Household and Family Characteristics: March 1997. Population Characteristics. Current Population Reports

摘要

Reports of the continuing rapid decline of the traditional American family are greatly exaggerated. From 1970 to 1990, marriedcouple households with children did decline sharply from 40 to 26 percent of all households. But, since 1990, decline has been slower- only a small decline to 25 percent in 1997. In this report, we discuss the demographic changes in the composition of families and households that occurred from 1970 to 1997, highlighting the period from 1990 to 1997. Since 1990, the composition of American households and families has remained relatively stable. We also look at the characteristics of different types of families and households in 1997 using data from the March Current Population Survey.