PF 2.1

FAMILY STRUCTURE: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF
U.S. CHILDREN BY NUMBER OF PARENTS IN HOUSEHOLD

Family structure is correlated with many factors that contribute to child well-being such as material wealth. It is also associated with many child outcomes. For example, children from disrupted or never-married families are somewhat more likely to use alcohol and drugs, to become teen parents, and to achieve lower earnings than are children from intact families, and they are less likely to attain a high school diploma. These associations are evident even after controlling for family socioeconomic status, race, and other background factors.¹ Nevertheless, the great majority of children brought up in single-parent families do well. In particular, differences in well-being between children from divorced and intact families tend, on average, to be moderate to small.²

Between 1960 and 1996, the proportion of children in two-parent families (about three-quarters of whom were families with both biological parents present)³ decreased from 88 percent to 68 percent (see Figure PF 2.1)

Differences by Race and Ethnicity. The decrease in the proportion of children living in two-parent families is evident for both black and white children, though the descent is significantly steeper for black children. Between 1960 and 1996, the proportion of black children living in two-parent families fell by 34 percentage points, from 67 percent to 33 percent. By contrast, the drop for white children was only 16 percentage points, from 91 percent to 75 percent. For Hispanic children, the trend is also towards a smaller proportion of children in two-parent families, decreasing from 75 percent to 62 percent between 1980 (the first year for which Hispanic estimates are available) and 1996.

Table PF 2.1.B presents 1980 and 1990 census data for Asian and Native American families in addition to data on white, black, and Hispanic families. The percent of children living in two-parent families dropped for all five groups during that period. In 1990, Asian children were the most likely to live in a two-parent household at 84 percent followed closely by whites at 82 percent, then Hispanics (71 percent), Native Americans (64 percent) and blacks (47 percent).
 

Figure PF 2.1   Percentage of U.S. Children Under Age 18 Living With Two Parents, by Race/Ethnicity: 1960–1996

Source: 1960 data U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1960 Census of Population, PC (2) - 4B, “Persons by Family Characteristics,” Tables 1 and 19. 1970 Hispanic data U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of the Population, PC (2) - 1 C, “Persons of Spanish Origin,” Table 4. Data from 1970 - 1995 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P20-491, “Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1995,” and earlier reports. 1996 data U.S. Bureau of Census Unpublished tables.

 

Table PF 2.1.A   Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old by Race/Ethnicity: Selected Years, 1960–1996 (in percents)
		1960	1970a	1975	1980a	1985	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
		––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––	––––
Totals:
	Two Parents	88	85	80	77	74	73	72	71	71	69	69	68
	Mother Only	8	11	16	18	21	22	22	23	23	23	23	24
	Father Only	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4
	No Parent	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4
White
	Two Parents	91	90	85	83	80	79	78	77	77	76	76	75
	Mother Only	6	8	11	14	16	16	17	18	17	18	18	18
	Father Only	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4
	No Parent	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3
Black
	Two Parents	67	58	49	42	40	38	36	36	36	33	33	33
	Mother Only	20	30	41	44	51	51	54	54	54	53	52	53
	Father Only	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	3	3	4	4	4
	No Parent	11	10	8	12	7	8	6	7	7	10	11	9
Hispanicb
	Two Parents	--	--	--	75	68	67	66	65	65	63	63	62
	Mother Only	--	--	--	20	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	29
	Father Only	--	--	--	2	2	3	3	4	4	4	4	4
	No Parent	--	--	--	3	3	3	4	3	4	5	4	5
Note: aRevised estimate based on population from the decennial census for that year.  bHispanics may be of any race.  Source: 1960 data U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1960 Census of Population, PC (2) - 4B, "Persons by Family Characteristics," Tables 1 and 19. 1970 Hispanic data U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of the Population, PC (2) - 1 C, "Persons of Spanish Origin," Table 4. Data from 1970 - 1995 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P20-491, "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1995," and earlier reports. 1996 data U.S. Bureau of Census unpublished tables.

 

Table PF 2.1.B  Percentage Distribution of U.S. Families with Own Children Under Age 18, by Family Type and Race/Ethnicity: 1980 and 1990
			1980	1990
	Total
		Married couple	81.5	77.1
		Female head	16.1	17.7
		Male head	2.4	4.1
	White
		Married couple	85.7	82.2
		Female head	12.1	14
		Male head	2.2	3.7
	Black
		Married couple	54.3	46.9
		Female head	41.7	47.6
		Male head	4	5.5
	Hispanic
		Married couple	76.6	71.4
		Female head	20.4	22.1
		Male head	3.1	6.5
	Asian American
		Married couple	88.5	84.3
		Female head	9.4	9.8
		Male head	2.1	2.9
	Native American
		Married couple	71.5	63.6
		Female head	24.2	28.7
		Male head	4.3	7.8
Source: "The Challenge of Change: What the 1990 Census Tells Us About Children," prepared by the Population Reference Bureau for the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Table 14, with data from the Bureau of the Census, 1980 Census of Population, "General Social and Economic Characteristics," PC80-1-C1, United States Summary, tables 100,121, and 131; and Census of Population and Housing 1990, Summary Tape File 3, tables P-19, P-20, and P-21.

¹ Amato, P.R. 1993. Children’s Adjustment to Divorce: Theories, Hypotheses, and Empirical Support. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 55: 23-58.

² Zill, N., Morrison, D., and Coiro, M. 1993. Long-term Effects of Parental Divorce on Parent-Child Relationships, Adjustment and Achievement in Early Adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology. 7(1): 91-103.

³ In 1990, 76.4 percent of married couple families with children were headed by the two biological parents of the children. Norton, Arthur J., and Louisa F. Miller. 1992. Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the 1990s. Current Population Reports, Special Studies, P23-180. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census.