I C P S R

National Institute on Aging

Description & Citation--Study No. 9413

Bibliographic Description

Study No.:

09413

Title:

Survey of Three Generations of Mexican Americans, 1981-1982

Principal Investigator(s):

Markides, Kyriakos S.

Bibliographic Citation:

Markides, Kyriakos S. SURVEY OF THREE GENERATIONS OF MEXICAN AMERICANS, 1981-1982. Conducted by Kyriakos S. Markides, University of Texas, Medical Branch at Galveston. ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 1993. doi:10.3886/ICPSR09413.v1

Scope of Study

Summary:

This survey was conducted in San Antonio, Texas, where the Mexican-American population is approximately half a million and accounts for over 50 percent of the city's population. The large number of Mexican Americans made San Antonio an appropriate setting for a three-generation study. This survey sought to describe the role of older Mexican Americans in the extended family by obtaining information on relations between generations, frequency of contact, amount of intergenerational social support, and strength of affectual ties. The three-generation families studied consisted of an older person (aged 65-80 years), a middle-aged child, and an adult (aged 18 years and over) married or previously married grandchild of the same family line, all living within 50 miles of San Antonio. Variables include sex, age, education, marital status, number of children, length of residence, and relationships. Also asked were questions on religion, political preferences, health, occupation, and language spoken, read, and understood. Other items cover life satisfaction and cooperation and help between spouses, between parents and children, and between grandparents and grandchildren. Comparisons of views, beliefs, goals, activities, contact, and support among family members are also included.

Subject Terms:

extended families, family relationships, family structure, life satisfaction, Mexican Americans, older adults

Geographic Coverage:

San Antonio, Texas, United States

Time Period:
  • 1981--1982

Date of Collection:
  • 1981--1982

Universe:

Mexican Americans aged 65-80 who had at least one child and one ever-married grandchild (at least 18 years old) in the same family line living in selected city blocks in the San Antonio metropolitan area (within a 50-mile radius).

Data Types:

survey data

Methodology

Sample:

Multistage area probability sample.

Data Source:

personal interviews

Extent of Processing:

All archived data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. The archive also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, the archive performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Performed consistency checks.
  • Standardized missing values.
  • Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Access and Availability

Note:

Detailed file-level information (such as record length, case count, and variable count) is listed in the file manifest.

Original ICPSR Release:

1992-01-10

Version History:

  • 2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.

Dataset(s):
  • DS1: Main Data File
  • DS2: SAS Control Cards for Logical Record Length Data
  • DS3: SAS Control Cards for Card Image Data