AMERICAN FAMILIESowned or rented) by blood ties, marriage, or adop-
tion. ‘‘Nonfamily households’’ consist of individu-
als who live alone or with one or more unrelated
persons. Historically, most American households
have been family households, and most of these
have included married couples. In 1910, 80 per-
cent of all households included married couples.
By 1998 this percentage had declined to 53 per-
cent (Casper and Bryson 1998). In contrast, the
proportion of single-person households has risen
dramatically over the century. In 1890, only 4
percent of all households were of this type (Sweet
and Bumpass 1987). As of 1998, single-person
households accounted for one-quarter of all U.S.
households. Nearly 12 percent of all households
consist of men living alone, 15 percent consist of
women living alone (Lugaila 1998).
Breakdowns of family structure by race and
ethnicity have shown that Americans of Korean,
Filipino, Vietnamese, and Mexican heritage are
most likely to live in family households (for each
group, about 84 percent reported living in family
households). African Americans and non-Hispan-
ic whites are somewhat less likely to live in family
households. Also, compared to other racial and
ethnic groups, Puerto Ricans are most likely to live
in a household consisting of a mother and one or
more children (with 23 percent living in this type
of household), followed by African Americans,
Native Americans, and Hawaiians (Sweet and
Bumpass 1987).
Type of household is tied closely with econom-
ic status. While the ‘‘typical’’ dual-earner couple
with children earned an average annual income of
$46,629 in 1991, the average income for mother-
only households was only $13,012 (McLanahan
and Casper 1998). Of all household types, those
headed by a woman with no husband present have
the highest poverty rate. In 1997, nearly 32 per-
cent of these households had incomes that fell
below the poverty line (Dalaker and Naifeh 1998).
Due largely to women’s risks for poverty and
the rise in female-headed households, children are
more likely to be poor today than they were several
decades ago. The proportion of American child-
ren living in poor families declined during the
1960s—from 26.5 percent in 1960 to 15 percent in
1970—but has since increased. Nearly one-quarter
of all American children live in poor families. For
children who live in a female-headed household,
the chances of living in poverty rise to 46 percent
for white-Hispanic and non-Hispanic children, and
to 82 percent for African-American children
(Ollenburger and Moore 1998).IMPACT OF FAMILY TRENDS ON
CHILDREN AND OLDER PERSONSThe majority of the family patterns described here
represent long-term trends in the United States
and are unlikely to represent the demise of Ameri-
can families, as has been decried by some social
observers. Indeed, marriage remains as ‘‘popular’’
as ever. Although Americans are marrying some-
what later on average than they did in the 1950s
and 1960s, the majority of women and men contin-
ue to marry and have children. Those who divorce
tend to remarry. Although these trends did not
originate in the late twentieth century, it is none-
theless true that divorce, single-parent households,
employed mothers, and nonmaternal childcare
are more typical features of American life today
than they were in the past. The impact of these
family patterns on children’s development and
well-being has been a matter of great concern to
researchers and policymakers. The impact of wom-
en’s employment and changes in family composi-
tion also have given rise to concerns regarding the
provision of informal care to elderly parents.Divorce. Parents’ divorce has been linked with
a range of negative outcomes for children in the
areas of psychological adjustment, life satisfaction,
academic achievement, and social relationships.
These effects are strongest in the first year or two
following the divorce, but some long-term conse-
quences also have been found. The experience of
parents’ divorce can continue to have negative
effects on a child’s well-being as she or he grows
into young adulthood (Cherlin, Chase-Lansdale,
and McRae 1998).Although divorce typically is a stressful experi-
ence, studies have found a great deal of variation
in how children adapt to parents’ divorce. Among
the factors identified as important to consider are
the family’s socioeconomic status, race-ethnicity,
the child’s gender and his or her age at the time of
the parents’ divorce or separation. For example,
the effects of divorce apparently are more acute
for children of school age than for preschool
children. Marital disruption also brings greater