Age at migration and family dependency among older Mexican immigrants: recent evidence from the Mexican American EPESE.

This study employs new data on Mexican-origin individuals aged 65 and older in the Southwestern United States to examine the impact of the age at which an individual immigrated to the United States on his or her sources of income and living arrangements. The data reveal that, in general, those who immigrated after the age of 50 are more dependent on their families than the native born or those who immigrated earlier in life. Although our findings must be interpreted cautiously because of small cell sizes, those who immigrated later in life are found to be less likely than the native born or those who immigrated earlier to have private pensions and Social Security income. They are also more likely to be living with their children and to be receiving money from them. We discuss the implications of recent restrictions on the eligibility of even legal immigrants for Supplemental Security Income on intergenerational relations and on the potential burden placed on the older immigrant's family, many of which may be seriously strained in hard economic times.

Nativity, declining health, and preferences in living arrangements among elderly Mexican Americans: implications for long-term care.

This study employs data from the 1993-94 Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) to assess the impact of nativity on preferences in living arrangements for a sample of 3,046 Mexican American individuals over the age of 65. Our results reveal great differences between the native and foreign-born in their desire to live with their children. A larger fraction of the foreign-born than native-born currently live with their children and state that they would care to continue living with their children in the event that they could no longer care for themselves. The data also reveal that the foreign-born face more serious economic constraints than the native-born and suggest that living with children may be motivated in part by economic need. We end by speculating on the implications of these findings for community-based care for elderly Mexican Americans.