Table 1.
Variable Definitions and Summary Information
| Variable | Definition | |
|---|---|---|
| Coresidence group | ||
| Sibling and parent begin coresiding | =1 if (at least one) sibling and parent began coresiding between Wave 1 (1993) and Wave 3 (1998); 0 otherwise | 9.3% |
| Sibling and parent no longer coreside | =1 if coresiding sibling(s) in Wave 1 no longer coresides with parent in Wave 3; 0 otherwise | 7.0% |
| Sibling and parent coreside in both waves | =1 if (at least one) sibling and parent coreside in both Waves 1 and 3; 0 otherwise | 21.6% |
| Parent does not coreside with any child | =1 if there is no coresidence in either Wave 1 or Wave 3; 0 otherwise | 62.0% |
| Adult child characteristics at study entry | ||
| Age: <50 | =1 if child’s age <50 years old | 25.6% |
| Age: 50–54 | =1 if child’s age 50–54 years old | 16.5% |
| Age: 55–64 | =1 if child’s age 55–64 years old | 36.7% |
| Age: 65+ | =1 if child’s age ≥65 years old | 21.2% |
| Female | = 1 if female; 0 otherwise | 51.4% |
| Married/partnered | =1 if married or living as married; 0 otherwise | 64.9% |
| Number of children | Count of children of adult child | 1.7 (2.0) |
| Less than high school education | =1 if adult child completed less than 12 years of formal education | 27.7% |
| High school graduate | =1 if adult child has 12 years of formal education | 41.1% |
| Some college | =1 if adult child has 13 or more years of formal education | 31.2% |
| Characteristics of child’s sibling network | ||
| Number of siblings | Count of adult siblings of the child at study entry | 4.3 (1.9) |
| Any sister | =1 if the adult child has at least one female sibling; 0 otherwise | 87.4% |
| Any unmarried sibling | =1 if the adult child has an unmarried/unpartnered sibling; 0 otherwise | 27.7% |
| Sociodemographic characteristics of elderly parents | ||
| Age | Respondent’s age in years | |
| Female | =1 if female; 0 otherwise | 86.2% |
| African American/black | =1 if race/ethnicity is African American/black; 0 otherwise | 23.2% |
| Hispanic | =1 if respondent’s race/ethnicity is Hispanic; 0 otherwise | 15.2% |
| Non–African American/black, non-Hispanic | =1 if respondent’s race/ethnicity is non–African American/black, non- Hispanic; 0 otherwise (reference) | 61.6% |
| Divorced | =1 if divorced at study entry; 0 otherwise | 9.3% |
| Widowed | =1 if widowed at study entry; 0 otherwise | 90.7% |
| Less than high school education | =1 if parent completed less than 12 years of formal education | 40.9% |
| High school graduate | =1 if parent reports has 12 years of formal education | 51.9% |
| Some college | =1 if parent has 13 or more years of formal education | 7.2% |
| Parental physical functioning at study entry | ||
| IADLs only | =1 if parent reports limitations with instrumental activities of daily living only; 0 otherwise | 19.8% |
| 1–2 ADLs | =1 if parent reports limitations with 1–2 basic activity of daily living; 0 otherwise | 37.0% |
| 3+ ADLs | =1 if parent reports limitations with 3 or more basic activity of daily living; 0 otherwise | 43.2% |
| Parental economic status at study entry | ||
| Income | Wages, Social Security, and pension income, in hundreds | 704 (1,506) |
| Net worth | Estimated (assets − debts), including home mortgage and all other financial assets and liabilities, in thousands | 184.3 (349.0) |
Note. ADL = activities of daily living; IADL = instrumental activities of daily living. Summary statistics are based on the sample of 1,104 adult children of unpartnered, disabled elderly respondents with at least two adult children aged 18 years or older in Wave 1 (1993).