Multigenerational Family Living: Evidence and Policy Implications from Australia

by Edgar Liu (Editor), Hazel Easthope (Editor)

Overview

Multigenerational living – where more than one generation of related adults cohabit in the same dwelling – is recognized as a common arrangement amongst many Asian, Middle Eastern and Southern European cultures, but this arrangement is becoming increasingly familiar in many Western societies. Much Western research on multigenerational households has highlighted young adults' delayed first home leaving, the result of difficult economic prospects and the prolonged adolescence of generation Y. This book shows that the causes and results of this phenomenon are more complex.

The book sheds fresh light on a range of structural and social drivers that have led multigenerational families to cohabit and the ways in which families negotiate the dynamic interactions amongst these drivers in their everyday lives. It critically examines factors such as demographics, the environment, culture and family considerations of identity, health, care and well-being, revealing how such factors reflect (and are reflected by) a retracting welfare state and changing understandings of families in an increasingly mobile world.

Based on a series of qualitative and quantitative research projects conducted in Australia, the book provides an interdisciplinary examination of intergenerational cohabitation that explores a variety of concerns and experiences. It will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in housing, demographics and the sociology of the family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317093541
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/03/2016
Series:	Routledge Advances in Sociology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Edgar Liu is a Research Fellow at the City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Australia (University of New South Wales).

Hazel Easthope is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Australia.

Table of Contents

1. Living with the Family in Australian Cities Edgar Liu and Hazel Easthope 2. Demographic Characteristics of Multigenerational Households in Australia, with Special Reference to Metropolitan Sydney and Brisbane Ian Burnley 3. The Drivers of Multigenerational Households in Australia Hazel Easthope 4. Multigenerational Households: Economic Considerations Stephen Whelan 5. Living with the Extended Family: Experiences and Outcomes of Living in Multigenerational Households Edgar Liu 6. Housework, Intergenerational Dependency and Challenges to Traditional Gender Roles Lyn Craig and Abigail Powell 7. Families and Ageing: Intergenerational Relations in Health and Care Negotiations Rodrigo Mariño, Victor Minichiello and Michael I. MacEntee 8. Identity, Sexuality and Stigma in Multigenerational Households: Perspectives from LGBT Households Members Bianca Fileborn, Tiffany Jones and Victor Minichiello 9. Housing Design for Multigenerational Living Bruce Judd 10. The Environmental Implications of Multigenerational Living: Are Larger Households also Greener Households? Natascha Klocker, Chris Gibson and Erin Borger 11. Recognising Multigenerational Households Hazel Easthope and Edgar Liu

Editorial Reviews

"Although this book is focussed on Australia the content should be of interest to readers around the world. Multigenerational Family Living is a world-wide phenomenon- normal in some countries but a more recent development in some western societies (if you ignore housing history) where housing shortages have forced families to house multiple generations. The book explores those housing market contexts but it also rightly focusses on the lived reality of multigenerational living and the impact this has on the nature of families. The editors have brought the 11 chapters together into an important volume which provides real insights into worlds which many researchers now have only a modest understanding." – Peter Williams, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, UK.

From the Publisher