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AUTHOR Furukawa, Stacy TITLE The Diverse Living Arrangements of Children: Summer
INSTITUTION Bureau of the Census (DOC), Washington, DC. Economics and Statistics Administration. PUB DATE Sep 94 NOTE 35p. PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Current Population Reports; Serifs P-70 n38 Sep 1994
EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2^ Plus^ Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; *Census Figures; Child Rearing; *Children; Demography; Extended Family; Family (Sociological Unit); *Family Environment; *Family Structure; Nuclear Family; One Parent Family; Population Trends; Sociocultural Patterns; *Statistical Analysis; Stepfamily IDENTIFIERS *Survey of Income and Program Participation
ABSTRACT This report presents findings on children's living arrangements as taken from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The SIPP is unique in that it records how each person is related to everyone else in the household. Detailed information on parent-child relationships is provided, allowing identification of biological, step, foster, and adoptive ties. Similar data are collected for siblings. With this additional information, it is possible to examine family structure in more detail than was possible in previous Bureau of the Census reports. The statistics contained herein are based on national-level estimates of children under 18 and their living situations, for the period June through September, 1991. The report's findings pertain to all children, regardless of their marital or parental status. Included in these findings was the fact that 73 percent of children under age 18 lived with two parents, 24 percent lived with one parent, and 3 percent lived with neither parent. Black children were 2.5 times more likely to live in a one-parent family than were Whits children. The report examines both traditional nuclear families and nontraditional families, and includes data on children in blended families, adopted children, extended families, and other arrangements. Five figures and 12 tables summarize the data. Appendixes include an overview of the SIPP program, definitions and explanations of terms, and source and accuracy of estimates. (RJM)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************k**************
CURRENTPOPULATIONREPORT'
HouseholdEconomicStudins P70-
TheDiverseLivingArrangements
ofChildren:Summer^1991
SurveyofIncomeandProgramParticipation
byStacyFurukawa
U.S.DepartmentofCommerce
EconomicsandStatisticsAdministration BUREAUOFTHECENSUS
(^4) MosofEducationalRsisarchandImmovarrnimU.S.DEPARTMENTOREDUCATION C" EDUCATIONALRESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER(ERIC)
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BESTCOPYAVAILABLE
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EconomicsandStatistics Administration EverettM.Ehrlich,UnderSecretary forEconomicAffairs
BUREAUOFTHECENSUS
HarryA.Scarr,Act'ngDirector
WilliamP.Butz,AssociateDirector forDemographicPrograms
POPULATIONDIVISION ArthurJ.Norton,Chief
SUGGESTEDCITATION
Furukawa,Stacy.TheDiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren:Summer1991.U.S.Bureauof theCensus,CurrentPopulationReports,SeriesP70,No.38.U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice, Washington,DC,1994.
ForsalebySuperintendentofDocuments,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice,Washington,DC20402.
Hi
Contents
Page
IntroductionandHighlights 1 LivingArrangementsofChildren 2 TheTraditionalNuclearFamily 3 NontraditionalFamilies 4 ChildrenLivingWithTwoParents:Biological,Step,Adoptive,andFosterRelationships 4 ChildreninBlendedFamilies 4 AdoptedChildren 5 TheExtendedFamily:AnOverview 7 AdditionalAdultsinSingle-ParentHouseholds 9 AdditionalRelativesbyDetailedType 11 Multi-generationalHouseholds 11 RelatedReports 11 UserComments 12
FIGURES
- ChildrenbyPresenceofParents:Summer1991 2
- ChildrenLivinginTraditionalNuclearFamilies:Summer1991 3
- ChildrenLivinginBlendedFamilies:Summer1991 6
- ChildrenLivingWithParent,inExtendedFamilies:Summer1991 7
- ChildrenLivinginExtendedFamiliesbyPresenceofParents:Summer1991^9
TABLES
- LivingArrangementsofChildrenUnder18Years,byRaceandHispanicOrigin: Summer1991 3
- ChildrenLivingwithTwoParentsbytheirBiological,Step,Adoptive,andFoster Status,byRaceandHispanicOrigin:Summer1991 4
- ChildrenbyPresenceofNuclearFamilyMembers,byTypeofRelationship,Race, andHispanicOrigin:Summer1991 5
- ChildrenLivinginBlendedFamilies,byCompositionofFamily,Race,andHispanic Origin:Summer1991 6
- ChildrenLivinginBlendedFamiliesbyPresenceofParents,Race,andHispanic Origin:Summer1991 6
- AdoptedChildrenbyRace,HispanicOrigin,andLivingArrangements:Summer 1991 7
- ChildrenLivinginExtendedFamiliesbyRelationshipofHouseholdMembersto Child,Race,andHispanicOrigin:Summer1991 8
- ChildrenLivingwithSingleParents,byPresenceofAdultsoftheOppositeSex, Race,andHispanicOrigin:Summer1991 10
- ChildrenLivingwithSingleParents,byPresenceofAdultsoftheSameSex,Race, andHispanicOrigin:Summer1991 10
- ChildrenLivinginExtendedFamilies,byTypeofRelativePresent,Race,and HispanicOrigin:Summer1991 11
1
TheDiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren:
Summer
INTRODUCTIONANDHIGHLIGHTS
Thisreportisthefirsttopresentfindingsonthe
diverselivingarrangementsofchildrenfromtheSurvey ofIncomeandProgramParticipation(SIPP).Although manysurveyscollectinformationontherelationshipof childrentothehouseholder,theSIPPisuniqueinthatit recordshoweachpersonisrelatedtoeveryoneelsein
thehousehold.Beyondthenuclearfamily,wecan
determine,forexample,whetherachildliveswitha
grandparent,aunt,uncle,orcousin.Detailedinforma- tiononparent-childrelationshipsisalsoprovided,allow- ingustoidentifybiological,step,foster,andadoptive
ties.Similardataarecollectedforsiblings.Withthis
additionalinformation,wenowareabletoexamine
familystructureinmoredetailthanwaspossiblein
previousBureauoftheCensusreports.Topicsdis-
cussedinthisreportincludenuclearfamilies,extended famlies(includingmulti-generationalfamilies),stepfami- lies,andadoption. Thestatisticspresentedinthisreportarebasedon national-levelestimatesofchildrenunder18andtheir livingsituations,fortheperiodJunethroughSeptember, 1991.1Thefindingsinthisreportpertaintoallchildren, regardlessofthechild'smaritalorparentalstatus.Since thisreportisbasedonasamplesurvey,itsresultsare subjecttosamplingvariability.Inparticular,estimates
forsubgroupsunder200,000andsmalldifferences
betweengroupsshouldbeinterpretedwithcaution. Themajorfindingsofthisreportincludethefollowing:
In1991,47.8(±0.4)millionchildrenunderage
livedwithtwoparents(73±0.8percent);15.7(±.0.5) millionlivedwithoneparent(24±0.7percent);andan
'Theestimatesfor1991inthiareportareinflatedtonational populationcontrolsbyage,race,sex,andHispanicorigin.The populationcontrolsarebasedonresultsofthe1980censuscarried forwardto1991.Theestimatesinthisreport,therefore,maydiffer fromestimatesthatwouldhavebeenobtainedusingthe1990census resultsbroughtforwardtothesurveydate.Populationcontrols incorporating1990resultswillbeusedforsurveyestimationbeginning in1993. Alldemographicsurveys,includingtheCurrentPopulationSurvey (CPS)andtheSIPP,sufferfromundercoverageofthepopulation.This undercoverageresultsfrommissedhousingunitsandmissedpersons withinsamplehouseholds.Comparedwiththelevelofthe DecennialCensus,overallCPSandSIPPundercoverageisabout percent.Undercoveragevarieswithage,sex,andrace.Forsome groupssuchas20-to-24-year-oldBlackmales,theundercoverageis ashighasabout35percent.Theweightingproceduresusedbythe CensusBureaupartiallycorrectforthebiasresultingfromundercov- erage.However,itsfinalImpactonestimatesisunknown.Fordetails, seeappendixC,SourceandAccuracyofEstimates.
additional1.8(±0.2)millionlivedwithneitherparent (3±0.3percent).2Althoughthemajorityofchildren
livingwithasingleparentwereWhite(63±1.
percent),Blackchildrenwere2.5timesmorelikelyto liveinaone-parentfamilythanwereWhitechildren
(Blacks,49±2.2percent;Whites,19±0.8percent).
Oneoutoftwochildrenlivedinanuclearfamily
composedsolelyofbothbiologicalparentsandfull brothersandsisters(51±0.9percent).Theremaining childrenlivedinahomethatincluded,forexample,a
singleparent,stepparent,grandparent,oranother
relativeornon-relative.
Fifteen(±0.6)percentofallchildren(9.8±0.4mil-
lion)livedinblendedfamilies(i.e.,homesinwhich
childrenlivedwithatleastonestepparent,stepsib- ling,orhalf-sibling).Morechildrenlivedwithatleast
onehalf-brotherorhalf-sister(7±0.4million)than
withastepparent(4.6±0.3million)orwithatleast
onestepsibling(980,000±140,000).
Livinginablendedfamilywasequallylikelyfor
childreninone-parentfamilies(15.5±1.3percent)
andchildrenintwo-parentfamilies(15.2±0.7per-
cent). Approximately1.1(±0.1)millionchildrenlivedwithat leastoneadoptiveparent. Ofchildrenlivingwithatleastoneparent,8.0(±0.4) million(12.5±0.6percent)livedinanextendedhouse- hold.Approximately5.7million(±0.3)childrenlived inhouseholdsextendedbyrelativesonly,compared
with1.9million(±0.2)inhomesextendedbynon-
relativesonly,and313,000(±80,00)inthoseextended bybothrelativesandnonrelatives. Childreninone-parentfamilieswerefourtimesmore likelytoliveinanextendedfamily(29.9±1.6percent) thanwerechildrenlivingwithtwoparents(6.8±0. percent). Amongchildreninsingle-motherfamilies,20(±1.5)
percentalsolivedwithanadultmale(relatedor
2Thevaluesshowninparenthesesrepresentthe90-percent confidenceinterval,whichisthestandardusedbytheCensusBureau forthecomparisonofstatisticsbasedonsamplesurveys.Allofthe statementsinthisreportmeetthisrequirement.SecappendixCfora moredetaileddiscussionofsamplingerrorandhowitmayaffectthe data.
2 DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren
unrelated)presentinthehousehold;37(±5.1)per- centofchildrenlivingwithasinglefatheralsolived withanadultfemale(relatedorunrelated). Seven(±0.5)percentofallchildren(4.7±0.3million) livedwithatleastonegrandparent.Ofchildrenliving withasingleparentandagrandparent,mostlivedin thegrandparent'shome(81±3.8percent);butamong childrenintwo-parentfamilieswithagrandparentin
thehome,mostlivedintheparents'home(62±5.
percent).
LIVING1RRANGEMENTSOFCHILDREN
Thelivingpatternsofchildrenhavechangeddramati-
callyoverthepastthreedecades.Withagrowing
proportionofwomenbearingchildrenoutofwedlock, alongwithhighdivorcerates,morechildrenthanever arespendingatleastpartoftheirchildhoodinsingle- parentfamilies. In1991,73percentofthe65.7millionchildrenunder 18livedwithtwoparents3,21percentlivedwiththeir motheronly,3percentlivedwiththeirfather.only,and
percentlivedwithneitherparent.'(Seefigure1and
table1.)Throughoutthisreport,unlessaspecifictypeis designated,"parent"referstoabiological,step,adop- tive,orfosterparent.Althoughmostchilda.nlivedwith twoparents,thisvariedsharplybyraceandethnicity:
percentofallWhitechildrenlivedwithtwoparents,
comparedwith42percentofBlackand64percentof Hispanicschildren.
Approximately15.7millionchildrenlivedwithone
parent.Althoughthemajorityofchildrenlivingwitha
singleparentwereWhite(63percent),Blackchildren
3Thisgroupincludes688,000childrenwholivedwithtwounmar- riedparents. "Thedatapresentedintable 1 areroughlycomparablewith estimatesyieldedbytheMarch1991CurrentPopulationSurvey (CPS).However,incontrasttotheCPS,theSIPPestimatedmore Blackchildrenlivingintwo-parentfamilies,andfewerBlackchildren livinginsingle-motherfamilies(seebelow).Itshouldbenotedthatthe SIPPandtheCPSestimatesarenotbasedonthesameuniverseof children:theCPSfiguresexcludechildrenwhomaintainedtheirown householdorfamilygroup.TheirinclusionintheSIPPestimatesonly accountsforaminorportionofthedifference.Itmaybethataskingfor detailedinformationonaparent-childrelationship(i.e.,biological, step,foster,andadoptive)encouragesthereportingofparental presence,butthisisspeculative.
SIPP CPS Characteristic Number (^) Percent Number Percent AllBlackchildren 10.571 1000 10,209^ 100. Livingwithtwoparents 4.404^417 3,669 35. Livingwithmotheronly 4,938 467 5,516 540 Livingwithfatheronly.^258 2.4 358 35 Sourceof1991CPSdata.U.S.BureauoftheCensus,CurrentPopulation Reports,SeriesP-20,No.461,MaritalStatusandLivingArrangements.March 1991,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice.Washington.DC,1992. 5ChildrenofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
Figure1.
ChildrenbyPresenceofParents:
Summer (Inpercent)
// 21.2 /'^ 16. 2.7 2.
All races
Other Fatheronly Motheronly '13Twoparents
92
White Black Hispanic*
'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace Source.Table1.
were2.5timesmorelikelytoliveinaone-parentfamily thanwereWhitechildren.One-halfofallBlackchildren
livedwithoneparent(49percent),whereasnearly
one-fifthofWhitechildren(19percent)andone-thirdof
Hispanicchildren(31percent)livedinsingle-parent
families.AdisproportionateshareofBlackchildrenlived withaloneparent:16percentofallchildrenwereBlack, yetBlacksconstitutedone-thirdofallchildrenlivingin one-parentfamilies. About1.8millionchildrenlivedwithneitherparent.
Themajorityofthesechildrenlivedwithoneorboth
grandparents(61percent);theotherslivedwithother relativesand/ornonrelatives.Blackchildrenuornprised
one-halfofallchildrenlivingwithagrandparent,but
withoutaparentinthehome.
(^4) DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren
Whitecounterparts,thoughnottothedegreethatis
suggestedbythefirstpanel,whichisbasedonall
children.
NONTRADITIONALFAMILIES
ChildrenLivingWithTwoParents:Biological, Step,Adoptive,andFosterRelationships
Althoughin1991mostchildrenlivedintwo-parent
families,asubstantialportiondidnotlivewithboth
biologicalparents.Hereweexaminetheextenttowhich childrenlivedwithbiological,step,adoptive,andfosters parents: Approximately85percentofchildrenintwo-parent familieslivedwithbothbiologicalparents(table2).An additional10percentlivedwithabiologicalparentand astepparent,mostfrequentlywithabiologicalmother
andstepfather.Childrenwholivedwithabiological
parentandanadoptiveparent(i.e.,relatedadoptions), wereplacedinabiologicalparent/stepparentcategory inordertobeconsistentwithsurveyinstructions.10Less than2percentofchildrenlivedwithfosteroradoptive parents:one-halfmillionchildrenlivedwithtwoadoptive
°Respondentswereaskedtoidentifyfosterrelationshipsasthose thatinvolvedanofficialplacementbyagovernmentagencyorarep- resentativeofagovernmentagency.Weassume,however,thatsome respondentsalsoreportedchildrenwhowereinformallyfostered. 9Thedatacontainedintable7areestimatesbasedonquestions thatasktherespondenttoidentifyaparent-childrelationshipas biological,step,foster,oradoptive.EarlierCensusBureaureports publishedindirectestimatesbasedonthe1990CurrentPopulation Survey(CPS).TheCPSandtheSIPPyieldverydifferentresults. Overall,thedirectquestionusedintheSIPPproducesanestimateof childrenlivingwithabiologicalmotherandstepfatherthatisone-half aslargeastheestimatesobtainedindirectlyusingbirthandmarital historiesfromtheCPS.Thedifferenceisparticularlypronouncedfor Blackchildren:theSIPPestimatesthat8percentofBlackchildrenin two-parentfamilieslivedwithabiologicalmotherandsteph.::. comparedwith31 percentfromtheCPS.Correspondingly,the proportionofBlackchildrenintwo-parentfamilieswholivedwithtwo biologicalparentsisfarhigherintheSIPPthanintheCPS(81percent comparedwith64percent).Also,theSIPPproduceslowerestimates ofchildrenwithtwoadoptiveparentsthandoestheCPS(974, comparedwith582,000fromtheSIPP). Itseemslikelythatestimatesofthenumberofsteprelatic.ishipsfrom theCPSaremoreaccuratethanestimatesfromtheSIPP,tothe extentthatcoupleshavechildrenwithinmarriage.Themethodology usedwiththeCPS,however,doesnotrecognizeastwobiological parentsthosecoupleswhodelaymarriageuntilafterthebir.hoftheir child,orwhonevermarrybutcohabit.Inthe1996SIPPpanel,new procedureswillbeadoptedtoimprovetheidentificationofstep relationships. Sourcefor1990CPSdata:U.S.BureauoftheCensus,Current PopulationReports,P23-180,Marriage,Divorce,andRemarriagein the1990's,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice,Washington,D.C.,1992. ForinformationonindirectestimationtechniquesusingtheCPS,see: LouisaF.MillerandJeanneE.Moorman."MarriedCoupleFamilies WithChildren"inStudiesinMarriageandtheFamily,U.S.Bureauof theCensus,CurrentPopulationReports,SeriesP-25,No.162,U.S. GovernmentPrintingOffice,Washington,DC,1989. 1°Pleaserefertothesection,"AdoptedChildren"forestimatesof relatedversusunrelatedadoptions.
Table2.ChildrenLivingwithTwoParentsbytheir
Biological,Step,Adoptive,andFoster
Status,byRaceandHispanicOrigin:
Summer (Numbersinthousands)
Characteristicsofparents (^) races WhiteAll (^) Black^ Hispanic origin'
Childrenlivingwithtwo parents 47,826 (^) 40,995 4,404 4, Biologicalmotherand father (^) 40,553 35,002 3,576 4, Biologicalmotherand stepfather (^) 3,672 3,195 351 367 Biologicalfatherand stepmother (^) 830 740 40 43 Adoptivemotherand father2 582 387 103 42 Fostermotherand father3 195 147 48 - Other 1,994 1,524 286 245
Percentdistribution (^) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100. Biologicalmotherand father (^) 84.8 85.4 81.2 85. Biologicalmotherand stepfather 7.7 7.8 8.0 7. Biologicalfatherand stepmother 1.7 1.8 0.9 0. Adoptivemotherand father2 1.2 0.9 2.3 0. Fostermotherand father3. - - 1. Other 4.2 3.7 (^) 6.5 5.
-Representszerooranumberthatroundstozero. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace. 2ChildrenlivingwithonPbiologicalparentandoneadoptiveparent havebeenplacedinabiologicalparent/stepparentcategory. 3Fosterrelationshipsonlyincludeofficialplacementsbyagovern- mentagencyorrepresentativeofagovernmentagency.
parents,and195,000livedwithtwofosterparents."
SimilarpatternswerefoundwhenexaminingWhite,
Black,andHispanicchildrenseparately.
ChildreninBlendedFamilies
Inthisreport,achildlivedinablendedfamilyor
blendedhouseholdifheorshelivedwithatleastone stepparent,stepsibling,and/orhalf-sibling.Asteppar- entisthespouseofthechild'snaturalmotherorfather, butlacksbiologicaltiestothechild.Inthissection,asin
thepreviousone,parentswhohaveadoptedtheir
stepchildrenareconsideredstepparents,notadoptive
"TheSIPPestimatesthatin1991therewere207,000foster childrenunderage18(0.31percentofallchildren),ofwhich195, livedwithtwofosterparents.Theremainingchildrenlivedwithasingle fosterparent.Wediscourageresearchersfromusingthe1991SIPPto studyfosterchildrensinceextremelyfewcaseswerepresentinthe file. 12Blackchildrenintwo-parentfamilieswereslightlylosslikelyto livewithbothbiologicalparentsand,consequently,morelikelytolive withfosteroradoptiveparents.
DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren 5
parents.Half-siblingsshareonlyonebiologicalparent, whereasstepsiblingsdonothaveanybiologicalparents incommon. Beforediscussingthecompositionofblendedfami- liesindetail,weexaminetheextenttowhichchildren livedwithstepparents,stepsiblings,andhalf-siblings.
Whenwelookatallchildren,wefindthatmorelived
withahalf-sibling(11percent)thanwithastepparent( percent)orastepsibling(1percent)(table3).Please notethatthesecategoriesarenotmutuallyexclusive-they
representchildrenlivingwith"atleastone"ofthe
relativesspecified.AlthoughthepatternsforWhite
childrenweresimilartothosefoundforallchildren,
Blacks(4percent)werelesslikelytolivewithastep- parent,aswereHispanicchildren(6percent),andmore
likelytolivewithahalf-sibling(16percent).Hispanic
children(11percent)wereaslikelyasallchildrentolive withahalf-sibling. In1991,9.8millionchildrenlivedinablendedfamily, ahomeinwhichatleastonestepparent,stepsibling,or
half-siblingwaspresent(table4).Althoughchildren
livinginablendedfamilyrepresented15percentofall children,thisreflectsonlythecompositionofthehouse-
holdinwhichtheylived,notthecompletenetworkof
familyties.AsomewhathigherpercentageofBlack
childrenlivedinablendedfamily(20percent)thandid WhiteorHispanicchildren(14percent).
Table4alsoshowsthedistributionofchildrenin
blendedfamiliesbyallpossiblecombinationsofstep- andhalf-relativeswhowerepresentinthehome.Among
childrenlivinginblendedfamilies,themostcommon
13TheproportionofWhiteandHispanicchildrenlivinginablended family(14percent)doesnotdifferfromthatofallchildren( percent).
situation,regardlessofraceorethnicity,wastheonein
whichchildrenlivedwithatleastonehalf-sibling,but
withneitherastepparentnorastepsibling(50percent or5millionchildren).Blackchildreninblendedfamilies,
inparticular,werefarmorelikelytolivewithahalf-
siblingonly(71percent)thanwereWhite(45percent)or Hispanicchildreninblendcdfamilies(58percent).An additionalone-fifthofchildreninblendedfamilieslived with stepparentonly(2.1million),and,similarly,another one-fifthlivedwithastepparentandahalf-sibling(1.
million).Fewchildreninblendedfamilieslivedwitha
stepsiblingonly(2percent)orintheremainingcatego- riesshownintable4.
Surprisingly,childrenliving inone-parentfamilies
wereaboutaslikelytoliveinablendedfamilyaswere
childrenintwo-parentfamilies(16percentand
percent,respectively)(figure3andtable5).Thereare onlyslightdifferencesittheseproportionsbyrace.The proportionofWhitechildreninone-parentfamiliesliving inablendedfamily(11percent)isslightlysmallerthan thecomparablemeasureforthoseintwo-parentfami- lies(15percent).Blackchildreninone-parentfamilies weresomewhatmorelikelytoliveinablendedfamily thantheircounterpartsintwo-parentfamilies(24per-
centand19percent).Nodifferencewasfoundfor
Hispanicchildren.
AdoptedChildren
Itisverydifficulttodeterminehowmanyadopted
childrenliveintheUnitedStates.Sinceacomprehen- sivefederalregistrysystemforadoptionsdoesnotyet
exist,wemustrelyonsurveyssuchastheSIPPto
Table3.ChildrenbyPresenceofNuclearFamilyMembers,byTypeofRelationship,Race,andHispanic
Origin:Summer (Numbersinthousands]
Livingarrangements
Allraces White Black^ Hispanicorigin' Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent^ Number^ Percent Allchildrenunder18years 65,727 100.0^ 51,944^ 100.0^ 10,571^ 100.0^ 7,525^ 100. PresenceofParent Livingwithatleastoneparent 63,574^ 96.7^ 50,914^ 980 9,600^ 90.8^ 7,163^ 95. Livingwithatleastonestepparent2. 4,594^ 7.0^ 3,972^ 7.6^431 4.1^418 5. Neitherparentispresent 2,153^ 3.3^ 1,030^ 2.0^971 9.2^362 4.
PresenceofBrothersandSisters Livingwithatleastonesibling 49,728^ 75.7^ 39,607^ 76.2^ 7,661^ 72.5^ 5,956^ 79. Livingwithatleastonestepsibling. 980 1.5 639 1.2^289 2.7^53 0. Livingwithatleastonehalf-sibling.^ 6,989^ 10.6^ 4,986^ 9.6^ 1,714 16.2^813 10. Livingwithnobrothersorsisters 15,999 24.3 12,337^ 23.8^ 2,910^ 27.5^ 1,569^ 20. -Representszerooranumberthatroundstozero. 'PersonsofHispanicodginmaybeofanyrace. 2Childrenlivingwithonebiologicalparentandoneadoptiveparentareconsideredtolivewithastepparentinordertobeconsistentwithsurvey instructions.
DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren 7
Figure4.
ChildrenLivingWith
ParentinExtended Families: Summer (Inpercent)
l I Relativesonly Nonrelativesonly F--1Relativesand Nonrelatives
All races
White Black
"PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace. Source:Table7.
Table6.AdoptedChildrenbyRace,Hispanic
Origin,andLivingArrangements:
Summer [Numbersinthousands]
Characteristics Number Percent Adoptedchildren 1,062 100. Race: White 805 75. Black 130 12. Other 127 12. Hispanicorigin': Hispanic 65 6. NotHispanic 997 93. Livingarrangements: Twoparents 936 88. Twoadoptiveparents 581 54. Oneadoptiveandonebiological 324 30. Oneadoptiveandoneother 31 2. Oneparent 126 11. Motheronly 110 10. Fatheronly 16 1. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
somereportedanadoptiverelationship.Forconsis-
tency,childrenwholivedwithonebiologicalparentand oneadoptiveparentwererecodedasstepchildredin thetwoprevioussections.Here,however,weaccept
theoriginalresponseandconsiderthemasrelated
adoptions,childrenwhohavebeenadoptedbyastep- parent.Respondentswerealsoaskedtoidentifyonly
legaladoptions,thoughsurelysomealsoincluded
informaladoptions.Withthesequalifications,weesti-
matethat1.1millionchildrenlivedwithatleastone
adoptiveparentin1991(table6).One-halfofalladopted childrenlivedwithtwoadoptiveparents,andone-third
livedwithonebiologicalandoneadoptiveparent.
Twelvep'centofalladoptedchildrenlivedwithsingle parents. Ingeneral,wedonotencouragetheuseoftheSIPP
tostudyadoptedchildren,simplybecausetoofew
casesexisttopermitmuchbeyondthelevelofdescrip- tionshownintable6.Anythingmorecomplex,evena cross-tabuationofthisgroupbyage,race,andsex,will almostcertainlyproduceestimatesthataretoosmallto bereliable.
TheExtendedFamily:AnOverview
Avarietyoffactorsinfluencewhetherornota householdisextended.Amongthemostimportantare economicfa:::torssuchaspoverty,unemployment,and theshortageofaffordablehousing,butculturalfactors mustalsobeconsidered.15Inthisreport,weidentifya childaslivinginanextendedfamilyifatleastoneparent aswellassomeonebeyondthenuclearfamily(related orunrelatedtothechild)alsolivedinthehousehold.In thissection,theterm"nuclearfamily"referstoafamily
composedonlyofachild'sparent(s)arrisiblings.
Parent-childandsiblingrelationshipsmaybebiological, step-,half-,adoptive,orfoster.(Incontrast,thetradi- tionalnuclearfamilydefinitionusedearlierinthisreport requiredthatallparentalandsiblingtiesbebiological.) Thisdefinitionexcludes1.8millionchildrenwholivedin ahouseholdwithneitherparent,butwithatleastone relativeornon-relative. In1991,8.0millionchildrenlivedinextendedfami- lies,representing12.5percentofallchildrenlivingwith atleastoneparent(figure4andtable7).Whitechildren werehalfaslikelytoliveinanextendedfamilyasBlack andHispanicchildren(10percent,22percent,and percent,respectively).
Figure4alsoshowstherelationshipofextended
householdmemberstothechild.Ofallchildrenliving withatleastoneparent,9percentlivedwithextended
householdmemberswhowererelativesonly(e.g.,
grandparents,in-laws,aunts,uncles).Farfewerchildren livedwithnonrelativesonly(3percent),andlessthan onepercentlivedwithbothrelativesandnonrelatives. Black(19percent)andHispanicchildren(19percent)
weremorelikelytoliveinahouseholdextendedby
relativesonlythanwereWhitechildren(7percent).
SmallproportionsofWhite,Black,andHispanicchildren livedwithnonrelativesonlyorwithbothrelativesand nonrelatives.
isForarecentreviewofresearchonAfrican-Americanextended families,pleaseseeStevenRuggles,"TheOriginsofAfrican-American FamilyStructure,"AmericanSociologicalReview,Vol.59(February 1994),pp.136-151.
(^8) DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren
Table7.ChildmaLivinginExtendedFamilies,byRelationshipofHousehtIldMemberstoChild,Race,and
HispanicOrigin:Summer
(Numbersinthousands]
Childrenlivingwithoneorbothparents
Livingarrangements Total (^) Twoparenh
Oneparent Total (^) Motheronly Fatheronly Number Percent (^) Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Allraces (^) 63,754 100.0 47,826 100.0 15,748 100.0 13,955 100.0 1,793 100. Childrenlivinginanextended household (^) 7,951 12.5 3,235 6.8 4,716 29.9 4,092 29.3 (^624) 34. Relationshipofextended householdmemberstochild: Relativesonly (^) 5,749 9.0 2,594 5.4 3,155 20.0 2,803 (^) 20.1 352 19. Nonrelativesonly 1,891 3.0 542 1.1 (^) 1,349 8.6 1,099 7.9 (^250) 13. Both 313 0.5 (^100) - 213 1.4 191 1.4 (^22) 1. White 50,914 100.0 (^) 40,995 100.0 9,919 100.0 8,503 100.0 1,416 100. Childrenlivinginanextended houc...:dnold 5,210 (^) 10.2 2,350 5.7 2,861 28.8 2,383 (^) 28.0 478 33. Relationshipofextended householdmemberstochild: Relativesonly (^) 3,373 6.6 1,827 4.5 1,546 15.6 1,277 (^) 15.0 269 19. Nonrelativesonly (^) 1,582 3.1 423 1.0 1,159 11.7 (^960) 11.3 199 14. Both 255 0.5 (^100) - 155 1.6 145 1.7 10 (^) 0. Black 9,600 100.0 (^) 4,404 100.0 5,196 100.0 4,938 100.0 (^258) 100. Childrenlivinginanextended household 2,100 21.9 444 (^) 10.1 1,656 31.9 1,550 31.4 (^106) 41. Relationshipofextended householdmemberstochild: Relativesonly 1,861 19.4 389 8.8 1,473 (^) 28.3 1,411 28.6 62 24. Nonrelativesonly (^208) 2.2 55 1.2 154 3.0 (^116) 2.3 38 14. Both (^30) - - 30 0.6 23 0.5 7 2.i Hispanicorigin' (^) 7,163 100.0 4,826 100.0 2,337 (^) 100.0 2,141 100.0 196 100. Childrenlivinginanextendod household 1,795 25.1 (^858) 17.8 937 40.1 820 38.3 117 59.i Relationshipofextended householdmemberstochild: Relativesonly 1,357 18.9 (^649) 13.4 708 30.3 626 29.2 82 41.f Nonrelativesonly 279 3.9 (^144) 3.0 136 5.8 100 4.7 36 18. Both (^160) 2.2 65 1.3 95 4.1 95 4.
-Representszerooranumberthatroundstozero. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
Arechildrenmorelikelytoliveinanextendedfamily iftheylivewithoneparentratherthanwithtwoparents? Thedifferenceillustratedinfigure5isstriking:Children inone-parentfamilieswerefourtimesmorelikelytolive inanextendedfamilythanwerechildrenlivingwithtwo
parents(30percentcomparedwith7percent).Very
largedifferencesarefoundwhenweexamineeach
racialandethnicgroupseparately,although,exceptfor Whitechildren,theyarenotofthesamemagnitudeas thatfoundforchildreningeneral.Thelikelihoodofliving inanextendedfamilywasaboutfivetimesgreaterfor Whitechildreninone-parentfamilies(29percent)than
forthosewholivedwithtwoparents(6percent).In
contrast,32percentofBlackchildrenlivingwithasingle parentalsolivedinanextendedfamily,comparedwith
C
3
10percentofthoseintwo-parentfamilies.Hispanic
childrenweretwiceaslikelytoliveinanextendedfamily iftheylivedwithoneparent(40percent)ratherthanwith twoparents(18percent).
Finally,wecomparethetypesofextendedfamily
memberslivinginahouseholdbywhetherchildrenlived withoneortwoparents.Amongchildrenintwo-parent
families,5percentlivedinhouseholdsthatincluded
otherrelativesonly,andanadditional1percentlived withatleastonenonrelative.BlackandHispanicchil-
dren(9percentand14percent)wereroughlytwoto
threetimesaslikelyasWhites(5percent)toliveina householdextendedbyotherrelatives.Whenweturnto childrenlivingwithoneparent,wefindthat20percent
ivedinahouseholdextendedbyrelativesonly,
(^10) DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren
Table8.ChildrenLivingwithSingleParents,byPresenceofAdultsoftheOppositeSex,Race,and
HispanicOrigin:Summer [Numbersinthousands]
Livingarrangements
Allraces (^) White Black (^) Hispanicorigin' Number (^) Percent Number Percent Number Percent (^) Number Percent Livingwithmotheronly 13,955 100.0 8,503 100.0 4,938 100.0 (^) 2,141 100. Presenceofatleastoneadultmale,other thanbrothers (^) 2,816 20.2 2,023 23.8 696 14.1 458 21. Relationshipofadultmaleto child: Livingwithatleastone- Relative (^) 1,45,; 10.4 853 10.0 (^520) 10.5 279 13. Nonrelative (^) 1,018 7.3 902 10.6 (^110) 2.2 145 6. Relationshipunknown 401 2.9 (^320) 3.8 73 1.5 34 1.
Livingwithfatheronly 1,793 100.0 1,416 (^) 100.0 258 100.0 196 100. Presenceofatleastoneadultfemale, otherthansisters (^661) 36.9 500 35.3 121 46.9 (^131) 66. Relationshipofadultfemaletochild: Livingwithatleastone- Relative (^342) 19.1 255 18.0 61 23.6 (^82) 41. Nonrelative (^227) 12.7 171 12.1 38 14.7 (^36) 18. Relationshipunknown 114 6.4 85 6.0 21 8.1 13 6. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
Table9.ChildrenLivingwithSingleParents,byPresenceofAdultsofSameSex,Race,andHispanic
Origin:Summer [Numbersinthousands]
LivingarrangeMents
Allraces White (^) Black Hispanicorigin' Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Livingwithmotheronly (^) 13,955 100.0 8,503 100.0 4,938 100.0 2,141 100. Presenceofatleastoneadult female,otherthanmotherorsisters (^) 2,639 18.9 1,429 16.8 1,085 22.0 553 26. Relationshipofadultfemaletochild: Livingwithatleastone- Relative (^) 2,283 16.4 1,146 13.5 1,035 21.0 (^511) 23. Nonrelative 289 2.1 237 2.8 (^13 96) 4. Relationshipunknown 181 1.3 (^138) 1.6 36 0.7 31 1. Livingwithfatheronly (^) 1,793 100.0 1,416 100.0 258 100.0 (^196) 100. Presenceofatleastoneadultmale, otherthanfatherorbrothers 335 18.7 256 18.1 52 20.2 (^54) 27. Relationshipofadultmaletochild: Livingwithatleastone- Relative (^258) 14.4 185 13.1 46 17.8 (^) 48 24. Nonrelative 50 2.8 43 3.0 (^7) 2.7 - - Relationshipunknown 34 1.9 (^28) 2.0 6 2.3 6 3. -Representszerooranumberthatroundstozero. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
DiverseLivingArrangementsofChildren 11
relative,and14percentofthoseinsingle-fatherhomes livedwithatleastonemalerelative.
AdditionalRelativesbyDetailedType.Whichrela-
tivesdochildreninextendedfamiliesmostfrequently
livewith?Onemightimaginethatthesehouseholds
mostoftenincludegrandparents,andthisisindeed
whatisshownintable10.(Note:thecategoriesintable 10arenotmutuallyexclusive.)Regardlessofraceor origin,46percentofchildreninextendedfamilieslived withatleastonegrandparent,andmorechildrenlived withonlyagrandmother(25percent)thanwithbotha grandmotherandagrandfather(17percent).Approxi- matelythreetimesasmanyBlackandHispanicchildren livedwithonegrandparentaswithtwograndparents, comparedwith1.5timesasmanyforWhites. Ofthe8.0millionchildrenlivinginanextendedfamily,
similarproportionslivedwithatleast0116uncle(
percent)oranaunt(20percent).Anotherone-fifthlived withacousin,althoughtheproportionwasparticularly largeforBlackchildren,aboutone-thirdofwhomlived withacousin(35percent).
Multi-generationalHouseholds.Manychildrenliving
inextendedfamiliesalsoliveinmulti-generationalhouse- holds.In1991,3.8millionchildrenlivedinthree-orfour
Table10.ChildrenLivinginExtendedFamilies,
byTypeofRelativePresent,Race,and
HispanicOrigin:Summer [Numbersinthousands]
Livingarrangements (^) racesAll White Black^ Hispanic origin'
Totalchildreninextended families2 7,951 5,210^ 2,100^ 1, Livingwithatleastone- Grandmotherandgrand- father 1,323 914 280^197 Grandmotheronly 2,004^ 1,137^680 Grandfatheronly 312 257 49^79 Uncle 1,506^ 825 438^513 Aunt 1,567 868 512^542 Nephew 451 196 231 143 Niece 486 182 276 167 Father-in-law 15 5 9 Mother-in-law 13 7 - Brother-in-law 32 19 -^4 Sister-in-law 86 64^18 Cousin 1,704^788 729 Percent 100.0^ 100.0^ 100.0^ 100. Grandmotherandgrand- father 16.6 17.5 13.3^ 11. Grandmotheronly 25.2 21.8 32.4 29. Grandfatheronly 3.9 4.9^ 2.3^ 4. Uncle 18.9 15.8^ 20.9 28. Aunt 19.7 16.7 24.4^ 30. Nephew 5.7^ 3.8 11.0 8. Niece 6.1^ 3.5^ 13.1^ 9. Father-in-law Mother-in-law -^ - Brother-in-law -^ - Sister-in-law 1.1^ 1.2^ 0.9^ 1. Cousin 21.4^ 15.1^ 34.7^ 25. -Representszerooranumberthatroundstozero. 'PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace. 2AtleastoneparentlivesInthehousehold.
generationfamilies,almostallofwhomlivedwitha
parentandagrandparent(96percent,table11).The remainingchildrenlivedwithaparentandanownchild,
withagrandparentandanownchild,orinafour-
generationhousehold.
If allchildrenareconsidered,notonlythosein
extendedfamilies,4.7millionlivedwithagrandparent( percentofallchildrenunder18)(table12).Onemillion
childrenwereraisedbytheirgrandparentswithouta
parentpresentinthehousehold,constitutingabout
one-fourthofallchildrenlivingwithagrandparent.The largestproportionofchildrenlivingwithgrandparents,
however,livedwithsinglemothers(40percent);
percentlivedwithbothparents. Theproportionofchildrenlivingwithagrandparent differsbyraceandHispanicorigin.Blackchildrenwere threetimesmorelikelythanwereWhitechildrentolive withagrandparent(15percentcomparedwith5per- cent);Hispanic'hildrenweretwiceaslikelyasWhitesto
livewithagrandparent(12percent).AmongBlack
childrenlivingwithagrandparent,theoverwhelming
majorityhadeitheroneorneitherparentinthehouse- hold(93percent).Incontrast,approximately60percent ofWhiteandHispanicchildrenlivedinahomewitha grandparentandoneorneitherparent. Whenchildrenlivewiththeirparentsandgrandpar- ents;whichgenerationisthehouseholder?Theresults arequitedifferentdependingonwhetherthechildren
livewithoneorbothparents.Accordingtotable12,
amongchildrenlivinginthree-generation,two-parent families,lessthanhalflivedinthegrandparent'shome (38percent),but81percentofchildrenlivinginthree- generation,one-parentfamilieslivedinthegrandparent's home.Doesthissuggest,then,thatinmulti-generational households,two-parentfamiliesmaybemorelikelyto
providecaretotheoldergeneration,whereassingle
mothersandfathersmaybemoreapttoobtainsupport
fromtheirownparents?Thispattern,whilecertainly
intriguing,cannotbesupportedbytheinformationshown intable12.Thisquestionrequiresfurtherresearchat thefamilylevel;ourfindingsonlydescribecharacteris- ticsofchildren,notofeachindividualfamilyorhouse-
hold.Inotherwords,sincechildrenaretheunitof
analysis,thecharacteristicsofafive-childfamilyare
representedfivetimesintable12,whereasanonlychild isrepresentedonlyonce.
RELATEDREPORTS
Additionalinformationonthelivingarrangementsof
childrenispresentedinCurrentPopulationReports,
SeriesP20-478,MaritalStatusandLivingArrange-
ments:March1993.BasedontheCurrentPopulation Survey,thisreportincludesmoredetailontheageof thechildrenandcharacteristicsoftheirparents.We,the AmericanChildren,WE-10,providesabriefsummaryof
