Extended Family Integration Among Euro and Mexican Americans: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class

This article compares the extended family integration of Euro and Mexican American women and men and assesses the importance of class and culture in explaining ethnic differences. Using National Survey of Families and Households II data (N = 7,929), we find that ethnic differences depend on the dimension of integration. Mexican Americans exhibit higher rates of kin coresidence and proximity, but lower rates of financial support than Euro Americans. Two additional differences exist only among women: Mexican American women are more likely than Euro American women to give household or child care help. As to the explanation for these differences, social class is the key factor; cultural variables have little effect. Our findings support a theoretical framework attending to intersections among ethnicity, gender, and class. Key Words: caregiving, extended kin, Hispanic, intergenerational, Latino, social support. Feminist scholars who first developed the intersectional framework pointed out the interlocking nature of race, gender, and class inequalities (Collins, 2000; hooks, 1981 ). Their primary concern was bringing race/ethnicity and class to the center of gender studies. We argue that it is equally important to introduce gender and class into race/ethnicity studies (Gerstel & Sarkisian, 2006a). In this article, we demonstrate the importance of such an intersectional approach to race/ ethnicity by focusing on Mexican American extended families in the United States and comparing them to those of Euro Americans. The article addresses a contemporary debate concerning racial/ethnic differences in extended family life: the superintegration versus disintegration debate (Sarkisian, Gerena, & Gerstel, 2006; Sarkisian & Gerstel, 2004b) as it pertains to Mexican Americans. On one side are those who argue that Latino/a families in general, and Mexican American families in particular, are more integrated than those of Euro Americans. They suggest Latinos/as live near kin, stay in touch, provide many types of assistance, and often put the needs of their extended families before their own (Baca Zinn & Wells, 2000; Mirande, 1997). On the other side are those who argue that Latino/a extended families are less likely to provide care and support to kin than Euro American families (Menjivar, 2000; Roschelle, 1997). Notably, despite the highly gendered nature of family life, most studies that could potentially shed light on this debate examine ethnic differences in family integration without separating women and men. Challenging this approach and following the intersectional framework, we examine ethnic differences in family integration separately for women and men. Further, whereas this debate primarily focuses on the direction of difference between Mexican and Euro Americans, recently scholars have begun to argue for the need to move beyond mere description of variation to an examination of those social conditions, both cultural and socioeconomic, that explain differences in extended families (Baca Zinn & Wells, 2000). The role of social class is especially important in these discussions, with scholars asking whether ethnic differences in family integration can be attributed to social class or whether cultural differences are responsible for these differences in integration. Using data from Wave II of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), this article first describes the differences in extended family integration between Mexican Americans and Euro Americans and, second, investigates the social conditions that explain these differences using a conceptual framework that takes into account both culture and social class. More specifically, we explain ethnic differences in family integration using measures of cultural variation, including familism, religious involvement, and gender ideology, and indicators of social class standing, including income, education, and employment. …