Older Parents’ Expectations of Care from Children by Parents’ Race/Ethnicity and Educational Attainment
Family Profile No. 35, 2025
Authors: Elisa Hernandez, Jaycob Applegate, and Jenjira Yahirun
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that between 2010 and 2020, the population of adults aged 65 years and older increased by nearly 53% (Caplan, 2023). As the population of older adults increases, so too does the need for later-life care. This family profile examines differences in older parents’ expectations of care by their race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Within each racial-ethnic group, differences in expected caregiving by parental educational attainment are also assessed. Data are from the 2018 U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS). White, Black, and Hispanic respondents aged 51 or older who are parents are included in the sample. Respondents who were already receiving care in 2018 were not asked about expected caregiving and are excluded from this profile. All descriptive analyses are weighted at the individual level to be nationally representative.
Anticipated Care by Parents’ Race/Ethnicity
- Across all racial-ethnic groups, 51% of individuals reported having one or more children they expected to receive care from.
- Slightly more than half (54%) of Black respondents reported having one or more children they could expect to receive care from.
- Among Hispanic adults 45% reported having at least one or more children who would care for them.
- Among non-Hispanic White adults, 51% reported having at least one child to care for them.
Figure 1. Anticipated Care by Parents’ Race/Ethnicity, 2018
Anticipated Care by Parents’ Educational Attainment
Figure 2. Anticipated Care by Parents’ Educational Attainment, 2018
- Among those with less than a high school education, 48% reported having one or more children to provide care.
- For those with a high school education only, 54% reported anticipating care from one or more children.
- Among those with some college education, 53% reported anticipated care from at least one child.
- As with those who had earned less than a high school education, 48% of individuals with a 4-year college degree or higher reported anticipating having at least one child who would provide care.
Anticipated Care by Parents’ Race/Ethnicity and High School Completion
- Among non-Hispanic White adults, there were no differences in expected care by educational attainment. About half (51%) of individuals reported having at least one child who could provide care for them regardless of whether they attained at least a high school education.
- Among Black and Hispanic parents, those with at least a high school education were more likely to report anticipated care from children than those without a high school education.
- About half (51%) of Black adults with less than a high school education reported expecting care from one or more children compared to 55% of those who had a high school education or higher.
- Among Hispanic adults, 42% who had less than a high school education and 48% of those with a high school education or higher reported anticipating care from at least one child.
Figure 3. Anticipated Care by Parents’ Race/Ethnicity and High School Completion, 2018
Data Sources:
Health and Retirement Study. (n.d.). Public use dataset. University of Michigan. https://hrs.isr.umich.edu
RAND Center for the Study of Aging. (2023, July). RAND HRS Family Data 2018 (V2). RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/labor/aging/dataprod.html
References:
Caplan, Z. (2023). U.S. Older Population Grew From 2010 to 2020 at Fastest Rate Since 1880 to 1890. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/05/2020-census-united-states-older-population-grew.html
Suggested Citation:
Hernandez, E., Applegate, J., & Yahirun, J. (2025). Older parents’ expectations of care from children by parents’ race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Family Profiles, FP-25-35. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-35
This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.
Updated: 11/14/2025 09:41AM