Family structure in the United States - Wikipedia Family structure in the United States `` American family '' redirects here. For other uses, see American Family. An American family composed of the mother, father, children, and extended family. The traditional family structure in the United States is considered a family support system involving two married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring. However, this two - parent, nuclear family has become less prevalent, and alternative family forms have become more common. The family is created at birth and establishes ties across generations. Those generations, the extended family of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, can hold significant emotional and economic roles for the nuclear family. Over time, the traditional structure has had to adapt to very influential changes, including divorce and the introduction of single - parent families, teenage pregnancy and unwed mothers, and same - sex marriage, and increased interest in adoption. Social movements such as the feminist movement and the stay - at - home father have contributed to the creation of alternative family forms, generating new versions of the American family. Contents 1 At a glance 1.1 Nuclear family 1.2 Single parent 1.3 Stepfamilies 1.4 Extended family 2 Roles and relationships 2.1 Married partners 2.2 Unwed partners 2.3 Parents 2.4 Housewives 2.5 `` Breadwinners '' 2.6 Stay - at - home dads 3 Children 3.1 Only child families 3.2 Childfree and childlessness 3.3 Adopted children 4 Modern family models 4.1 Same - sex marriage, adoption, and child rearing 4.2 Single - parent households 4.3 Adoption requirements 4.4 Male / female role pressures 5 African - American family structure 6 Television portrayals 7 See also 8 Further reading 9 References 10 External links At a glance This figure illustrates the changing structure of families in the U.S. Only 7 % of families in the U.S. in 2002 were `` traditional '' families in the sense that the husband worked and earned a sufficient income for the wife and kids to stay home. Many families are now dual - earner families. The `` other '' group includes the many households that are headed by a single parent. Nuclear family Further information : Nuclear family The nuclear family has been considered the `` traditional '' family since the communist scare in the cold war of the 1950s. The nuclear family consists of a mother, father, and the children. The two - parent nuclear family has become less prevalent, and pre-American and European family forms have become more common. These include same - sex relationships, single - parent households, adopting individuals, and extended family systems living together. The nuclear family is also choosing to have fewer children than in the past. The percentage of married - couple households with children under 18 has declined to 23.5 % of all households in 2000 from 25.6 % in 1990, and from 45 % in 1960. Single parent Further information : Single parent See also : Teenage pregnancy A single parent ( also termed lone parent or sole parent ) is a parent who cares for one or more children without the assistance of the other biological parent. Historically, single - parent families often resulted from death of a spouse, for instance in childbirth. Single - parent homes are increasing as married couples divorce, or as unmarried couples have children. Although widely believed to be detrimental to the mental and physical well being of a child, this type of household is tolerated. The percentage of single - parent households has doubled in the last three decades, but that percentage tripled between 1900 and 1950. The sense of marriage as a `` permanent '' institution has been weakened, allowing individuals to consider leaving marriages more readily than they may have in the past. Increasingly, single parent families are due to out of wedlock births, especially those due to unintended pregnancy. Stepfamilies Stepfamilies are becoming more familiar in America. Divorce rates are rising and the remarriage rate is rising as well, therefore, bringing two families together making step families. Statistics show that there are 1,300 new stepfamilies forming every day. Over half of American families are remarried, that is 75 % of marriages ending in divorce, remarry. Extended family Further information : Extended family The extended family consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In some circumstances, the extended family comes to live either with or in place of a member of the nuclear family. An example includes elderly parents who move in with their children due to old age. This places large demands on the caregivers, particularly the female relatives who choose to perform these duties for their extended family. Historically, among certain Asian and Native American cultures the family structure consisted of a grandmother and her children, especially daughters, who raised their own children together and shared child care responsibilities. Uncles, brothers, and other male relatives sometimes helped out. Romantic relationships between men and women were formed and dissolved with little impact on the children who remained in the mother 's extended family. Roles and relationships Married partners Further information : Marriage in the United States A married couple was defined as a `` husband and wife enumerated as members of the same household '' by the U.S. Census Bureau, but they will be categorizing same - sex couples as married couples if they are married. Same - sex couples who were married were previously recognized by the Census Bureau as unmarried partners. Same - sex marriage is legally permitted across the country since June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Polygamy is illegal throughout the U.S. Although Cousin marriages are illegal in most states, they are legal in many states, the District of Columbia and some territories. Some states have some restrictions or exceptions for cousin marriages and / or recognize such marriages performed out - of - state. Since the 1940s, the United States marriage rate has decreased, whereas rates of divorce have increased. Unwed partners See also : Cohabitation in the United States Living as unwed partners is also known as cohabitation. The number of heterosexual unmarried couples in the United States has increased tenfold, from about 400,000 in 1960 to more than five million in 2005. This number would increase by at least another 594,000 if same - sex partners were included. Of all unmarried couples, about 1 in 9 ( 11.1 % of all unmarried - partner households ) are homosexual. The cohabitation lifestyle is becoming more popular in today 's generation. It is more convenient for couples not to get married because it can be cheaper and simpler. As divorce rates rise in society, the desire to get married is less attractive for couples uncertain of their long - term plans. Parents Parents can be either the biological mother or biological father, or the legal guardian for adopted children. Traditionally, mothers were responsible for raising the kids while the father was out providing financially for the family. The age group for parents ranges from teenage parents to grandparents who have decided to raise their grandchildren, with teenage pregnancies fluctuating based on race and culture. Older parents are financially established and generally have fewer problems raising children compared to their teenage counterparts. Housewives Further information : Housewife A housewife or `` homemaker '' is a married woman who is not employed outside of the home to earn income, but stays at home and takes care of the home and children. This includes doing common chores such as : cooking, washing, cleaning, etc. The roles of women working within the house has changed drastically as more women start to pursue careers. The amount of time women spend doing housework declined from 27 hours per week in 1965, to less than 16 hours in 1995, but it is still substantially more housework than their male partners. `` Breadwinners '' Further information : Breadwinner model A breadwinner is the main financial provider in the family. Historically the husband has been the breadwinner ; that trend is changing as wives start to take advantage of the women 's movement to gain financial independence for themselves. According to the New York Times, `` In 2001, wives earned more than their spouses in almost a third of married households where the wife worked. '' Yet, even within nuclear families in which both spouses are employed outside of the home, many men are still responsible for a substantially smaller share of household duties. Stay - at - home dads Further information : Stay - at - home dad Stay - at - home dads or `` househusbands '' are fathers that do not participate in the workforce and stay at home to raise their children -- the male equivalent to housewives. Stay - at - home dads are not as popular in American society. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, `` There are an estimated 105,000 ' stay - at - home ' dads. These are married fathers with children under fifteen years of age who are not in the workforce primarily so they can care for family members, while their wives work for a living outside the home. Stay - at - home dads care for 189,000 children. '' Children See also : family planning Only child families An only child ( single child ) is one without any biological or adopted brothers or sisters. Single children are stereotypically portrayed as spoiled, self - centered, and selfish. Only children often perform better in school and in their careers than children with siblings. Childfree and childlessness Childfree couples choose to not have children. These include : young couples, who plan to have children later, as well as those who do not plan to have any children. Involuntary childlessness may be caused by infertility, medical problems, death of a child, or other factors. Adopted children Adopted children are children that were given up at birth, abandoned or were unable to be cared for by their biological parents. They may have been put into foster care before finding their permanent residence. It is particularly hard for adopted children to get adopted from foster care : 50,000 children were adopted in 2001. The average age of these children was 7, which shows that fewer older children were adopted. Modern family models Same - sex marriage, adoption, and child rearing Further information : Same - sex marriage in the United States and Same - sex adoption Same - sex parents are gay or lesbian couples that choose to raise children. Nationally, 66 % of female same - sex couples and 44 % of male same - sex couples live with children under eighteen years old. In the 2000 United States Census, there were 594,000 households that claimed to be headed by same - sex couples, with 72 % of those having children. In July 2004, the American Psychological Association concluded that `` Overall results of research suggests that the development, adjustment, and well - being of children with lesbian and gay parents do not differ markedly from that of children with heterosexual parents. '' Single - parent households Single - parent homes in America are increasingly common. With more children being born to unmarried couples and to couples whose marriages subsequently dissolve, more children live with just one parent. The proportion of children living with a never - married parent has grown, from 4 % in 1960 to 42 % in 2001. Of all single - parent families, 83 % are mother -- child families. Adoption requirements Further information : Adoption in the United States The adoption requirements and policies for adopting children have made it harder for foster families and potential adoptive families to adopt. Before a family can adopt, they must go through state, county, and agency criteria. Adoption agencies ' criteria express the importance of age of the adoptive parents, as well as the agency 's desire for married couples over single adopters. Adoptive parents also have to deal with criteria that are given by the birth parents of the adoptive child. The different criteria for adopting children makes it harder for couples to adopt children in need, but the strict requirements can help protect the foster children from unqualified couples. Currently 1,500,000 ( 2 % of all U.S children ) are adopted. There are different types of adoption ; embryo adoption when a couple is having trouble conceiving a child and instead choose to have their sperm and egg conjoined outside the womb, international adoption where couples adopt children that come from foreign countries, and private adoption which is the most common form of adoption. In private adoption, families can adopt children via licensed agencies or with by directly contacting the child 's biological parents. Male / female role pressures Further information : Gender role The traditional `` father '' and `` mother '' roles of the nuclear family have become blurred over time. Because of the women 's movement 's push for women to engage in traditionally masculine pursuits in society, as women choose to sacrifice their child - bearing years to establish their careers, and as fathers feel increasing pressure to be involved with tending to children, the traditional roles of fathers as the `` breadwinners '' and mothers as the `` caretakers '' have come into question. African - American family structure Further information : African - American family structure The family structure of African - Americans has long been a matter of national public policy interest. The 1965 report by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, known as The Moynihan Report, examined the link between black poverty and family structure. It hypothesized that the destruction of the Black nuclear family structure would hinder further progress toward economic and political equality. When Moynihan wrote in 1965 on the coming destruction of the Black family, the out - of - wedlock birthrate was 25 % amongst Blacks. In 1991, 68 % of Black children were born outside of marriage. In 2011, 72 % of Black babies were born to unwed mothers. Television portrayals The television industry initially helped create a stereotype of the American nuclear family. During the era of the baby boomers, families became a popular social topic, especially on television. Family shows such as Roseanne, All in the Family, Leave It to Beaver, The Cosby Show, Married... with Children, The Jeffersons, and Good Times, Everybody Loves Raymond have portrayed different social classes of families growing up in America. Those `` perfect '' nuclear families have changed as the years passed and have become more inclusive, showing single - parent and divorced families, as well as older singles. Television shows that show single - parent families include Half & Half, One on One, Murphy Brown, and Gilmore Girls. While it did not become a common occurrence the iconic image of the American family was started in the early - 1930s. It was not until WWII that families generally had the economic income in which to successfully propagate this lifestyle. See also Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States Divorce in the United States Work -- family balance in the United States International : Japanese family structure Further reading Mattox, William R., Jr., `` America 's family time famine '', Children Today, Nov - Dec, 1990 References ^ Jump up to : Edwards, H.N. ( 1987 ). Changing family structure and youthful well - being. Journal of Family Issues 8, 355 -- 372 Jump up ^ Beutler, Burr, Bahr, and Herrin ( 1989 ) p. 806 ; cited by Fine, Mark A. in Families in the United States : Their Current Status and Future Prospects Copyright 1992 Jump up ^ `` For First Time since the cold war, Nuclear Families Drop Below 25 % of Households ''. Uscsumter.edu. May 15, 2001. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 27. ^ Jump up to : Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 7. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 18. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Glenn, N.D. ( 1987 ). Continuity versus change, sanguineness versus concern : Views of the American family in the late 1980s. Journal of Family Issues 8, 348 -- 354 Jump up ^ Stewart, S.D. ( 2007 ). Brave New Stepfamilies. Thousand Oaks : Sage. Jump up ^ Brubaker, T.H. ( 1990 ). Continuity and change in later life families : Grandparenthood, couple relationships and family caregiving. Gerentology Review 3, 24 -- 40 Jump up ^ Teachman, Tedrow, Crowder. The Changing Demography of America 's Families Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 62 ( Nov 2000 ) p. 1234 Jump up ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/census-to-change-the-way-it-counts-gay-married-couples/2014/05/26/e6c6edd0-e2a3-11e3-9743-bb9b59cde7b9_story.html Jump up ^ Barbara Bradley Hagerty ( May 27, 2008 ). `` Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy ''. National Public Radio : All Things Considered. Retrieved July 23, 2009. Jump up ^ Teachman, Tedrow, Crowder. The Changing Demography of America 's Families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 62 ( Nov 2000 ) p. 1235 ^ Jump up to : Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 271. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 275. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 326. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, pp. 328 -- 329. 6th edition, 2007 ^ Jump up to : Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 367. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Gardner, Ralph ( 2003 - 11 - 10 ). `` Alpha Women, Beta Men -- When wives are the family breadwinners ''. Nymag.com. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ Furstenberg, Jr., F.F. ( 1988 ). Good dads - bad dads : Two faces of fatherhood. In A.J. Cherlin, The changing American family and public policy ( pp. 193 -- 218 ). Washington, DC : The Urban Institute Press ^ Jump up to : Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 328. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ `` US Census Press Releases ''. Census.gov. Archived from the original on November 18, 2003. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 27. ^ Jump up to : `` Child 's Finalization Age ( Grouped ) ''. Acf.hhs.gov. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ U.S. Census Bureau, Married - Couple and Unmarried - Partner Households : 2000 ( February 2003 ) Jump up ^ Meezan, William and Rauch, Jonathan. Gay Marriage, Same - sex Parenting, and America 's Children. The Future of Children Vol. 15 No. 2 Marriage and Child Wellbeing ( Autumn 2005 ) p. 102 ^ Jump up to : Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 20 -- 21. 6th edition, 2007 ^ Jump up to : `` Review of Qualification Requirements for Prospective Adoptive Parents -- Agencies, Agency, Alcohol, A ''. Adopting.adoption.com. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ Fine, Mark A. Families in the United States : Their Current Status and Future Prospects. Family Relations vol. 41 ( Oct 1992 ) p. 431 ^ Jump up to : Moynihan 's War on Poverty report Jump up ^ Daniel P. Moynihan, The Negro Family : The Case for National Action, Washington, D.C., Office of Policy Planning and Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 1965. Jump up ^ National Review, April 4, 1994, p. 24. Jump up ^ `` Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate '', Jesse Washington, NBC News, July 11, 2010 Jump up ^ `` For Blacks, the Pyrrhic Victory of the Obama Era '', Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2012 Jump up ^ Benokraitis, N : Marriages & families, page 7 -- 8. 6th edition, 2007 Jump up ^ Etuk, Lena. `` How Family Structure has Changed ''. Oregon State University. Retrieved 16 April 2012. External links Single Parent Statistics Same Sex Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships The Dilemma of the Only Child Adoption Statistics ( 1 ) Life in the United States Crime Culture Economic issues affluence home - ownership household income income inequality labor unions middle class personal income poverty standard of living wealth Education ( attainment ) Family structure Health health care health insurance Holidays Homelessness Human rights Languages Passenger vehicle transport Political ideologies Race Religion Social class Society Sports United States articles History By event Timeline of U.S. history Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Continental Congress American Revolution War American frontier Drafting and ratification of Constitution Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial acquisitions Territorial evolution Mexican -- American War Civil War Reconstruction Era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era African - American Civil Rights Movement 1865 -- 1895 / 1896 -- 1954 Spanish -- American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front Nazism in the United States American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Civil Rights Movement Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War ( 1991 -- 2008 ) Collapse of the Soviet Union War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War Recent events ( 2008 -- present ) By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890 -- 1945 1946 -- 91 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory states territories counties cities, towns, and villages Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Rivers Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Ohio Rio Grande Time Water supply and sanitation Politics Federal Executive President Executive Office Cabinet / Executive departments Civil service Independent agencies Law enforcement Public policy Legislature Congress Senate Vice President President pro tempore House of Representatives Speaker Judiciary Federal judiciary Supreme Court Courts of appeals District courts Law Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps Political divisions List of states and territories of the United States States Territories Federal district Native American autonomous administrative divisions United States Minor Outlying Islands Associated states Local government in the United States Federal enclave Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Vetos in the UN Security Council Ideologies Anti-Americanism Exceptionalism Nationalism Parties Democratic Republican Third parties 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State governments governor state legislature state court Uncle Sam Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Wall Street Communications Energy Insurance Manufacturing in the United States Mining Tourism Trade Transportation Companies by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Cuisine Dance Demography Education Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Newspapers Radio Television Music Names People Philosophy Public holidays Religion Sexuality Sports Theater Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home - ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Wealth Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime Incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination Affirmative action Intersex rights Islamophobia LGBT rights Racism Same - sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care Health insurance Health care reform Abortion Hunger Obesity Smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Family_structure_in_the_United_States&oldid=800649101 '' Categories : American society Family in the United States Hidden categories : Use American English from April 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from April 2015 Good articles Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages தமிழ் 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 14 September 2017, at 21 : 09. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what type of family is formed by the marriage of two individuals and their offspring
Answer: traditional family structure