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We investigate whether a three-generation model of linguistic assimilation, known from previous waves of immigration, can be applied to the descendants of contemporary immigrant groups. Using the 5% Integrated Public Use Microdata Sample 1990 file, we examine the home languages of second- and third-generation children and compare the degree of their language shift against that among the descendants of European immigrants, as evidenced in the 1940 and 1970 censuses. Overall, the rates of speaking only English for a number of contemporary groups suggest that Anglicization is occurring at roughly the same pace for Asians as it did for Europeans, but is slower among the descendants of Spanish speakers. Multivariate models for three critical groups--Chinese, Cubans, and Mexicans--indicate that the home languages of third-generation children are most affected by factors, such as intermarriage, that determine the languages spoken by adults and by the communal context.

Although coresidence by parents and adult children is not typical, neither is it uncommon. Coresidence is usually assumed to reflect the assistance needs of either younger adult children or of older parents, but child needs and circumstances may predominate across the life course. Survey data on patterns of coresidence among 811 parents and their 2,358 adult (aged 22 +) children are analyzed, focusing on which children coreside with parents. The roles of parent and child predictors of coresidence are most consistent with a view that child needs and situations are the primary factors in coresidence for parents in both middle and later life.