Variations in Family Life
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the variations of marriage and family life in the United States over time
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual America’s Families and Living Arrangements, 69 percent of America’s 73.7 million children under age 18 live in families with two parents in 2016. [1] In 1960, that 88 percent of kids lived in two parent homes. This is a decrease from 77 percent in 1980 (U.S. Census 2011). This two-parent family structure is known as a nuclear family, referring to married parents and children as the nucleus, or core, of the group. Recent years have seen a rise in variations of the nuclear family with the parents not being married. Seven percent of children live with two cohabiting parents (U.S. Census 2011).[2]
Single Parents
Next to the nuclear family, the second most common living arrangement is a female-headed household (single mom), which comprise 23 percent of families with children under 18 in 2016. Between 1960 and 2016, there was a sharp increase in the percentage of children living with only one parent—single moms went from 8 to 23 percent and single dads increased from 1 to 4 percent; of these 10 percent live with the cohabitation partner of their parent (U.S. Census, 2016).
Blended Families
Stepparents are an additional family element in two-parent homes. Among children living in two-parent households, 9 percent live with a biological or adoptive parent and a stepparent with the majority (70 percent) living with a stepfather. Family structure has been shown to vary with the age of the child. Older children (fifteen to seventeen years old) are less likely to live with two parents than adolescent children (six to fourteen years old) or young children (zero to five years old). Older children who do live with two parents are also more likely to live with stepparents (U.S. Census 2011).
Alternate Arrangements
In some family structures a parent is not present at all. In 2016, three million children (4 percent of all children) lived with a guardian who was neither their biological nor adoptive parent, an increase from 3 to 4 percent from 1960-2016. Of these children, 54 percent live with grandparents, 21 percent live with other relatives, and 24 percent live with nonrelatives. This family structure is referred to as the extended family, and may include aunts, uncles, and cousins living in the same home. Note that this is a less centralized form than the nuclear family. Foster parents account for about a quarter of nonrelatives. The practice of grandparents acting as parents, whether alone or in combination with the child’s parent(s), is also becoming widespread among today’s families (De Toledo and Brown 1995).
The Age of GrandFamilies
What do Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jack Nickolson, 50 Cent, Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Maya Angelou, and Carol Burnett all have in common? They were raised by their grandparents!
A 2018 article in The Atlantic titled “The Age of Grandparents is