As Last of Baby Boomers Turns 40, a Study Debunks Myths About Celebrated Generation

But a new study
by two Duke University sociologists, released as the last of the boomers
is turning 40, shows the Baby Boom as a diverse group of people whose
experiences differ not only from those of previous generations, but
also from each other.

Called « The Lives
and Times of the Baby Boomers, » this study takes a look at the generation
born between 1946 and 1964 as they enter middle age.

« There hasn’t
been a systematic assessment of the state of the boomers, in contrast
to all the folklore and mythology we have about the baby boom, » said
Mary Elizabeth Hughes, one of the co-authors. « Looking at the boomers
at midlife tells you where they’ve been and where they’re going.
This can tell you something about the boomers’ collective old age. »

Among the findings:

— Baby boomers
are diverse: Immigration has played a major role in increasing the diversity
of the baby boomers. About 12 percent of the early boomers (born between
1946 and 1955) are foreign-born, compared to 15 percent of late boomers
(born between 1956 and 1964.) The percentage of African Americans has
not changed a great deal over time, but the percentage of Hispanic and
Asian Americans has increased dramatically.

— Diversity has
not led to equality: Baby boomers are the first generation to come of
age after the Civil Rights era. Yet the authors found differences of
income according to race, ethnicity and country of birth so entrenched
that, in effect, they are ethnic classes. Blacks in the boomer generation,
for example, are no better off relative to whites than their parents
and grandparents. And educational levels also are unequal across the
baby boom generation, which is often described as the best-educated
generation in history.

— Many boomers
live in poverty: At midlife, boomers have the highest wage inequality
of any recent generation. Late boomers have the highest levels of poverty
since the generation born before World War I. One in 10 late boomers
lives in poverty at middle age.

« What surprised
us the most was how racial inequality persists among the boomers compared
to other generations, » co-author Angela M. O’Rand said. « The figures
are quite dramatic regarding the continuing relative disadvantage of
African Americans. »

TALKING ’BOUT
MY GENERATION

Hughes, an assistant
professor of sociology at Duke, and O’Rand, a professor of sociology,
analyzed data from the 2000 Census to describe the baby boom generation
at midlife and compare the baby boomers with four preceding generations
using earlier census data.

It is part of « The
American People » series, sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation of
New York and the Population Reference Bureau of Washington, D.C., and
is designed to put the results of Census 2000 in context. Each report
is written by an author or team of authors selected for their expertise
with the data and broad understanding of the implications of demographic
trends. For more information about the series, including « The Lives
and Times of the Baby Boomers, » visit here.

(The researchers
themselves illustrate these differences: O’Rand, born four months
before the official start of the baby boom, is a grandmother; Hughes,
a late boomer born in 1962, has a child in preschool.)

They look at baby
boomers’ position in history, education, work life, families, income
and wealth to provide a comprehensive picture of this complex generation,
and to offer a look at what to expect as this group enters old age.

BABY BOOMERS
AND THE POST-WAR TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY

Hughes and O’Rand
argue that the baby boom generation was pivotal. Its members were born
into a nation transformed by four years of war, and as their lives unfolded
they experienced social change and responded by creating new lifestyles
that set the patterns for later generations.

« We all fall into
talking about the baby boom as if it were a homogeneous group, but it’s
a very heterogeneous group, » Hughes said. « And it’s not just a semantic
issue. If we are worried about the future as the boomers age, we need
to be prepared for a very, very heterogeneous group of people. »

The study challenges
some of the assumptions that have grown up around the baby boom:

— Baby boomers
did not all come of age during the turbulent 1960s: The demographic
anomaly is that the baby boom stretched from 1946 to 1964. While the
oldest of the early boomers graduated from college during the Summer
of Love, the youngest of the late boomers left college during the Reagan
years.

— Baby boomers
were not all political radicals: Even for those boomers who were young
adults during the late 1960s, opposition to the Vietnam War was far
from universal, for example. One-third of the early boomers served in
Vietnam, and younger voters were more likely to support conservative
candidates. In 1968, many of George Wallace’s supporters were young,
Southern and rural.

— Baby boomers
were not the first to reject the traditional family: Late marriage,
permanent single status, small families, childlessness and divorce have
a long history in the United States. The Ozzie-and-Harriet family of
the 1950s was not the norm, but an extraordinary — and temporary —
shift in historical patterns. It’s the generation born before and
during World War II, not the boomers, who had the sharpest increase
in divorce.

BABY BOOMERS
IN OLD AGE: GOLDEN YEARS OR TARNISHED YEARS?

As the oldest baby
boomers approach 60, their future has been the subject of much anxious
speculation, especially since inequities in wealth and income can be
expected to persist — and even increase — as boomers age.

« In many ways, old
age is a continuation of income inequality that begins at younger ages, »
O’Rand said. « Given that the baby boomer generation is now more unequal
than others at the same ages, we can expert them to be more unequal
in old age than previous generations. »

The two sociologists
offer some expectations for the future:

— Baby boomers
are likely to extend midlife well into what used to be considered « old
age. » They will continue working longer, and responsibilities such as
paying for college or having children at home will extend to older ages.
They also are likely to enjoy good health and remain « actively engaged »longer
than previous generations.

— Economic inequalities
are likely to become more important as the boomers age. The least well-off
may face higher risks of unemployment and worse health at a time when
policy changes are encouraging them to remain at work longer. Low wages
and job instability also may mean they have less saved than previous
generations.

— Nontraditional
families may pose new problems. Those who never married, had no children
or were « absent fathers » may not be able to rely on family as part of
their social safety net.