Living arrangement transitions among America's older adults

This analysis describes the relationship between age and transitions from four living arrangements: living alone, living with spouse only, living with a child, and living with a spouse and child. Data from the National Survey of Families and Households, collected in 1987-88 and 1992-93, are used to calculate destination-specific hazard rates by age and then construct multiple-decrement life tables. Living alone or with a spouse are the most stable living arrangements during the early stages of later life, whereas for the oldest-old, living with a child is the most stable living arrangement. The young-old tend to exit living arrangements through changes in coresidence, whereas transitions among the oldest-old are primarily due to institutionalization and death.