Stepfamily - Statistics

Statistics

Statistics in the United States are difficult to come by, because the U.S. Census Bureau has discontinued providing estimates of marriage, divorce, and remarriage except for those that are available from the 1990 and earlier censuses.

• The most common form of a blended family is a mother and stepfather arrangement, since mothers often maintain custody of the children.
• One-third of all children entering stepfamilies were born to an unmarried mother; the other two-thirds of cases involve divorce or the death of one parent.
• Of the 60 million American children under the age of 13, half are currently living with one biological parent and that parent's current partner.
• The 1990 U.S. census estimated that by the year 2000 there would be more stepfamilies than original families.
• If only children residing in legally married stepfamilies are included, 23% of U.S. children would be designated as living in a stepfamily; when children are included who live with a cohabiting parent, the figure rises to 30%.

It is estimated that in 1987, 60 million adults and 20 million children were in stepfamilies, almost 1/3 of the U.S. population. If this trend continues, people in stepfamilies may make up half of the population by the next century.