The decades-long decline in the proportion of family groups with children that were married-couple families leveled off during the mid-1990s, at about 68% from 1996 to 2003. This change reflects declining divorce rates and reduced non-marital fertility, especially among teens. Between 1970 and 1996, the median age at first marriage also increased but since 1996 has been fairly stable for both men and women. Basic trends in household and family composition, living arrangements and marital status of adults, and characteristics of unmarried-couple households are presented in this report. A new section is included that highlights married-couple families with a stay-at-home parent. The data are from the Census Bureau¿s Annual Social and Economic Supp. Ill.
Changes in family and household composition are part of every individual's life course. Childhood families expand and contract; the individual leaves to set up an independent household; he or she may marry, raise children, lose a spouse. These transitions have a profound effect on the economic and social well-being of individuals, and the relative prevalence of different living arrangements affects the very character of society. American families and Households takes advantage of the large samples provided by the decennial censuses to document recent major transformations in the individual life cycle and consequent changes in the composition of the American population. As James Sweet and Larry Bumpass demonstrate, these changes have been dramatic—rates of marriage and childbirth are down, rates of marital disruption are up, and those who can are more likely to maintain independent households despite the rapid acceleration of change during recent years, however, the authors find that contemporary trends are continuous with long-term changes in Western society. This meticulous work makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the American Family and the individual life experiences that are translated into the larger population experience. "Jim Sweet and Larry Bumpass provide detailed descriptions of three components of the households and families of Americans: family transitions; the prevalence of different family and household arrangements; and the economic and social circumstances of people living in different types of families and households....As a reference work, the volume is a gold mine, with many rich veins of useful information....Anyone interested in American families and how they have been changing will want to refer to this volume." —American Journal of Sociology A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Census Series
Historical and contemporary perspectives on families -- Pathways to family formation -- Union dissolution and repartnering -- Adult and child well-being in families -- Family policy issues : domestic and international perspectives
Families and living arrangements in the United States have changed over time, just as they have developed distinct regional trends because of factors such as local labor markets and migration patterns. As a result, it is difficult to talk about a single kind of family or one predominant living arrangement in the United States. The goals of this book is to provide an updated picture of the composition of families and households and to describe trends in living arrangements in the United States. The book also describes how families and households have changed in recent years, notably during the latest economic recession, which lasted from 2007-2009. This book uses data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS). It capitalizes on the strengths of both data sets, using CPS detailed information about family structure and characteristics over time, along with ACS data about how basic family and household characteristics vary across states. The book contains five sections: (1) a review of some data sources for studying family life in the United States; (2) households and living arrangements of adults; (3) family groups; (4) spouses, partners, and couples; and (5) the economic well-being of families before and after the 2007-2009 recession, focusing on children's perspective.
In this book, leading authorities on the family show how families, parents, and children have been affected by changing patterns of marriage and cohabitation. Taking a long historical perspective, some authors consider trends such as the decline of multigenerational families and group differences in the relationships between economic opportunity and the timing of marriage. But the focus is predominantly on questions of current interest: patterns of union formation, differences between marriage and cohabitation, contact between divorced fathers and their children, the division of household labor, and the transmission of attitudes and behavior across generations. Intended for scholars and advanced students, this book offers essential analysis of the changing dimensions of the American family.
This paper provides an updated picture of the composition of families, households, and living arrangements in the United States, and also describes how families and households have changed in recent years, notably during the latest economic recession. It uses data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS). Sections include: (1) a review of some data sources for studying family life in the United States; (2) households and living arrangements of adults; (3) family groups; (4) spouses, partners, and couples; and (5) the economic well-being of families before and after the 2007-2009 recession, focusing on children's perspective. In 2012, 66% percent of households were family households, down from 81% in 1970.
When state voters passed the California Marriage Protection Act (Proposition 8) in 2008, it restricted the definition of marriage to a legal union between a man and a woman. The act's passage further agitated an already roiling national debate about whether American notions of family could or should expand to include, for example, same-sex marriage, unmarried cohabitation, and gay adoption. But how do Americans really define family? The first study to explore this largely overlooked question, Counted Out examines currents in public opinion to assess their policy implications and predict how Americans' definitions of family may change in the future. Counted Out broadens the scope of previous studies by moving beyond efforts to understand how Americans view their own families to examine the way Americans characterize the concept of family in general. The book reports on and analyzes the results of the authors' Constructing the Family Surveys (2003 and 2006), which asked more than 1,500 people to explain their stances on a broad range of issues, including gay marriage and adoption, single parenthood, the influence of biological and social factors in child development, religious ideology, and the legal rights of unmarried partners. Not surprisingly, the authors find that the standard bearer for public conceptions of family continues to be a married, heterosexual couple with children. More than half of Americans also consider same-sex couples with children as family, and from 2003 to 2006 the percentages of those who believe so increased significantly—up 6 percent for lesbian couples and 5 percent for gay couples. The presence of children in any living arrangement meets with a notable degree of public approval. Less than 30 percent of Americans view heterosexual cohabitating couples without children as family, while similar couples with children count as family for nearly 80 percent. Counted Out shows that for most Americans, however, the boundaries around what they define as family are becoming more malleable with time. Counted Out demonstrates that American definitions of family are becoming more expansive. Who counts as family has far-reaching implications for policy, including health insurance coverage, end-of-life decisions, estate rights, and child custody. Public opinion matters. As lawmakers consider the future of family policy, they will want to consider the evolution in American opinion represented in this groundbreaking book. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology
