ABSTRACT
The study of aging and older persons is inevitably tied to a study of families. Aging has an effect both on the role of families in the lives of the elderly and on the role of the elderly in the lives of their families. Most demographic research defines a family unit according to the definition used by the Census Bureau—a group of two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together. The picture of the families of older persons can be broadened by looking at each of the demographic processes—mortality, fertility, and marriage—that affect family structure. The important role that families play in the lives of the elderly motivates interest in understanding and describing the ways in which family structure might change over time. Trends in mortality, fertility, marriage, and divorce all influence the structure of families and, in turn, the structure of families has an impact on their function.
