1. An Update on Family Trends in the U.S. and Ohio
Anastasia R. Snyder
Department of HDFS
OSU, College of Education and Human Ecology
October 7, 2010

2. Outline and Goals Trends in family formation patterns
Trends in children’s family contexts
Well-being outcomes for families and children
Family stability
The role of educational attainment of women
Aging U.S. population
Goal: To understand recent family demographic trends and implications for families and children in U.S. and Ohio

3. Trends in Family Formation
Union Formation:
Delayed age at first marriage
Sharp rise in non-marital cohabitation
Most marriages preceded by cohabitation
Childbearing
Decline in fertility of married women
Rise in nonmarital childbearing, especially among women in 20s and 30s
50% of these birth occur to cohabiting women

4. Percent of women with a nonmarital birth in the past 12 months, 2009
Source: ACS

5. Children’s Family Contexts
Decline in two parent families in the U.S. and Ohio
Corresponding rise in single parent families, most female-headed
Family poverty is high among female-headed families with children
Female-headed family poverty is slightly higher in Ohio
Depends on type of female-headed family

6. Trends in Family Contexts for Children in US and Ohio: 1990-2009
2007 Pre Annual Conference In-service Day
12/11/2007
Trends in Family Contexts for Children in US and Ohio:
The trend both nationwide and in Ohio in the past 15 years has been a decline in the percent of married couple families with children and a rise in the percent of single parent families with children. Between 1990 and 2006 the percent of married couple families with children declined from 74.2% of all families to 69.1% of all families, which is a 5.1 percentage point decline. In Ohio the decline was from 74.7% to 66.7%, a 7.9% decline. At the same time the percent of single parent families has risen. In the US overall single parent families with children represented 30.9% of all families with children, up 5.1 percentage points from 25.8% in In Ohio single parent families with children represent a slightly larger percent of all families with children—33.3% (one third)—up from 25.4% in The trend in both Ohio and the US is away from two parent families with children and toward single parents with children.
Source: U.S. Census
FCS Trends Update

7. 2007 Pre Annual Conference In-service Day
12/11/2007
Trends in Poverty for Families with Children in the U.S. and Ohio: .
Source: U.S. Census
FCS Trends Update

8. Types of Female-Headed Families with Children
2009 ACS provided new information about types of female-headed families
Cohabiting
Headed by a grandmother
Make up over 25% of female-headed families with children (26.5% in Ohio, 27% in U.S.)
Poverty varies a lot depending on type of female- headed family.

9. Children’s Living Arrangements: Cohabiting Households in 2009
Source: ACS

10. Children’s Living Arrangements: Grandparent-Headed Households in 2009

11. Poverty Among Different Types of Female-Headed Families
2007 Pre Annual Conference In-service Day
12/11/2007
Poverty Among Different Types of Female-Headed Families
Source: Snyder et al., (U.S. Census Data)
FCS Trends Update

12. Family Stability and Child Well-Being
Research is shifting focus
Family Structure  Family Stability
Trend toward more instability in U.S. families
Results in worse child outcomes (Magnuson et al., 2009; Osborne & McLanahan, 2007; Cavanaugh & Houston, 2008; Fomby et al., 2010)
Stable family structure is best for children, despite economic gains

13. Educational Attainment and Implications for Family Behaviors
In the past 20 years, women’s educational attainment has risen while men’s has declined
Educational/SES Divide: Large differences in family behavior between women with college educations and those without
Nonmarital births
Timing of marriage
Divorce
Delayed age at first marriage, lower overall fertility, rise in nonmarital fertility especially within cohabiting unions, rise in nonmarital cohabitation both before and after marriage, high and steady divorce rates, all vary by educational attainment of women. College educated women have experienced far less of the family trends associated with the second demographic transition, compared to other women

14. College education in 2009 by age and sex, U.S.
Source: ACS, analyses are weighted (n=7,738,348)

15. College education in 2009 by age, sex, Ohio
Source: American Community Survey

16. Educational Attainment of Married Couples in 1970 and 2007 (2009 Pew Research Report)
1970: 4% of husbands had
wives with higher income

17. Percent of women divorced within 10 years of first marriage: life table estimates by education
Since 1980, divorce among women with BA has declined by 20%, divorce among women with hs or some college has increased by 6%, and divorce among women with less than high school has increased by 10%

18. Percent of U.S. Population Age 65 and Older, 1900-2050
Source: U.S. Census, 2005

19. Conclusions
Families in the U.S. and Ohio have continued the shift away from traditional forms toward contemporary ones
Second Demographic Transition
Corresponding rise in poverty, and decline in well-being
Educational attainment trends are impacting families
Aging population will confront complex family networks