Age and attitudes toward multigenerational residence, 1973 to 1983

Longitudinal data from large national surveys were used to explore trends and cohort changes in attitudes toward multigenerational residence between 1973 and 1983. The results indicate a substantial increase in acceptance for the idea of an aged parent sharing residence with an adult child. Despite a strong inverse relationship between level of approval and age, all cohorts experienced a positive shift in attitude between 1973 and 1983. The intercohort pattern of change was somewhat curvilinear, with the lowest rate in the fourth cohort followed by an upturn for the two oldest cohorts. The change for the older cohorts, however, consisted mostly of conditional approval, whereas the younger cohorts expressed more unconditional support for coresidence.