Childlessness and kinship organization: Comparisons of very old whites and blacks

This report on childlessness and kinship organization in late late life compares the kinship organization of 48 white and 55 black respondents, 85 years and older. Significant differences were found in the level of family integration with black childless being in more contact with and in receipt of more supports from relatives. They were also more likely than whites to have a family member available as a caregiver. To interpret these findings, we suggest that the families of black childless place more emphasis on a collateral form of organization that capitalizes upon the sibling bond as a link to nieces and nephews. In contrast, white families emphasize vertical ties between generations which potentially can exclude the childless.