American Families and other Social Issues

America's Families - Households, Changing Family Structure, Same-sex Partners And Families, Multigenerational Families, Military Families In Wartime

In virtually all cultures, the family is considered the basic societal unit. Because the U.S. Census Bureau provides the most comprehensive statistics available on families in America, this book uses its terms and definitions as they concern the American family. The Census Bureau conducts a nationwide population census every ten years. In addition, the Bureau gathers economic information and surve…

Men Women and the Family - Declining Birth Rates, Artificial Reproduction, Women Redefine Their Role, Working Families, Custodial Parents

Three trends greatly changed the composition of the American family beginning in the early 1960s: a lower fertility rate; an increase in the number of births among young unmarried women; and women—especially working women—delaying childbearing. According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in 2002 there were 4,021,726 live births in the United States, 136,4…

The Children of America - Diversity Of Children, Living Arrangements Of Children, Adopted And Foster Children, Children In School

Since the mid-1960s, the proportion of children as part of the total U.S. population has decreased. The percentage of the population under age eighteen peaked in 1960 at 36% and began a decline to 26% by 1990. While the seventy-two million children under age eighteen still represented 26% of the population in 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau projected that by 2020 only 24% of the population would be c…

Social Issues Affecting America's Children - America's Children: Indicators Of Well-being, Child Poverty, Children's Health

In proclaiming November 24 through November 30, 2002, National Family Week, President George W. Bush noted that earlier in the year he signed bipartisan legislation: …

Health Care Poverty Homelessness Housing and Employment - Poverty, Obesity—a Twenty-first Century Epidemic, Homelessness, Housing, Employment

The U.S. Census Bureau first began tracking poverty data in America in 1959. The following year it counted 39.9 million Americans, or about 22.2% of the population, living below the poverty level. Changes in the definition of poverty levels over the years make pre-1980 comparisons difficult, but the percentage fell to 12.3% in the mid-1970s and fluctuated over the next two decades, hitting 14% in 1985. In 2001 the poverty rate stood at 11.7% and rose to 12.1% in 2002 and 12.5% in 2003. While the…

Changing Family Patterns - The Mobile Society, Multigenerational Families, The Multiracial Society, Gay And Lesbian Couples And Families

In the spirit of the early settlers and pioneers, Americans claim mobility as their birthright. The original colonies were not long established before expansion began for more farming land. The frontier was the next piece of unexplored land to the west, and successive generations of Americans worked their way across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. After the Civil War, many freed slaves migrated to the North in search of jobs. In the twentieth century, southern cities attracted new industries…

Public Opinion on the Family - Status Of The Family, Family Diversity, Religion And The American Family, Family Life In The Technology Age

Just before the dawn of the twenty-first century, interviewers for the Roper Institute asked Americans whether life for their family had improved since 1950. Regardless of age, gender, race, religion, or educational level, about two-thirds (63%) said that life was better at the close of the century than it had been in the past. In the public perception, women, persons with disabilities, and African-Americans had seen the greatest improvement over the previous fifty years. On the other end of the…