Coresidence and Geographic Dispersion of Adult Children and Their Mothers in Germany: Variation in Ethnicity, Gender, and Marital Status

Abstract

This study examines how the residential dispersion of adult children and their mothers varies between German and Turkish families living in Germany, and how this variation relates to the gender and marital status of adult children. The study hypothesizes that compared to adult children of German nationals, those of Turkish immigrants will exhibit virilocal tendencies because they are influenced by traditional Turkish cultural institutions. The results based on data from 247 Turkish and 200 German adult children, consisting of those who were 20 years old or older at the time of data collection, support this hypothesis. In contrast to the sons and daughters of German national, those of Turkish immigrants are most likely to reside with their mothers when they are single, and married sons are significantly more likely than married daughters to remain living close to their mothers.