Scientific Presentations

LabTalks@­SocialDemography

Department Social Demography
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), Rostock, Germany, May 27, 2025

1:00 PM: Talk with Federica Becca - Intergenerational Living Arrangements among Single Mothers in Latin America: Five Decades of Change and Continuity

Abstract

Demographic changes, including increasing separations and divorces, rising rates of unmarried cohabitation, and evolving kinship structures, influence the proportion of women who become single mothers and their potential living arrangements. In Latin America, around two-thirds of single mothers live in extended households, often coresiding with children and parents in three-generation households. However, little evidence exists on single mothers’ living arrangements and their education profile and labor force participation. We use the Global Living Arrangements Database (GLAD) and census microdata to examine single mothers' living arrangements across 17 Latin American countries over the last five decades. Our findings show a growing proportion of single mothers among mothers aged 25–34. An increasing share of them lives in three-generation households with their parents, while coresidence with other extended kin is rare. Single mothers with higher education are most likely to live in three-generation households, whereas the gradient is reversed among those in nuclear households. Further steps will investigate how living arrangements vary by labor force participation and its interaction with key demographic factors such as age, number of surviving children, urban versus rural residence, and marital status. Findings underscore the enduring role of intergenerational support for single mothers and invite critical reflection on the reproduction of inequality and policy implications.

LabTalk, May, 27th from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Rostock time)