09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Trends in Non-Marital Birth Rates

The percent of non-marital births in the United States has steadily increased over the past few decades, from an estimated 4.5% in 1955 to 35.6% in 2004. Several factors account for such trends. Over the past decades, an increasing proportion of women has postponed marriage, while increased numbers of unmarried couples cohabit. The rates of […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Attitudes Toward Marriage

American attitudes toward marriage have undergone changes in recent years, with shifts toward an increased acceptance of nontraditional family forms. Data have shown that Americans are developing increasingly favorable attitudes toward nontraditional marital and family values and behaviors, such as cohabitation, divorce, remaining single, and premarital sex. Americans are also expressing more egalitarian views toward […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Living Arrangements of Children in the United States Over Time

The percentage of children under the age of 18 who live with two parents decreased steadily for several decades (from approximately 85% in 1970 to approximately 68% by the mid-1990s1). Beginning in the mid-1990s, this decrease leveled off and the proportion of U.S. children who live with two married parents has since remained at approximately […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Trends in Median Age at First Marriage

The median age at first marriage in the United States has been rising steadily since the 1960s for both males and females. In 1960, the median age at first marriage was 20.3 for females and 22.8 for males. By 2004, these ages had risen to 25.8 years for females and 27.4 years for males. This […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Family Structure and Fathers’ Well-Being: Trajectories of Mental and Physical Health

A vast literature has assessed the relationship between marital status and health, but very little has tracked changes in health trajectories following family structure transitions, especially among unmarried fathers. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study this paper examines trajectories of paternal mental and physical health, specifically focusing on transitions into and […]

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