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Journal Article In this Population Bulletin, the authors examine trends in U.S. family formation and stability, focusing on differences across racial/ethnic groups and by socioeconomic status. They provide an up-to-date overview of key demographic research on marriage, cohabitation, divorce, and childbearing as well as the processes underlying family change. Data and research on same-sex partnerships and marriages are examined separately because of data limitations (see Box 1, page 4). The authors also address the implications of family structure and stability for children's well-being, and discuss the…
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Journal Article Research on family structure has led some to claim that sex-based parenting differences exist. But if such differences exist in single-parent families, the absence of a second parent rather than specific sex-typed parenting might explain them. We examine differences in mothering and fathering behavior in single-parent households, where number of parents is held constant, and we describe individualist and structuralist perspectives for potential sex-based parenting behaviors. We compare 3,202 single mothers and 307 single fathers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten Cohort…
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Journal Article Gender role development was assessed in 52 father-absent and 54 father-present African American adolescents. Father-present boys, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, had higher perceptions of their masculinity than did father-absent boys. Lower income father-absent girls perceived themselves to be higher in masculinity than did all other girls. Consequently, father-present adolescents tended to have more traditional gender role orientations than did those in father-absent homes. It is argued that mothers' and fathers' different socializing strategies balance out in two-parent…
