
NH Black	.22**	.08
Hispanic	–.25**	.09
Region of residence
Northeast	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Midwest	.01	.11	.15	.14	–.03	.21	–.42	.27
South	.09	.10	.31*	.14	–.25	.18	.10	.23
West	.11	.11	.34*	.16	–.07	.24	–.09	.22
Marital status
Never married	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Married or cohabiting	–.27***	.06	–.18*	.09	–.29*	.13	–.28*	.11
Other	.51***	.12	.67**	.21	.39⁺	.21	.40⁺	.24
Education
Less than high school	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
High school	–.36***	.06	–.39***	.11	–.40***	.10	–.28*	.11
Some college	–.70***	.07	–.74***	.11	–.79***	.11	–.43***	.12
College and above	–1.01***	.08	–.98***	.13	–1.11***	.14	–.84***	.17
Household income	–.01*	.00	–.02*	.01	–.02*	.01	–.00	.01
Random effects
Slope	.13	.01	.15	.01	.12	.01	.12	.02
Intercept	3.24	.15	3.42	.22	3.14	.27	3.06	.31
n (person-years)	42,796		18,596		14,850		9,350
n (children)	8,230		3,711		2,717		1,802
n (mothers)	3,556		1,720		1,127		709

Data Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979–Young Adults, 1994–2018.

Note: CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale; NH = non-Hispanic; Ref = reference category.

Robust standard errors calculated using the Huber–White method and clustered at National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 family level (i.e., mothers from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979).

p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Turning to the subsample analysis by race (Table 2), we see considerable racial variations in the relationship between coresidence experience and CES-D trajectories. To better illustrate these differences, we present the predicted values in Figure 1 based on these models. We also tested the differences in CES-D scores by coresidence status at ages 14, 20, 30, 40, and 46. The detailed results of these tests are presented in Appendix B in the online version of the article. Looking first at the results for White children, the coefficients for multigenerational coresidence and its interaction with age indicate that those who had ever lived in a multigenerational household generally had higher CES-D scores, but the trajectories of CES-D for children with or without coresidence experience were similar. Figure 1 supports this observation, showing that White children who lived in multigenerational households consistently had higher CES-D scores than those without such experience. Results from Table S₁ in the online version of the article show that this difference in mental distress by coresidence status was statistically significant throughout adolescence and young adulthood. Results for Black children show no significant difference in psychological distress trajectories based on whether they lived in a multigenerational household during childhood. Results for Hispanic children differ from those of both White and Black children. Compared to Hispanic children who never lived with a grandparent, those with coresidence experience reported higher CES-D scores at age 14, but their CES-D scores also declined at a faster rate. Consequently, the CES-D scores of these two groups converged around age 30.

Figure 1.

Predicted CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (Yes/No) for White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals, N = 42,796.

Duration of multigenerational coresidence

Next, we examine how coresidence duration influences the mental health trajectories of NLSY young adults. Table 3 contains results predicting CES-D trajectories based on coresidence duration. From these models, we derived the predicted values shown in Figure 2. According to Table 3, the coefficients for coresidence duration and its interaction with age were not significant across all models. Figure 2 supports these findings, demonstrating that coresidence duration did not impact the psychological distress trajectories of NLSY young adults.

Table 3.

Results from Growth Curve Models Predicting CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (Number of Waves), N = 42,796.

	Full		White		Black		Hispanic
	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a
Age	.04⁺	.02	–.02	.04	.13***	.03	–.01	.04
Age × Age	–.00**	.00	–.00	.00	–.00***	.00	–.00	.00
Waves of coresidence	.03	.04	.15⁺	.09	.01	.05	.11	.07
Age × Waves of coresidence	–.00	.00	–.00	.00	–.00	.00	–.00	.00
Female	.80***	.06	.77***	.09	.96***	.09	.58***	.12
Race and ethnicity
NH White	Ref
NH Black	.27**	.08
Hispanic	–.21*	.09
Region of residence
Northeast	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Midwest	.01	.11	.16	.14	–.03	.21	–.42	.27
South	.10	.10	.34*	.14	–.25	.18	.11	.23
West	.12	.11	.38*	.16	–.07	.24	–.09	.22
Marital status
Never married	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Married or cohabiting	–.26***	.06	–.18*	.09	–.29*	.13	–.28*	.11
Other	.51***	.12	.68*	.20	.40⁺	.21	.40⁺	.24
Education
Less than high school	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
High school	–.37***	.06	–.41***	.11	–.41***	.10	–.29*	.11
Some college	–.71***	.07	–.77***	.11	–.79***	.11	–.44***	.12
College and above	–1.03***	.08	–1.01***	.13	–1.12***	.14	–.87***	.17
Household income	–.01*	.00	–.02*	.01	–.02*	.01	–.00	.01
Random effects
Slope	.13	.01	.15	.01	.13	.01	.12	.02
Intercept	3.25	.15	3.43	.22	3.14	.27	3.10	.31
n (person-years)	42,796		18,596		14,850		9,350
n (children)	8,230		3,711		2,717		1,802
n (mothers)	3,556		1,720		1,127		709

Data Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979–Young Adults, 1994–2018.

Note: CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale; NH = non-Hispanic; Ref = reference category.s

p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Figure 2.

Predicted CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (n Waves) for White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals, N = 42,796.

Onset of multigenerational coresidence

Table 4 presents results using variables related to the coresidence onset as the main predictors of interest, and Figure 3 displays the predicted values. Results that test the differences in CES-D scores by coresidence status at specific ages are presented in Appendix C in the online version of the article. Looking first at the result for White children, those who began living in multigenerational households between ages 6 and 14 appear to be the standout group. Compared to White children who never lived in a multigenerational household, this group had higher CES-D scores at baseline (b = 1.27, p < .05), and their CES-D scores may have decreased at a faster rate (b = –.05), although the coefficient was not significant. Results from Table S₂ in the online version of the article provide additional insights. Among White children who lived in multigenerational households, those who did so between ages 6 and 14 began to have similar CES-D scores as those who never coresided with a grandparent by around age 20, sooner than those who began multigenerational coresidence at an earlier age. Next, results for Black children show no significant difference in CES-D trajectories based on when they experienced multigenerational coresidence during childhood.⁴

Table 4.

Results from Growth Curve Models Predicting CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (Time Period), N = 42,796.

	Full		White		Black		Hispanic
	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a	b	SE ^a
Age	.04⁺	.02	–.01	.04	.13***	.04	.01	.04
Age × Age	–.00**	.00	–.00	.00	–.00**	.00	–.00	.00
First exposure to coresidence
Never before 14	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Before 1st birthday	.54*	.24	.96⁺	.56	.41	.35	1.29**	.47
Between ages 1 and 5	.56*	.25	.57	.50	.13	.39	1.36**	.48
Between ages 6 and 14	.72*	.32	1.27*	.64	.50	.49	.61	.58
Age × First exposure
Age × Never before 14	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Age × Before 1st birthday	–.01	.01	–.01	.02	–.02	.02	–.05*	.02
Age × Between ages 1 and 5	–.01	.01	.01	.02	–.01	.02	–.04*	.02
Age × Between ages 6 and 14	–.02	.01	–.05	.03	–.02	.02	–.02	.03
Female	.80***	.06	.78***	.08	.96***	.09	.57***	.11
Race and ethnicity
NH White	Ref
NH Black	.23**	.08
Hispanic	–.25**	.09
Region of residence
Northeast	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Midwest	.01	.11	.15	.14	–.03	.21	–.42	.27
South	.08	.10	.30*	.14	–.25	.18	.10	.23
West	.11	.11	.34*	.16	–.07	.24	–.10	.22
Marital status
Never married	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
Married or cohabiting	–.27***	.06	–.19*	.09	–.29*	.13	–.28*	.11
Other	.50***	.12	.66**	.21	.39⁺	.21	.39	.24
Education
Less than high school	Ref		Ref		Ref		Ref
High school	–.36***	.06	–.39***	.11	–.41***	.10	–.28*	.11
Some college	–.70***	.07	–.74***	.11	–.79***	.11	–.43***	.12
College and above	–1.01***	.08	–.98***	.13	–1.12***	.14	–.84***	.17
Household income	–.01*	.00	–.02*	.01	–.02*	.01	–.00	.01
Random effects
Slope	.13	.01	.15	.01	.12	.01	.12	.02
Intercept	3.24	.15	3.43	.22	3.14	.27	3.05	.32
n (person-years)	42,796		18,596		14,850		9,350
n (children)	8,230		3,711		2,717		1,802
n (mothers)	3,556		1,720		1,127		709

Data Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979–Young Adults, 1994–2018.

Note: CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale; NH = non-Hispanic; Ref = reference category.

p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Figure 3.

Predicted CES-D Scores by Multigenerational Coresidence (Onset/Critical Period) for White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals, N = 42,796.

Lastly, we turn to the results for Hispanic children. The coefficients in Table 4 indicate that relative to children who never lived with a grandparent before age 14, those who began living in multigenerational households before their first birthday or before kindergarten had higher CES-D scores at baseline (b = 1.29, p < .01; b = 1.36, p < .01), but their CES-D scores decreased at a faster rate (b = –.05, p < .05; b = –.04, p < .05). The results from Figure 3 corroborated these findings. Additionally, Table S₂ in the online version of the article shows that the difference in CES-D scores between Hispanic children who never experienced multigenerational coresidence and those who did so before age 1 disappeared by around age 20. Furthermore, the former group was predicted to have lower CES-D scores at age 46. In sum, these results suggest that the earlier a Hispanic child experiences multigenerational coresidence, the more beneficial it is for their mental health trajectories during adolescence and young adulthood.

Sensitivity analyses

We conducted supplementary analyses including three-way interactions of multigenerational coresidence, children’s age, and their race-ethnicity. Although the coefficients for the three-way interactions were not consistently significant, the analysis of predicted adjusted margins based on these models yielded patterns consistent with the main findings. Specifically, Hispanic young adults who ever lived in multigenerational households showed faster declines in psychological distress compared to their Black and White peers. Additionally, Hispanic young adults who began living in a multigenerational household before age 1 experienced more rapid declines in distress over time than their counterparts from other racial-ethnic groups.

Next, we conducted sensitivity analyses to examine the effects of immigration status, particularly for Hispanic children. Although all NLSY79 respondents were born in the United States, we were able to create a variable to identify whether the NLSY79 mothers had at least one parent born outside of the United States. We found that having at least one foreign-born maternal grandparent was associated with lower CES-D scores for Hispanic children. However, the inclusion of this variable did not qualitatively alter our findings on the association between multigenerational coresidence and children’s mental health trajectories. Additionally, we conducted sensitivity analyses for both income and CES-D scores. For income, we tested alternative model specifications using the original (untransformed) variables and excluding income while retaining other socioeconomic controls. For CES-D scores, we applied a log transformation of CES-D scores to address the positive skew and recoded high scores into a single category. These results remain qualitatively similar to those presented in the text. Finally, we restricted the sample to include only the oldest child of each mother in the analysis. The results remained qualitatively unchanged and are available on request.

Discussion

Childhood family structures have a lasting impact on individual health over the life course (Brown 2004; McLanahan and Percheski 2008; Williams et al. 2013). However, research on the long-term health effects of a growing family structure—multigenerational coresidence with at least a parent and a grandparent during childhood—remains scarce. Drawing on a life course perspective and theoretical insights on family relationships and child well-being, this study fills this gap by examining the association between multigenerational coresidence in childhood and trajectories of psychological distress during adolescence and young adulthood. Given the complex life course processes linking multigenerational coresidence and mental health trajectories, we assess three key dimensions of coresidence: presence, duration, and onset. Moreover, recognizing substantial racial differences in family needs, dynamics, and the historical and cultural significance of multigenerational coresidence, we focus primarily on within-race differences by conducting separate analyses for White, Black, and Hispanic children. Leveraging panel data from the NLSY79 and its young adult sample, this study employs growth curve models to examine these associations. The results reveal complex and nuanced life course processes that connect childhood experiences in multigenerational households and their mental well-being during adolescence and adulthood, with distinct patterns emerging across different racial and ethnic groups. Given these variations, we discuss our findings separately for each racial-ethnic group, highlighting key contributions to the life course theory and the literature on family and health.

Among White children, we find that those who experienced multigenerational coresidence during childhood reported consistently higher levels of psychological distress throughout adolescence and young adulthood compared to their peers without such experience. This result shows that the presence of multigenerational coresiding experience may have negative effects for children’s long-term mental health. Multigenerational coresidence is much less common among White families than Black and Latino communities (Cross 2018; Mollborn et al. 2011; Pilkauskas et al. 2020). As a result, White families may turn to multigenerational coresidence in response to significant economic or family hardships (Pilkauskas 2014), creating a potentially stressful environment for the adults and the children. For example, Caputo and Cagney (2023) found that related to their Black and Hispanic peers, White parents who coresided with their adult children reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. These makeshift living situations may further intensify family conflicts and stressors as parents and grandparents navigate childcare and household responsibilities under challenging circumstances. Our results suggest that for White children, the profound disadvantages associated with multigenerational coresidence likely extend beyond childhood because stressors within these households may persist or even proliferate across generations through linked lives, ultimately contributing to elevated levels of psychological distress over time.

Despite the overall negative association between multigenerational coresidence and White children’s mental health trajectories, our results suggest a modest potential benefit of multigenerational coresidence between the ages 6 and 14, which contrasts with general predictions based on the critical periods model. Prior research by Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones (2007) found that among 5- to 15-year-old White children living with a single mother, coresidence with a grandparent was associated with increased cognitive stimulation and higher reading scores. Our finding extends this research by suggesting that multigenerational coresidence during childhood may offer benefits that can contribute to better mental well-being for White young adults.

Next, our results indicate that none of the dimensions of multigenerational coresidence—such as coresidence presence, duration, or onset—is associated with the mental health trajectories of Black adolescents and young adults. This finding is consistent with prior work, especially those that use robust techniques to address selection into multigenerational coresidence (Augustine and Raley 2013; Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones 2007). This evidence shows that three-generational households do not appear to offer additional benefits for Black children’s development and well-being. One explanation for this finding is that in groups where coresidence is more common, such as the Black community, families that choose to live with a grandparent and those that do not may share similar characteristics. Consequently, children growing up in these two types of households may have similar mental health and other developmental outcomes (Pilkauskas 2014).

Another explanation is the distinct family dynamics in Black multigenerational households. Prior work indicates that Black and Hispanic grandparents in these households tend to provide more extensive childcare than White grandparents (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler 2007; Hunter and Taylor 1998). However, despite providing similar levels of childcare, Black grandparents reported higher levels of frailty than their Hispanic counterparts (Chen et al. 2015). In a related context, Black Americans tend to experience earlier health deterioration than White Americans, a phenomenon linked to cumulative stressors and socioeconomic disadvantages unique in a race-conscious society (Geronimus et al. 2006). These results suggest that as Black children grow up, they may begin to provide care for their grandparents even when they move out of the household. The caregiving stress may diminish any potential benefits from early life coresidence with grandparents.

Lastly, our findings indicate that multigenerational coresidence during childhood has protective effects on the mental well-being of Hispanic children during adolescence and young adulthood. Hispanic children who experienced multigenerational coresidence during childhood initially reported more psychological distress at age 14 compared to those who never had this experience. However, this difference dissipated by age 30. Notably, our results suggest that an earlier onset of coresidence is particularly beneficial for Hispanic children’s long-term mental health, with those who began multigenerational coresidence before age 1 reaping the most benefit, offering support to the critical periods model.

Hispanic families often embrace the values of familismo (Oropesa and Landale 2004), which emphasize strong family support (Barragan et al. 2024; McCandless-Chapman et al. 2024). Hispanic grandparents, in particular, are likely to uphold and reinforce familismo values, often through their active involvement in childrearing (Goodman and Silverstein 2002). A multigenerational household with a highly involved grandparent may offer a particularly supportive environment during critical developmental periods, such as infancy, potentially fostering important neural and psychosocial processes that enhance the child’s resiliency to stress later in life (Gee and Casey 2015; Haas 2008). Recent research highlights this benefit, showing that Hispanic 5-year-olds who live with grandparents exhibit more prosocial behaviors than those without coresiding grandparents (Barragan et al. 2024). These prosocial behaviors may serve as protective factors and buffer against stress as the child grows up.

Additionally, Hispanic grandparents may continue to play a crucial role in their grandchildren’s development by providing extensive childcare, fostering psychosocial skills, and connecting children with other extended family members throughout their lives. The earlier Hispanic children get to live with a grandparent, the sooner they can benefit from the additional resources and support that come with such coresidence. Moreover, Hispanic adults tend to have children at younger ages than White adults, leading to an earlier transition to grandparenthood (Matthews and Hamilton Brady 2009). Hispanic grandparents also reported better physical health than Black grandparents (Chen et al. 2015). Whereas White families may turn to multigenerational households primarily due to economic necessity, Hispanic families may embrace such multigenerational coresidence as part of familismo values. These findings suggest that the positive effects of multigenerational coresidence in Hispanic communities may be more effectively translated into better mental health of young adults, especially when caregiving stress and economic strain are minimized.

Limitations and Future Directions

Our findings should be interpreted in light of study limitations. First, the variables of multigenerational coresidence may not fully capture the complexity of individuals’ living arrangements during childhood. These variables were derived from mothers’ reports of household rosters in the NLSY79 surveys, which were conducted annually from 1979 and biennially from 1994. It is possible that periods of multigenerational coresidence occurred between survey waves and thus went undocumented. Second, unlike NLSY79, NLSY79-YA is not a cohort study. Consequently, some younger children born to NLSY79 mothers were not included in our sample. Children raised in households without a mother, such as those living with their father (and a grandparent), were also excluded because information on their family structure was not available from mother’s report. Future research should use complete data from recent cohorts of American children and aim to improve the measurement of family structure of all children. Third, we used age 14 as the cutoff to capture early life coresidence experiences and subsequent mental well-being given the specific data structure of NLSY79-YA. Future research should explore different age cutoffs to further examine the association between multigenerational households and children’s long-term well-being. Next, we were unable to further disaggregate the racial and ethnic groups included in the study despite the well-documented heterogeneity within these groups and potential differences in how group membership impacts mental health (Ida and Christie-Mizell 2012; Shiao 2023). Similarly, this study does not include individuals who identify with multiple racial and ethnic groups.

This study examines multigenerational coresidence from birth to age 14 and its relationship with subsequent mental health trajectories during adolescence and young adulthood using growth curve models. Although we consider the temporal order of coresidence and health, establishing causality requires other appropriate methods. Our findings shed light on this understudied family structure during childhood, which may have positive or negative long-term effects on children’s well-being through complex mechanisms. Future research should explore these mechanisms in greater depth. For example, studies can examine how maternal marital status and multigenerational coresidence jointly shape children’s developmental environments and well-being. Next, further research should investigate how multigenerational coresidence operates through early life family stress and conflict and exchanges of economic, instrumental, and emotional support to influence children’s developmental outcomes over the life course. Moreover, future work should explore how childhood experiences of multigenerational coresidence interact with resources and stressors in adulthood to shape health trajectories (Avison 2010; Colen 2011). Finally, multigenerational households have increased across all racial groups, including White households, since the Great Recession (Cohn and Passel 2018). Future research should examine the evolving family dynamics and cultural significance of multigenerational coresidence and its impact on children’s development across racial and ethnic groups.

Conclusion

Over the past three decades, American children have experienced growing instability and greater diversity in family structures (Fomby and Johnson 2022). Research has long recognized the lasting effects of early life family structure on children’s development and health, with most of the focus on mother’s marital status and relationship history (Williams et al. 2013). Recent studies have highlighted the role that grandparents play in children’s health and development because their presence can increase support exchanges and contribute to stress spillovers (Amorim 2019; Masfety et al. 2019). However, fewer studies have explored the lasting effects of multigenerational coresidence on children’s mental health beyond childhood. Our findings suggest that childhood experiences in multigenerational households are associated with higher levels of psychological distress for White adolescents and young adults but may be linked to better long-term mental health for Hispanic children. Specifically, multigenerational coresidence, particularly before age 1, is associated with mental health benefits for Hispanic children. On the other hand, we find no evidence that multigenerational coresidence is linked to the mental health outcomes for Black young adults. Altogether, these findings highlight the potential role of multigenerational coresidence in the intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantage in U.S. society, with variation across racial and ethnic groups. Future research should explore the mechanisms shaping these patterns and examine how they may contribute to broader racial and ethnic disparities in health over time.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-hsb-10.1177_00221465251362474 – Supplemental material for Multigenerational Coresidence and Psychological Distress during Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Exploration among White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hsb-10.1177_00221465251362474 for Multigenerational Coresidence and Psychological Distress during Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Exploration among White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals by Zhe (Meredith) Zhang, Qi Li, Cynthia Colen and Rin Reczek in Journal of Health and Social Behavior

Footnotes

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support for this project was provided by The Ohio State University Institute for Population Research through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health, P2CHD058484. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.

ORCID iDs

Zhe (Meredith) Zhang

Qi Li

Cynthia Colen

Rin Reczek

Notes

Supplemental Material

Appendices A through C are available in the online version of the article.

Author Biographies

Zhe (Meredith) Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles. Her research focuses on how family relationships and dynamics shape the health and well-being of marginalized populations, such as sexual and gender minorities. Her work has appeared in Demography, Journal of Marriage and Family, and SSM-Population Health, among others.

Qi (Amelia) Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research uses quantitative methods to examine how family processes contribute to racial disparities in health. Her work has been published in journals such as Population Research and Policy Review, Social Science Research, and Family Relations.

Cynthia G. Colen is professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Population Research at Ohio State University. Her research examines U.S. racial disparities in health using a life course perspective, particularly among middle-class African Americans. Colen’s current work focuses on the role that discrimination plays in (re)producing health inequalities across time and space.

Rin Reczek is professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and an affiliate at the Institute for Population Research at The Ohio State University. In addition to more than 80 articles and book chapters in the areas of family, health, gender, and sexuality, Rin published the 2022 book, Families We Keep: LGBTQ Adults and Their Enduring Bonds with Parents (NYU Press), and the forthcoming book, Families We Lose: Family Estrangement and the Democratization of Kinship (NYU Press).

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Supplementary Material

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Multigenerational Coresidence and Psychological Distress during Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Exploration among White,Black,and Hispanic Individuals

Abstract

Keywords

Background

Multigenerational Households and Children’s Health and Well-Being

A Life Course Perspective: Multigenerational Coresidence during Childhood and Mental Well-Being during Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Presence of multigenerational coresidence

Duration of multigenerational coresidence

Onset of multigenerational coresidence

Race of the Children

The Current Study

Data and Methods

Description of Data

Description of Measures

Psychological distress

Multigenerational coresidence during childhood

Race-ethnicity

Covariates

Analytical Approach

Results

Descriptive Results

Multivariate Results

Presence of multigenerational coresidence

Duration of multigenerational coresidence

Onset of multigenerational coresidence

Sensitivity analyses

Discussion

Limitations and Future Directions

Conclusion

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-hsb-10.1177_00221465251362474 – Supplemental material for Multigenerational Coresidence and Psychological Distress during Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Exploration among White, Black, and Hispanic Individuals

Footnotes

Funding

ORCID iDs

Notes

Supplemental Material

Author Biographies

References

Supplementary Material