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. 2022 Apr 1;59(2):731-760.
doi: 10.1215/00703370-9783507.

Continuity and Change in U.S. Children's Family Composition, 1968-2017

Paula Fomby  1 , David S Johnson  2
Affiliations

Continuity and Change in U.S. Children's Family Composition, 1968-2017

Paula Fomby et al. Demography. .

Abstract

We document changes in U.S. children's family household composition from 1968 to 2017 with regard to the number and types of kin that children lived with and the frequency of family members' household entrances and departures. Data are from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 30,412). Children experienced three decades of increasing instability and diversification in household membership, arriving at a state of "stable complexity" in the most recent decade. Stable complexity is distinguished by a decline in the number of coresident parents; a higher number of stepparents, grandparents, and other relatives in children's households; and less turnover in household membership compared with prior decades, including fewer sibling departures. College-educated households with children were consistently the most stable and least diverse. On several dimensions, household composition has become increasingly similar for non-Hispanic Black and White children. Children in Hispanic households are distinct in having larger family sizes and more expected household entrances and departures by coresident kin.

Keywords: Children; Family complexity; Family composition.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prevalence of coresident biological/adoptive parents (left-hand axis) and parent coresidence transition rates (right-hand axis), children age 0–17 years, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1968–2017. Notes: Point estimates in italics are significantly different from corresponding value in previous decade. Point estimates in bold denote significant differences in the last compared to the first decade (p<.05).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Prevalence of coresident biological/adoptive parents (Panel A) and parent coresidence transition rates (Panel B) by reference person’s educational attainment at first child observation, children age 0–17 years, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1968–2017. Notes: Error bars describe 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Prevalence of coresident full/half siblings (left-hand axis) and sibling coresidence transition rates (right-hand axis), children age 0–17 years, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1968–2017. Notes: Point estimates in italics are significantly different from corresponding value in previous decade. Point estimates in bold denote significant differences in the last compared to the first decade (p<.05).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Prevalence of coresident grandparents (Panel A) and grandparent coresidence transition rates (Panel B) by reference person’s race/ethnicity at first child observation, children age 0–17 years, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1968–2017.
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