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Family Structure
Headline Following decades of decline, the proportion of children living with both parents has remained relatively stable over the last decade, dropping modestly from 69 percent in 1995 to 67 percent in 2006. (See Figure 1) Mothers and fathers both play important roles in the growth and development of children.1 Both the number and the type of parents (i.e., biological, step) in a child's household can have strong effects on their well-being. Single-parent families tend to have much lower incomes than do two-parent families, but research indicates that the income differential accounts for only about one-half of the negative effects of parent absence on many areas of child and youth well-being, including health, educational attainment and assessments, behavior problems, and psychological well-being.2,3 Among young children, for example, those living with no biological parents or in single-parent households are less likely than children with two biological parents to exhibit behavioral self-control. Young children with single parents are also more likely to be exposed to high levels of aggravated parenting.4 Among children in two-parent families, those living with both biological parents in a low-conflict marriage tend to be doing much better than those living in stepparent families on a host of outcomes. Children in step-parent families are in many cases more similar to children growing up in single-parent families. 5,6 Research also shows that children whose parents are divorced have lower academic performance, social achievement, and psychological adjustment than do children with married parents.7 From 1970 to 19968, the percentage of all children under age 18 who were living with two married parents decreased steadily from 85 percent to 68 percent. The percentage stabilized during the late 1990s, and was 67 percent in 2006. (See Figure 1) Since 1970, the percentage of children living in mother-only families has increased from 11 percent to 24 percent in 1997, and was 23 percent in 2006. Between 1970 and 2006, the percentage of children living in father-only families increased from 1 percent to 5 percent. The percentage living without either parent (with other relatives or with non-relatives) rose slightly from 3 percent to 5 percent. (See Figure 1) In 2006, 5 percent of all children lived in the home of their grandparents. In more than half of these families, however, one or both parents were also present. (See Table 2)
Differences by Race and Ethnicity Black children are significantly less likely than other children to be living with two married parents. In 2006, 35 percent of black children were living with two parents, compared with 84 percent of Asian children, 76 percent of non-Hispanic white children, and 66 percent of Hispanic children. In 2006, 9 percent of all black children did not live with either parent, compared with 5 percent of Hispanic children, 3 percent of non-Hispanic white children, and 3 percent of Asian children. (See Figure 2)
Foster Care, Percentage of Births to Unmarried Women
State and local estimates for children's living arrangements are available using the KIDS COUNT Census Data Online. International Estimates Information on the influences of family structure on youth health is available for selected countries from the Health Behavior of School-Aged Children survey at http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/informationsources/publications/catalogue/20040601_1 (See Chapter 4)
International estimates of the family structure of children are also available for 10 countries at
Information on the size and composition of households for 15 European Union countries (2000), composition of household by type of household for 24 OECD countries (1996), and percent distribution of households by type for ten countries (selected years 1980 - 2002) is available for at http://www.childpolicyintl.org (See Tables 2.15a - 2.15c under "Context Data" heading on the left side of the homepage) Federal welfare reform under the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," specifically encourages the promotion of marriage and two-parent families as a means of reducing welfare dependence. For additional information see: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/welfare/index.htm What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs
1Child Trends. (2002). Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers in America. Washington, D.C.: Child Trends. http://www.childtrends.org/files/ParenthoodRpt2002.pdf 2Brown, Susan L. (2004). Family Structure and Child Well-Being: The Significance of Parental Cohabitation. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66(2): 351-67. 3The Urban Institute. (2006). Parents and Children Facing a World of Risk: Next Steps Towards a Working Families Agenda. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311288_parents_and_children.pdf. 4Manning, Wendy D. and Kathleen A. Lamb. (2003). Adolescent well-being in cohabiting, married, and single-parent families Journal of Marriage and the Family , 65(4) 876-893. 5Child Trends, 2002. "Marriage from a Child's Perspective: How Does Family Structure Affect Children, and What Can We Do about It?" (Research Brief). Kristin Anderson Moore, Susan M. Jekielek, and Carol Emig. http://www.childtrends.org/files/MarriageRB602.pdf 6Manning, Wendy D. and Kathleen A. Lamb. (2003). 7Amato, Paul R., (2001). "The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children." In Robert M. Milardo (ed.), Understanding Families into the New Millennium: A Decade in Review. (Lawrence, KS: National Council on Family Relations): 488-506. 8"Families and Living Arrangements: Living Arrangements of Children" Tables 1-4. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Online. Available: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html For this indicator, unless otherwise specified, a two-parent family refers to parents who are married to each other and living in the same household. They may be biological, adoptive, or stepparents. The Current Population Survey identifies all parents who are family or subfamily heads. Where cohabitants are concerned, however, the CPS does not ask whether that person is also the parent of the child. Single-parent families refer primarily to families in which only one parent is present, but may include some families where both parents are present but unmarried. No-parent families refer to families where neither parent of the child lives in the household. Data about those children living with grandparents reflect those children living in the homes of their grandparents. Parents may or may not be present in such cases.
Data Source
Data for 2005: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2005". Table C-2. Available at:
Data for 2004: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2004". Table C-2. Available at:
Data for 2003 single parent families and children living in the home of their grandparents: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Social and Economic Supplement: 2003 Current Population Survey, Current Population Reports, Series P20-553. "America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2003": Tables C-2 and C-7.
All other data for 2003: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2004, Table ECON2. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Data for 2002: Child Trends calculations using Fields, Jason. 2003. Children's Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2002. Current Population Reports, P20-547. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.
Data for 2000 adopted children and stepchildren: Kreider, Rose M. 2003. Adopted Children and Stepchildren: 2000, Census 2000 Special Reports. CESR-6RV. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, D.C.
Data for all other years, Child Trends calculations using: Raw Data Source
March Current Population Survey, a joint project of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S. Decennial Census Approximate Date of Next Update Summer 2008
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