Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Centre d'Éstudis Demogràfics, Barcelona, Spain.
Demography. 2024 Aug 1;61(4):979-994. doi: 10.1215/00703370-11458359.
This research note examines historical trends in lifespan inequality and the intergenerational transmission of lifespan and longevity in the United States over the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. We contribute to the literature by expanding the estimates of the familial component beyond parent-child associations to include multigenerational and horizontal classes of relatives of different sexes. We also examine how lifespan inequality and the role of the family in lifespan and longevity changed over time. We address the challenge of studying extended family networks in historical times by leveraging recent online crowdsourced genealogical data. Results confirm the presence of a familial component for all classes of relatives considered and highlight a stronger association for horizontal than for vertical relationships. Despite decreasing lifespan inequality, we find no evidence of decreased familial lifespan stratification throughout history. If anything, the results suggest a strengthening of the parent-child association. Finally, the results contribute to the debate on the representativeness and usability of crowdsourced genealogical data by emphasizing the importance of sample selection based on the quality of the information collected.
本研究注记考察了美国在十八、十九和二十世纪期间寿命不平等现象的历史趋势，以及寿命和长寿的代际传递。我们通过将家庭因素的估计从亲子关系扩展到包括不同性别多代和水平亲属关系，为文献做出了贡献。我们还研究了寿命不平等现象以及家庭在寿命和长寿中的作用如何随时间而变化。我们通过利用最近的在线众包族谱数据来解决在历史时期研究扩展家庭网络的挑战。结果证实了所有考虑到的亲属类别中都存在家庭因素，并强调了水平关系比垂直关系的关联性更强。尽管寿命不平等现象有所减少，但我们没有发现历史上家族寿命分层现象减少的证据。如果有的话，结果表明亲子关系有所增强。最后，结果通过强调基于所收集信息质量进行样本选择的重要性，为关于众包族谱数据的代表性和可用性的辩论做出了贡献。
