Living Arrangements and Aging in Mexico: Changes in Households, Poverty and Regions, 1992-2009

Abstract

This paper sets out to analyze diverse socio-demographic variables in living arrangements among older people at national and regional levels in Mexico. The National Survey of Demographic Dynamics for 1992, 1997, 2006 and 2009 was used as basis for an analysis on two levels, household and individual, in order to show trends and changes in composition of households in Mexico focusing on those including elderly people. A multinominal logistic model was used to determine the effect of diverse variables on living arrangements. The findings indicate an increase in the percentage of households with elderly people living alone; at a regional level, the Yucatán Peninsula has the lowest percentage of elderly households; old men are more likely to live in nuclear and extended families than women; people aged 80 and older currently in employment have greater probabilities of living alone.