Data from the

NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY

Series 21

Number 20

IncreasesinDivorces

United States -1967

Analysis of the increases of divorce totals and rates in the

United States, comparison with foreign countries, changes in

the divorced and separated populations, and remarriage and

death of the divorced and of other marital status groups.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

Public Health Service

Health Services and Mental Health Administration

Rockville, Md. December 1970
Public Health Service Publication No. 1000-Series 21-No. 20

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. (lovemment Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 20402- Prico 30 cents
NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STAT

THEODORE D.WOOLSEY, Director

PHILIP S. LAWRENCE, SC. D., Associate Director

STICS

OSWALD K. SAGEN, PH. D., Assistant Director /oY Health Statistics Development

WALT R. SIMMONS. M. A., Asszstant Dzrector for Research and Scientific .Developmenl

JAMES E. KELLY, D. D. S., Dental Advisor

EDWARD E. MINTY, Executive Officer

DIVISION OF VITAL STATISTICS

ROBERT A. ISRAEL, M.S., Directo7

JOHN E. PATTERSON, Assistant Director for Demographic Affairs

ALICE M. HE TZEL, Chief, Marriage and Divorce Statistics Branch

Public Health Service Publication No. 1000-Series 21-No. 20

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-605833
CONTENTS

Page

Trends in Divorce ----------------------------------------------------

National Totals and R.wes ------------------------ -------------------

Disruption by Death and Divorce -------------------------------------

Divorce Rates for Forei~ Countries ---------------------------------

Geographic Distribution ---------------------------------------------

Demographic Characteristics ------------------------------------------

Divorce-Registration Area ------------------------------------------

Age of Husband and of wife ------------------------------------------

Duration of Marriage -----------------------------------------------

Marriage Ol-der ----------------------------------------------------

Race --------------------------------------------------------------

Socioeconomic Status -----------------------------------------------

Children Involved in Divorce ----------------------------------------

Divorced Population ---------------------------------------------------

The Divorced and the Separated -------------------------------------

Remarriages and Deaths of the Divorced ------------------------------

References --------------------- --------------------------------------

Detailed Tables ----------- --- - -- --- . - ----- - - --- --- _________ - ______ ----

Appendix. Sources and Qualiq of Data -----------------------------------

Definitions and Sources of Data --------------------------------------

Sampling Rate and Sampling Error -----------------------------------

Completeness of Reporting ------------------------------ ------------

Methods of Estimattig ----------------------------------------------

1

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3

3

4

5

5

5

5

6

6

6

6

7

7

8

10

11

15

15

16

17

17

. ..

ill
iv

IN THIS REPORT are described the incveases in the numbev of divorces and annulments that have occmved in the United States. The

national divorce total grew from 428,000 in 1963 to 523,000 in 1967, a

22-pevcent incvease in 4 years. Divorces were up much mwe than

could be accounted for by changes in num bevs of the mavvied population

and its age composition. In recent years, only about one-fourth of the

total incvease can be explained by changes in the population. Divovces

increased in the great majority of States. Since 1963 they have incveased not only in the United States but also in most foveig-n countries.

The divovce vate fov States included in the divorce-registration avea is

negatively assoczlzted with mediun duvation of mawiage at decree: States

thut have a high median duration tend to have low rates and vice versa.

The numbev of children involved in divorces incveased about 25 percent from 1963 to 1967 in spite of a simultaneous decline in num bevs of

births in the geneval population.

In 1967 divorced pevsons comprised 2.1 pevcent of all men and 3.2 ,pevcent of all women 14 years of age and oveY; these pevcents showed some

increase from earliev years. Sepavated men and women represented

1.4 and 2.2 percent, respectively, of the population. Divorced pe%sons

tended to huve higher death rates and mawiage rates thun those belonging to othev marital status categories.

SYMBOLS

Data not available ------------------------ ---

Category not applicable ------------------- . . .

Quantity zero ---------------------------- -

Quantity more than O but less than 0.05 ----- 0.0

Figure does not meet standards of

reliability orprecision ------------------

*
INCREASES iN DIVORCES

Alexander A. Plateris, Ph. D., Division of Vital statistics

TRENDS IN E WORCE an increase of 155,000, or 42.1 percent. The 1967

figure was the second highest national total ever

National Totals and Rates observed for the United States; the all-time high

was 61O,OOO in 1946. The provisional national

The number of divorces and annulments estimates for 1968 (582,000) and 1969 (660,000)

granted in the United States increased from the as well as provisional monihly figures ‘for 1970

post-World War II minimum of 368,000 in 1958 indicate that the numbers have continued to

to 499,000 in 1966 and to 523,000 in 1967 (table 1), increase.

18 18

16

14

12 12

Per 1,000 married women

10

8

6

4

%% Per 1,000 totol population

...” ●.,, ,,...’

%,,,”, ,,,~’ JJtltlIs:~,,frJ1,, rz,,t!,,,,,,, ,,,,,,

,,,.,,,,,,,,.,,

,,,,,,

2

,,,,., ‘,,,,99ss

, ,,,, ,,* 1

“’’’’’”~ ff ,,,,,,,,,, ,,,*.O

,,, ,,,,,1 II rmln

2

,,,,,,,, ,,.,1, ,,L** ‘-,,,.,,,8

o 1 I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I I 1 I I 1 1 I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I I I ! t I I I o

1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1s50 1955 1960 1965 1970

Figure 1. Divorce rates: Un ited States, 1920-67.
During the last few years the number of

divorces has increased more rapidly than the

total population and the married population of the

United States. For the 9 years 1955 through 1963

the rate per 1,000 total population varied between

2.1 and 2.3, but it increased to 2.4 in 1964, to 2.5

in 1965 and 1966, and to 2.6 in 1967. Provisional

data show an increase to 2.9 in 1968 and 3.3 in

1969. Current provisional data indicate that the

rate will probably be still higher in 1970. The

rate per 1,000 married women rose from 9.6 in

1963 to 10.9 in 1966 and to 11.2 in 1967. No similar increases have been observed since the years

immediately following the end of World War H

(fig. 1).

The recent increases in the number of divorces in the United States are the consequence

of (1) the growth of the married population and,

particularly, of the number of young married

persons, who have a much higher likelihood of

divorce than older people, and (2) the increase in

the age- specific divorce rates. The impact of

higher rates was much stronger than that of the

growing population and its changing age distribution.

For the years 1955 through 1967, changes in

divorces that could be accounted for by changes

in the size and age distribution of the population

were estimated by applying a single set of agespecific divorce rates to the married female

population (see append~). Estimates were obtained for the annual divorce ,totals that would

have occurred if age-specific rates had not

changed during the whole period. Changes in

annual divorce totals due exclusively to changes

in the size and age distribution of the married

population were computed from these figures.

Changes that could be attributed to changed agespecific rates were obtained by subtraction. The

two types of changes are shown in table A.

The estimates indicate that one-third of the

cumulative increase in divorces from 1955 to

1967 was due to changes in the population and

two-thirds to the higher rates. Both factors contributed approximately equally to the cumulative

increase during the period 1955-63, but increasing

age- specific divorce rates contributed almost

three-quarters of the cumulative increase from

1963 to 1967.

The total number of persons directly involved

in divorce includes not only the divorced husbands

and wives but also their children, particularly

those who are still dependent. The total number

of persons involved in divorce in the United

States has been for many years over one million

annually, but it increased to 1% million in 1964

and to’ 1 3/4 million in 1967. The number of

Table A. Changes in the annual number of divorces from preceding year: United bkates,

1955-67

Year

1967 -----------------------------------

1966 -------- .------” -------. -------- ---

1965 -----------------------------------

1964 -----------------------------------

1963 -------- --------- -------- -------- ---

1962 -------- -------- -------- -.------ -c1961 -----------------------------------

1960 -------- -------- ----.--- -------- ---

1959 -------- -------- -------- ------.- ---

1958 -----------------------------------

1957 -----------------------------------

1956 -------- -------- ---s---- -----------

1955 -------- -------- -----.-- -------- -..

Number of

divorces

523,000

499,000

479,000

450,000

428,000

413,000

414,000

393,000

395,000

368,000

381,000

382,000

377,000

Total

change

+24 ,000

+20,000

+29,000

+22,000

+15,000

-1,000

+21 ,000

-2,000

+27,000

-13,000

-1,000

+5,000

. . .

Change

due to

population

change

+6, 000

+7, 000

+7,000

+5, 000

t4,000

+8,000

-1,000

+3, 000

+5,000

+3, 000

-1,000

+3, 000

. . .

Change

due to

change

in agespecific

rates

+18 ,000

t13 ,000

+22 ,000

+1.7,000

+1.1,000

-9,000

+22,000

“5,000

+22 ,000

-1.6,000

+2, 00;

. . .

2
Table B. Disruption of marriage by death and divorce: United States, 1950, 1960, and

1963

(Mortality datafor1963 based on a probability sample; other data based on complete counts)

All Death Death

Year disruptions ‘f of Divorce

husband wife

I Number

1963--------------------------------------- 1,278,112 597,814 252,298

1960

I

428,000

--------------------------------------- 1,190,769 558,801 238,968 393,000

1950--------------------------------------- 1,058,615 453,656 219,815 385,144

I

Rate per 1,000 married women

1963--------------------------------------- 28.6 13.3 9.6

1960--------------------------------------- 28.0 13.1 H

1950--------------------------------------- 28.1 12.1 5.8 1:::

husbands and wives alone was over one million

inthat year.

The annual total number ofpersons involved

in divorce has grown rapidlyin recent years. It

increased 22 percent from 1953 to 1962 and29

percent during a much shorter period, 1962

through 1967. The rate per l,OOOtotalp ovulation

declined from 7.0in1953to aminimumof6.5in

1958; it changed little from 1959 to1962 (7.land

7.3, respectively), butincreased21 percent from

1962 (7.3) to1967 (8.8).

Disruption by Death and Divorce

About one-third of all marriage disruptions

that take pIace in the United States are due to

divorce, while the remainder are due to the

death ofonespouse— almost one-half to the death

of the husband and about one-fifth to that of the

wife. Mortality statistics by marital status are

not available for recent years; the latest available figures are for 1963. Someinformationabout

the distribution and trend of all types ofdisruptions can be obtained by comparing the 1963 data

with those for 1960 and1950 (table B); however,

the pattern may have changed considerably in

recent years because of the rapid increase in the

numker of divorces.

The total number ofdisruptions was slightly

over one million in 1950, and it increased to

almost 1.2 million in 1960 and to 1.3 millionin

1963. All three types of disruption increased

between 1950 and 1963, but those by death of

husband and by death of wife increased more

rapidly than by divorce: the increaseswere 31.8,

14.8, andll.l Percent, respectively. Almost 29

disruptions per 1,000 married women took place

in 1963. This rate was probably higher inmore

recent years as the divorce rate increased after

1963.

Divorce Rates for Foreign Countries

Recent increases in the divorce rates arenot

only a national km also aworldwide phenomenon.

From 1962 to 1967 the crude rate increasedby

0.1 or more in 160fthe foreign countries listed

in table 2, declined in three, and changed by less

than O.1’in two. (Rates for 1967 were not.available for two countries.) The increase was particularly pronounced in the Soviet Union, where

the rate increased from 1.3per 1,000 population

in 1963 to 2.77 in 1966, although ithad$hanged

little in earlier years. In 1966 and 1967 the

Soviet Union had the highest divorce rate”among

the countries that reported divorce data to the
United Nations. Before 1966, however, the United

States (from 1962 through 1965) and Egypt (from

1958 through 1961) had the highest divorce rates.

The lowest rate was found in Portugal—less than

0.1 during the 1958-67 period. The following 11

countries and areas reported that they have no

legal provisions for granting absolute divorces:

Argentine, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ireland, Italy,

Malta, Paraguay, Philippines, Santa Lucia, and

Spain.

Geographic Distribution

The divorce rate per 1,000 population varied

considerably among the States. In 1967 the lowest

rates were 0.4 for New York and 1.0 for New

Jersey and Rhode Island, and the highest rates

were 22.3 for Nevada and 6.2 for Arizona. In

general, the rates were lowest for the Northeast

Region and highest for the West (fig. 2). The

rates for all four regions increased in recent

years (table C). From 1965 to 1967 the divorce

rate increased in 40 States and the District

of Columbia, declined in seven, remained unchanged in one, and was not available for two

States.

Within a State, rates were higher for standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSA’s) than

for the remainder of the State. The national rate

for all SMSA’s combined increased from 2.3 per

_ Total 1962

_ Increase 1962-6;

INN

—— REGION

‘igure 2. Divorce rates per 1,000 population: United

States and each region, 1962-67.

1,000 population in 1960 to 2.6 in 1965, while the

rate for all nonmetropolitan countries combined

went from 2.1 to 2.2.

Tab le C. Divorce rates: United States and each region, 1960-67

(By place of occurrence)

Year

1967 .------- -------- -------- -------- --

1966 -.------ -------- -------- ----------

1965 -------- -------- -------- -------- --

1964 -------- -------- ------.- ----.--- --

1963 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------

1962 -------- -------- -------- ---.---- --

1961 -------- -------- -------- -----.-- -.

1960 ----------------------------------

Rate per 1,000 population

2.6

2.5

2.5

2.4

;:;

2.3

2.2

1.1

1.1

M

;:;

0.8

0.9

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.2

2.2

2.1

2.2

2.1

3.2 4.1

3.0 4.0

4.0

N 3.8

2.8 3.6

2.7 3.6

2.8 3.5

2.8 3.4

4
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Divorce-Registration Area

Changes in the number of divorces are connected with changes in the demographic characteristics of husbands and wives who divorce.

Statistical data about these characteristics are

not nationwide but are limited to States participating in the divorce-registration area (DRA).

For many of the DRA States much of the demographic information is poorly reported, and for

some variables reliable statistics can be obtained

for only a few States.

It is difficult to say how representative the

DRA is of the United States. The number of participating States has been increasing, but some

regions of the country are still poorly represented. The crude divorce rate for the DRA has

been consistently lower than that for the United

States, but the numerical difference has never

been larger than 0.2. For 1967 the rate was 2.5

for the DRA and 2.6 for the Nation; for 1966 it

was 2.4 and 2.5, respectively.

During the years 1963-67, 22 States participated in the DRA, and the ,number of divorces

granted in these States represented about 35 percent of the national total. Several States were

added to the DRA after 1967. States in the DW

and criteria for admission to the DRA are listed

in the appendix.

Age of Husband and of Wife

Available data show that about one-third of

the divorcing husbands and two-fifths of the

wives were in their twenties at time of divorce.

The numbers of divorcing persons declined with

age, but small numbers of husbands and wives

divorced even when they were over age 75.

Median age at decree declined slightly from

1963 to 1967 for both husbands and wives (table

D). During the same period, median age at marriage for divorced persons also declined. Thus

persons who divorced in 1967 were on the average slightly younger than those who divorced in

1963, and they were married on the average at a

slightly younger age. The likelihood of divorce

was highest for young married persons and it

declined with age.

Duration of Marriage

The largest number of decrees per single

year of duration were granted 1-2 years after

marriage, and the number declined consistently

with increasing duration (table E).

Between 1963 and 1967, the percent increase

in the number of divorces varied by the length of

marriage. The increase in the number of divorces

granted before the fifth wedding amiversary was

much larger than that for all divorces, and so

was the increase for the comparatively small

Table D. Median age of husband and of wife at decree and at marriage: divorceregistration area, 1962-67

(Based on a probability sample)

Median age of husband Median age of wife

Year

At At At At

decree marriage decree marriage

1967 -------- -------- -------- -------- -----

1966

33.6 23.5 30.1 20.3

-------- .------- -------- -------- -----

1965

33.8 23.5 30.4 20.3

-------- -------- -------- -------- -----

1964

34.1 23.7 30.5 20.4

-------- -------- -------- ------------- 34.0 23.7 30.6 20.4

-------- --.----- -------- -------- -----

:%1

34.8 23.9 31.3 20.6

. . .. ---- -------- -------- -------- ---- 34.5 24.0 31.0 20.7

11962 data exclude Rhode Island.

5
Table E. Number of divorces, by duration

of marriage at decree, with percent increase: d$vorce-registration- area, 1963

and 1967

(Based on a probability sample)

Duration of

marriage

Total--

Less than 1

year --------

1-2 years----

3-4 years----

5-9 years----

10-14 years--

15-19 years--

20-24 years--

25-29 years--

30+ years----

T 1963

Number

186,628

10,782

32,679

28,096

43,679

26,948

18,692

13,264

7,234

5,255

152,594

7,942

25,875

21,789

36>536

22,711

17,487

10,367

5,317

4,570

Percent

increase

1963-67

22.3

35.8

26.3

28.9

19.6

18.7

6.9

27.9

36.1

15.0

group with 20-29 years duration. Smallest increases occurred for couples married 15-19

years.

As a result of these changes, the median

duration for the DRAdeclined from 7.5 years in

1963 to 7.1 years in 1966 and 1967. Priorto

1963 it tendedto increase. During all these years

there was pronounced variation among the DRA

States both in the magnitude and in the direction

ofthe change (table 3).

There was a negative association between

duration of marriage at decree and the divorce

rate, as illustrated by table F, where the median

duration for registration States is compared with

the rates. States that have low divorce rates tend

tohave a high median of duration and vice versa.

The size of the rate is positively associated with

the proportion of divorcing couples with a marriageduration of less than 1 year.

Marriage Order

Available data are not sufficient to identify

trends in characteristics of the spouses other

than age and duration of marriage. The great

majority of husbands and wives who were divorced were married only once, almost 20 percent were married twice, and a small proportion

three times or more. Persons who have been

married more than once have a higher likelihood

to divorce than thosewho were married onlyonce.

Race

The divorce rate usually differs for various

racial groups in a State and forthe same racial

group in various States. In the reporting Southern States divorce rates for Negroes were lower

than or equal to the rates for white pers&s.In

the reporting Northern States the rates forNegroes were much higher than those for white

persons and than those for Negropersons tithe

Southern States. This may be due to the urban

and mobile character of large segments of the

Negro population in the North.

In about 99 percent of all cases for which

race of both spouses was reported, either both

husband and wife were reported as being white

or neither was. In the latter case, there is no

information as to whether the husband and wife

belonged to the same racial group or to different

ones. In a very small number of cases, the

couples were reported as interracial, i.e,,, one

spouse white and the other of a different race.

A high proportion of all interracial divorces

were reportedin Hawaii. In theremainingreporting States the numbers were very small, though

increasing: 247 in 1963, 460in 1964,521 in1965,

606 in 1965, and 628 in 1967. In spite of the

increase, divorces reportedas interracial made

tip only 0.6 percent of all decrees granted inreporting States other than Hawaii.

Socioeconomic Status

Information about the socioeconomic status

of the divorced couple, including occupation,

education, and income, isnot currently collected

from the DRA States. For some States data on

education will become available in a few years.

Studies conducted outside NCHS indicate that the

likelihood of divorce declines as one moves up

the occupational scale.1-5

Children Involved in Divorce

The number of children

has increased more rapidly

divorces granted (fig. 3). In

involved in divorce

than the number of

1967, 701,000 chil6
Table F. Number of registration States, by size of divorce rate and median duration of

marriage at decree: divorce-registration area, 1967

(Duration of marriage based on a probability sample)

Rate per 1,000 population

Median duration of marriage Total,

DIW Under 2.0-2.9 3.0-3.9 4.0 or

2.0 more

Number of registration States

All durations --------------------- 22 4 7 8 3

5.0-5.9 years --------------------------- 5 3

6.0-6.9 years --------------------------- ; i 3

7.0-7.9 years --------------------------- 4 i

8.0 years or more ----------------------- 5 3 ;

dren were involvedindivorce,twiceas manyas

in 1954 or 1955. The ratio of children per decree

has been growing for many years, anditcontinued

to growin 1967 although fewer childrenhavebeen

born each year from 1961 to 1967. Hence the

rate of children involved in divorce per 1,000

children under age 18 in the population hasincreased considerably, from 7.8 in1961t09.9in

1967 (table G).

In ,recent years about 40 percent of the

divorced couples in the DRA reported nochildren

under 18, 40 percent reportedone ortwochildren,

and about 20 percent reported three childrenor

more. Occasionally, divorced couples have reported as many as 18 children. For divorced

couples with children, the ratiowas2.18 children

per couple in 1967. Over one-half of all children

under 18 involved in divorce came from two- and

three-children families, andover25percent came

from families with four, five, and six children.

The remaining children came from families with

one child and with seven children or more.

DIVORCED POPULATION

The Divorced and the Separated

The divorced population living in the United

States atanygiwm time differs from the persons

700

[

)

I

.

Oivorces Children

granted involved

m Increase

1963-67

m Increase

1959-63

W mm..2se

1955-59

_ Tat.1

1955

Figure 3. Increases in the number of divorces and in

the number of chi1dren involved in divorce: United

States, 1955-67.

7
Table G. Estimated number of children under age 18 involved in divorce, mean

number per decree, and rate per 1,000

children: United States, 1961-67

Year

1967------

1966------

1965------

1964------

1963------

1962------

1961------

Estimated

number of

children

701,000

669,000

630,000

613,000

562,000

532,000

516,000

Mean

number

of

children

per

divorce

1.34

1.34

1.32

1.36

1.31

1.29

1.25

Rate per

1,000

children

;:;

8.9

8.7

8.2

7.9

7.8

who have divorced during the year. The divorced

population comprises all men and women who

have ever divorced, including those who divorced

abroad, but excluding divorced persons who died,

remarried, or left the country.

In a discussion of the divorced population,

mention should be made of a similar marital

status category, the separated.Thesearepersons

who are married but living apart from their

spouses because of marital discord. The separated are occasionally grouped with the divorced

as persons “with disrupted marriages. “6 The

separated differ from the divorced in that they

are legally married, can not remarry, and can at

any time legitimately resume their marital life

together. They may or may not have obtained

decrees of legal separation, of divorce from bed

and board, or of separate maintenance. In many

cases separation is apreliminary steptodivorce,

though some separated couples become reconciled

and others remain separated, but not divorced,

for the rest of their lives.

The numbers of separated men and women

would be expected to be approximately equal, but

many more women then men report themselves

as separated. There were 1,317,620 separated

women and 872#471 men at the time of the 1960

census, and estimates for subsequent years

showed similar differences. It is believed that

these differences are due in part to ‘‘differetices

in the completeness and accuracy of reporting on

marital status for men and women. “7 Because of

the discrepancies in reporting, rates for a given

year are quite different for separated men than

for separated women. For 1967 the divorce rate

per 1,000 separated persons was 575.4 for men

and 322.6 for womerq in 1960 it was 435.2 and

301.4, respectively. Also the annual estimates of

separated men and women varied greatly between

consecutive years, showing in some cases increases and declines as large as 11 percent. It

is likely that much of this variation is due to

sampling variability of population estimates published in Cwvent Population Reports,8

Both the divorced and the separated represent

only small fractions of the total population

(table 4). Their proportion was higher among

women than among men, among the nonfarm than

among the farm population, and among the “all

other” group than among the white (table H).

In particular, the proportion of persons who are

not white reporting themselves as separated was

almost six times that of white men and women.

The numbers of divorced men and women, as

estimated annually -bythe U.S. Bureau of the

Census, increased during the 1961-67 period by

23.2 and 25.6 percent, respectively. This increase

was more rapid than that of the total population,

and the divorced accounted for increased percentages of the population aged 14 years and over

during the same period (table 4). There waw also

an increase of 11.1 percent in the numbers of

separated women, but estimates for men show

no discernible trend (the 1967 figure is slightly

smaller than that for 1961).

Remarriages and Deaths of the Divorced

Deaths rates by marital status for 1959-61,

the latest available, show high death rates for the

divorced population. Age-specific death rates for
Table H. Percent distribution of the population aged 14 years and over by marital

status, according to sex, residence, and color: United States, 1967

Sex and marital status

Total----------------------------

Divorced-------------------------------

Separated------------------------------

Widowed--------------------------------

Married, not separated-----------------

Single---------------------------------

Women

Total----------------------------

Divorced-------------------------------

Separated------------------------------

Widowed--------------------------------

Married, not separated-----------------

Single---------------------------------

Total, Residence Color

14

years I I

and

over IINonfarm Farm I

White All other

Percent distribution

100.0 I100.0

2.1 2.2

1.4

;:$

66.6 6;:?

26.7 26.4

T

100.0 100.0

3.2 3.3

1;:: 1::;

61.0 60.7

20.9 20.9

II

100.0

0.8

0.8

6;:;

31.7

100.0

0.7

::;

67.3

22.7

100.0

2.7

2:;

54.6

33.0

100.0 I 100.0

3.1

1;::

62.4

20.5

4.0

1::2

49.6

24.5

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Marital status and family status on March 1967,

Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 170, Washington, U.S. Government Printing

Office, Feb. 89 P. 3.

divorcedmen were higherthantboseforallother

maritalstatuscategoriesexceptforthewidowed

under 35 years of age (table5).Age-specific

deathratesfordivorcedwomen were higherthan

thoseforthesingleandthemarried,butinmost

casestheywere lowerthanthoseforthewidowed.

Marriageratesforbothmenand womenwere

considerablyhigherforthedivorcedthanforthe

widowed and thesingleof thesame sexandage

group (tableJ).Inparticukr,age-specificrates

for divorcedwomen were generallymore than

twicethoseforthesingleor forthewidowed.

The highestmarriage rate was for divorced

women under25yearsofage:in1960almostonehalfofthatgroupremarried.Asimilarrelationshipwas observedfor1967.

9
Table J. Marriage rates, by sex, age, anf9~ital status: marriage-registration area,

(Larriages based on a probability sample. Data for Ohio and Miohigan are excluded)

Sex and age

~

All ages, 14 years and over---------------

14-24 years -------------------------------------

25-29 years-------------------------------------

30-34 years-------------------------------------

35-44 years-------------------------------------

45-54 years-------------------------------------

55-64 years--------------------------------~----

65 years and over-------------------------------

Women

14-24

25-29

30-34

35-44

45-54

All ages, 14 years and over---------------

years------------.-------------------.----

years----------.--------------------------

years--------------------------------.----

years-------------------------------------

years-------------------------------------

55-64 ?ears-------------------------------- -----

65 years and over-------------------------------

Total

Marital status

Divorced Widowed Single

Rate per 1,000 population

73.6

201.1

130.2

86.8

56.5

33.6

14.1

64.2

117.1

177.5

113.5

63.2

30.0

;:;

367.0

400.7

313.8

206.1

122.1

65.8

30.6

124.4

;:; .;

205:5

117.7

60.6

22.7

9.0

36.8

182.9

151.4

176.6

122.3

106.3

10.5

153.0

139.2

77.2’

47.6

26.3

72.0

72.1

184.3

95.7

45.8

1.7.0

8.0

3.9

89.8

11.2.7

~42 .6

78.5

34.8

1.2.0

4.4

0.9

REFERENCES

lGoode, W. J.: Mconomic factors and marital sta6

Us. Bureau of the Census: Ma’rital status and famhility. Amer. Sociol. Z?.ev. 16(6): 802-812. Dec. 1951. ily status on March 1967. Current Population Reports,

2Kephart, W.

Series P-20, No. 170. Washington. U.S. Government

M.: Occupational level and marital mis- printing Office. Feb. 1968. p. 3.

ruption. Amer. Sociol. Rev. 20(4): 456-465. Aug. 1955. 7

3Monahan,

U.S. Bureau of the Census: U.S. Census of po?-

T. P.: Divorce by occupational level. ukztion, 1960. Vol. I, Cha~acte r-istics of the Population,

Marriage and Family Living XVII (4):322-324. Nov. 1955. Part 1, United States Summary. Washington. U.S. GOV.

4Udry, R. Jo: Marital instabi~ity by race, sex, ed- ernment Printing Office, 1964. p. LIv’-

ucation, and occupation, using 1960 census data. Am. ‘U.S. Bureau of the Census:

J, Sociol. 72(2): 203-209. Sept. 1966. Reports, Series P-20, Nos. 105,

5UdrY, & Jo: Mari~l instability by race and income, 159, and 170. Washington. I.J.s.

Based ou the 1960 census data. Am. J. Sociol. 72(6):

office.

673-674. May 1967.

Current Population

114, 122, 135, 144,

Government printing

000

10
DETAILED TABLES

Page

Table 1. Number of divorces and divorce rates: United States, 1945-69------------------- 12

2. Divorce rates: United States and selected foreign countries, 1958-67----------- 12

3. Median duration of marriage at decree: divorce-registration area and each registration State, l96l-67---------------------------------------------------------- 13

4. Number and percent of persons,aged 14 years and over divorced and separated,

by sex: United States, l96l-67------------------------------------------------<- 13

5. Death rates, by age, sex, and marital status: United States, 1959-61----------- 14

11
Table 1. Number of divorces and divorce rates: United States, 1945-69

ZIEEiz B

Rate per 1,000 Rate per 1,000

Number

of decrees

Number

of decrees Year Year

9.4

9.3

9.5

1::?

9.9

10.3

10.6

11.2

13.6

17.9

14.4

---

---

11.2

10.9

10.6

10.0

9.6

9.4

9.6

9.2

9.3

8.9

9.2

19691--------

19681--------

1967---------

1966---------

1965---------

1964---------

1963---------

1962---------

1961---------

1960---------

1959---------

1958---------

1957---------

2.3

2.3

2.4

660,000

582,000

523,000

499,000

479,000

450,000

428,000

413,000

414.000

3.3

2.9

2.6

1956---------

1955---------

1954---------

1953---------

1952---------

1951---------

1950---------

1949---------

1948---------

1947---------

1946---------

1945---------

2.5

2.5

2.4

2.3

2.2

2.3

2.2

2.5

2.5

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

393:000 483;000

610,000

485,000

3.4

4.3

3.5

395;000

368,000

381,000

2.2

2.1

2.2

lProvisional data.

Table 2. Divorce rates: United States and selected foreign countries, 1958-67

fForeien .- countries arelistedaccmdinetothesizeOCtheirlatestrate)

Country 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958

Race per 1,000 population

2.47

1.56

2.01

2.17

1.44

1.37

1.32

1.24

1.16

0.93

0.78

0.75

0.79

0.75

0.84

0.90

0.72

0.58

0.59

0.50

0.51

0.46

0.26

0.08

2.35

1.47

1.95

2.15

1.51

1.37

1.20

1.20

1.16

0.91

0.72

0.67

0.75

0.71

0.83

0.89

0.69

0.49

0.58

0.51

0.46

0.45

0.25

0.07

2.26

1.30

1.82

2.11

1.33

1.38

1.22

1.12

1.14

0.84

0.67

0.64

0.73

0.69

0.82

0.95

0.63

0.48

0.56

0.49

0.43

0.41

0.25

0.07

2.22

1.3

1.73

2.03

1.36

1.38

1.20

1.17

1.12

0.82

0.61

0.59

0.75

0.67

0.83

0.92

0.65

0.47

0.51

0.48

0.39

0.36

0.22

0.08

2.26

1.3

1.74

2.32

1.44

1.43

1.19

1.16

1.14

0.83

0.54

0.56

0.74

0.64

0.86

0.88

0.71

0.46

0.50

0.49

0.35

0.36

0.23

0.09

2.17

1.3

1.66

2.50

1.34

1.46

1.12

1.20

1.13

0.83

0.51

0.50

0.74

0.65

0.87

0.93

0.66

0.43

0.50

0.49

0.35

:.;:

0:08

2.23

1.1

2.20

2.40

1.32

1.42

1.15

1.18

1.20

0.83

0.52

0.53

0.78

0.73

0.89

1.01

0.66

0.46

0.48

0.49

0.32

0.37

0.23

0.08

2.12

1.1

1.51

2.43

1.26

1.46

1.18

1.17

1.17

0.83

0.49

0.55

0.81

0.70

0.85

1.04

0.71

0.41

0.47

0.47

0.34

0.37

0.20

0.09

2.64

2.74

2.06

1.85

‘1.55

+ .43

1.39

1.36

1.21

1.00

0.88

0.85

0.83

0.82

---

0.78

0.75

0.72

---

0.59

0.58

!::;2

0.08

2.54

2.77

2.03

22.10

1.50

1.40

1.42

1.32

1.19

0.92

0.80

0.77

0.80

;./3;

‘0:85

0.74

0.65

0.61

0.55

0.68

0.51

0.25

0.07

United States----------------------

U.S.S.R----------------------------

Hungary---------------------i------

United Arab Republic (Egypt) ------

East Germany -----------------------

Denmark----------------------------

Czechoslovakia---------------------

Sweden-----------------------------

Austria ----------------------------

German Federal Republic ------------

England and Wales ------------------

Poland-----------------------------

Japan------------------------------

Australia --------------------------

Switzerland------------------------

Israel-----------------------------

France-----------------------------

Mexico ----------------------------

Belgium----------------------------

Netherlands ------------------------

Scotland---------------------------

Canada-----------------------------

Venezuela --------------------------

Portugal---------------------------

lD~ta include jtrevocable

tions.

2Provisional.

Source: United Nations:

divorces” among Moslem population,- which approximate legal separaDemographic Yearbook, 1963, 1966, and 1968.

12
Table 3. Median duration of marriage at decree: divorce-registration area and each registration

State, 1961-67

(Basedon a probability sample. Medians canpu@Jon data bysinzle years)

Area

Divorce-registration area ---------

Alabama ---------------------------------

Alaska----------------------------------

Georgia---------------------------------

Hawaii----------------------------------

Idaho-----------------------------------

Iowa------------------------------------

Kansas----------------------------------

Maryland --------------------------------

Michigan --------------------------------

Missouri --------------------------------

Montana ---------------------------------

Nebraska--------------------------------

Ohio.-----r-----------------------------

Oregon----------------------------------

Pennsylvania ----------------------------

Rhode Island----------------------------

South Dakota----------------------------

Tennessee-------------------------------

Utah------------------------------------

Virginia --------------------------------

Wisconsin -------------------------------

Wyoming ---------------------------------

1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961

7.1

H

9.0

8.9

$:

5.6

8.8

Median duration of marriage in years

7.1

5.8

6.4

6.2

5.8

5.0

6.3

6.0

9.6

;:;

6.0

6.3

:::

8.4

9.3

6.8

6.0

5.5

8.8

8.5

6.1

7.4

6.9

6.0

6.4

2::

6.0

6.3

9.8

8.0

6.1

5.6

6.5

i:i

8.6

9.0

6.9

H

8.9

8.3

5.1

7.5

i::

6.3

;:;

6.1

1:::

8.0

6.9

5.9

6.7

;::

8.7

:::

6.6

5.1

9.2

8.1

5.3

7.3

::;

5.9

;::

6.2

5.9

9.4

8.0

6.1

5.9

6.1

;:;

9.6

---

6.6

6.4

5.5

8.6

7.2

5.3

7.1

:::

6.6

::?

5.5

6.5

9.4

::;

5.2

6.5

---

6.4

8.6

---

2::

5.2

;::

4.8

Table 4. Number and percent of persons aged 14 years and over divorced and separated, by sex:

United States, 1961-67

Year

1967--------------------------

1966--------------------------

X965--------------------------

1964--------------------------

1963--------------------------

1962--------------------------

1961--------------------------

1967--------------------------

1966--------------------------

1965--------------------------

1964--------------------------

1963--------------------------

1962--------------------------

1961 ------------------------ --

Men IWomen

Divorced

and Divorced Separated

separated

2,329 1,420

2,415 1,461

2,495 1,429

2,370 1,379

2,262 1,329

2,278 1,274

2>100 1,153

Number in

909

954

1.066

’991

933

1,:);

Divorced

and Divorced Separated

separated

thousands

1,621

1,618

1,660

1,569

1,407

1,433

1,455

Percent of population 14 years and over

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.5

1.5

1.6

1.5

2.2

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.1

2.1

2.2

Source: Population data from Current Population Reports, Series P-20, Nos. 105, 114, 122, 135,

144, 159, and 170.

13
Table 5. Death rates, by age, sex, and marital status: United States, 1959-61

Age

Total, 15+ years15-19 years----------

20-24 years ----------

25-29 years ----------

30-34 years----------

35-39 years----------

40-44 years ----------

45-49 years ----------

50-54 years----------

55-59 years ----------

60-64 years ----------

65-69 years ----------

70-74 years ----------

75-79 years----------

80-84 years ----------

85+ years ------------

Men I

Women

Total Di- Wid- Mar- Single Total J& e~ :;::

Marvorced owed ried . ried Single

Age-specific death rate

14.7

1.3

1.8

1.7

2.0

2.8

4.6

7.5

12.2

18.1

28.4

41.6

59.5

87.7

138.5

228.4

31.3

1.8

3.7

4.6

6.1

9.2

14.1

20.9

30.2

39.7

55.2

73.2

93.0

126.3

187.7

260.5

85.9

3.9

6.6

7.1

6.5

8.5

12.0

16.3

24.1

31.1

43.1

58.’1

74.6

103.4

153.5

250.7

12.8

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.6

2.3

3.8

6.3

10.6

15.9

25.0

36.6

52.4

76.8

121.3

191.1

7.5

1.3

2.2

2.8

4.1

5.9

8.8

12.5

18.1

23.5

37.4

53.2

74.9

105.0

158.7

231.6

10.5

0.5

0.7

0.9

1.2

1.8

2.8

4.2

6.3

9.0

14.7

22.6

36.7

61.3

108.0

201.1

9.9

:.2

1.4

1.8

2.5

3.4

4.8

6.2

8.5

11.5

17.2

25.3

40.0

67.5

117.2

190.2

44.2

2.7

2.5

2.4

3.3

3.9

5.2

6.8

9.4

12.2

18.2

26.0

39.9

64.6

110.2

205.7

5.5

0.6

0.6

0.7

1.0

1.5

2.4

3.7

5.6

8.0

12.9

20.0

32.5

53.3

94.0

134.8

5.7

0.5

0.9

1.6

2.5

3.2

4.4

5.6

7.1

8.8

14.5

21.2

34.6

59.4

108.4

210.6

Source: Data obtained from unpublished tabulations in the Division of Vital Statistics,,

14
APPENDIX

SOURCES AND QUALITY OF DATA

Definitions and Sources of Data

The term “divorce” as used in this report includes

decrees of absolute divorce and of annulment of marriage, but it excludes decrees that do not permit the

parties to remarry, such as divorces from bed and

board (a mensa et thoro), legal separations, and separate maintenance. Annulments represent about 3 percent of all absolute divorces and annulments combined.

National ‘and regional divorce totals are based on

complete counts of events by place of occurrence with

estimates for a few nonreporting counties. Alaska has

been included in the United States data since 1959 and

Hawaii since 1960. Detailed statistics are limited to

the divorce-registration area (DRA) and are obtained

from a probability sample of records drawn in the

National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS) from the

records of all divorces granted in States participating

in the DRA.

During the years 1963-67, 22 States and the Virgin

Islands participated in the DRA, but data for the Virgin

Islands are not included in the national statistics. The

Figure 1. Divorce-regi strat ion area, 1963-67.

15
participating States were Alabama, Alaska, Georgia,

Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mis -

souri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Pemsylvania,

Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia,

Wisconsin, and Wyoming (fig. I). During 1963-67 about

35 percent of all the divorces in the United States were

granted in the DRA States (table I).

The DRA was established in 1958 to promote

national divorce statistics. Criteria for admission are

as follows:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Statewide central files of divorce and annulment

records.

Use of a divorce record form that includes

items conforming closely to those on the

Standard Record of Divorce and Annulment

(fig. 11).

Regular reporting from all local areas to the

State office.

Agreement to carry out in cooperation with

N~HS a test of completeness and accuracy of

divorce registration.

Sampling Rate and Sampling Error

Sampling rates vary among the DRA States, depending on the size of their annual divorce totals. The

samples include 100, 50, 20, or 10 percent of all

records. The intended minimum size of a sample is

1,000 records except for States where less than 1,000

divorces are granted annually.

All statistics estimated from probability samples

have a sampling error. The sampling error is the

amount which, when added to and subtracted from an

estimate, gives the interval that would contain the

acc~al value being estimated in approximately 68 out of

100 similarly selected samples. The smaller the proportion of all records included in the sample, the larger

the sampling errors. Hence States with 50 percent of

all records included in the sample have the smallest

sampling errors, and those with only 10 percent of all

records have the largest errors. Sampling errors of

tiequencies for the DRA depend on relative contributio~

of States with varying sampling rates. Sampling errors.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC liEALTtl ram -VED

(Ss. t.) Um=l UAU m. CO- R547

OF VITAL STATISTICS

STATC FILE WO.

(Di.~.AOn)

:Oull N STAIWMRD RECORD OF L02AL FILE MO.

n DIVORCE on n ANNUMENT

HusaArlD

I. MAW . . ~.t) b. (Midd:oj e (L-t) z . OATE (Mm thJ fb=r) (Y.., )

OF

B 1RTII

1. USUAL RESIDENCE ●. (CIt YJ b. (coma,) . . (St. t.) . . PLACE (St-l. 0, fo.*i@ COUW9V)—

or

●1nrn

s. Ilw*En or ,. maci on cOLOn 7=. USUAL 0ccu?a710N

TM4 a mm IAGC

,b. KIND OF ●USt MES3 OR IMOUSTMV

IW lTC llE~O OTHER

•1 •1 u (..cJf,]_

WIFE

1. MAlofz MAME . . (Fi,.1) b, (Middl. ) c. (L-t) S . DATC (month> (D.”) (r... )

Ov

B1 nTH

10. USUAL RESIDENCE a. (Citr) b. (Coa’”ty) . . (St. t.) t 1. ●LACE fSt*f. or f.r.lt. . . ..t.y)—

OP

●lRTH

12- W-=m OF Is. CM* o“ ~A~~ 140. USUAL OCCUPAT1m

THIS UMRIACC

,Zb. III”D OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY

WITE “EIJ”O OTIIE”

•1 ❑ ❑ (.p.7ir7)—

15. PLACE OF . . <C.”. ty, b (St ft. ., f.r. i,. .e.. tr, )

rlll 3

,6. D&TE 0, (Month) (Day> (Tear)

W*R t 4aE

2unt AaE

17. h22R OF 18. ●LA IWTIFF 19. DECREE 6RAMTED lU

CM lLDRCM

20. LECAL GROUNDS FOR DECREE

Usocn ! * HUSBAND WIFE MUSWD w:rE

❑ 0 on

.—. — .——

I hereby certify that the above (Nonth) (D., > [r.., >

DATC OF <month) (n.,) (r.., >

RECORO 1NC

prama were divorced m:

SluIIATIME OF COURT OFF I C 1AL TITLE CF COUn T 0.= F, C:&L

——.—.—. —

—

16

Figure I I . Standard Record of Divorce or Annulment.
Table I. Annual number of divorces in the United

States and DRA. Percent of all divorces in DRA.

and number of ~<ates in DRA: 1958-67

Year

1967------

1966------

1965------

1964------

19632-----

19623----

19614-----

1960~-----

19596-----

1958?-----

United

States

523,000

499,000

479,000

450,000

428,000

413,000

414,000

393,000

395,000

368,000

186,628

173,562

164,942

160,987

152,594

147,106

125,128

94,074

90,246

71,888

Percent

of all

divorces

in DRA

35.7

34.8

34.4

35.8

35.7

35.6

30.2

23.9

22.8

19.5

kmber

of

;tates

D;

22

22

22

22

22

21

20

18

17

14

lFigures include only data fO?C states h ‘he

DRA. Data for Alaska and Hawaii included when

they became States; data for the Virgin Islands

excluded.

%hode Island admitted to the DRA.

‘Ohio admitted to the DRA.

4Michigan and Missouri admitted to the DRA.

5Data for Hawaii included.

6Data for Alaska included. Kansas and Maryland admitted to the DRA.

7DRA organized with 14 States, Alaska,Hawa%

and the Virgin Islands.

for the DRA shown in table II were computed on the

assumption that each group of States with thesame sampf.ing rate contributed totheDRA statistics in proportion

tothe divorce total for the group.

Aa an example of theuaeoftable II, the number of

divorces terminating marriages of15-19 years duration

was 18,692 in 1967, or 10 percent of all divorces in the

DRA for that year (table E). From table IIthesampHng

errorfor this estimateis 307. The estimate 18,692*307

yields the interval 18,385 to 18,999 that would contain

the number ofdivorces ending marriages of15-19 years

duration in 1967 in approximately 68 out of 100 similarly

selected samples. To obtain the sampling error for 10

percent, 307 is divided by the DRA total (186,628),

producing a sampling error of 0.16 percent, also shown

in table II. Thus the chances are about 680utof100 that

the actual percent of divorces in the DRA terminating

marriagesofl 5-19 years duration falls between9.84 and

10.16.

Completeness of Reporting

Completeness of reporting individual demographic

items on divorce records varies considerably among

DRA States. Often many items are left blank. This is

particularly true of personal characteristics of husband

Table II. Sampling error of estimated frequencies and percentages: divorce-registration

area 1966-67

Estimates

Frequencies expressed as percentage of DRA total:

1 or 99--------------------

10 or 90--------------------

25 or 75--------------------

50--------------------------

Percentages:

1 or 99--------------------

10 or 90--------------------

25 or 75--------------------

50--------------------------

1967

102

307

444

512

0.05

0.16

0.23

0.28

1966

2;;

428

494

0.05

0.17

0.24

0.28

and of wife—age, race, and number of this marriage.

In addition Ohio does not require the reporting of race,

and Nebraska doesnot require reporting the numberof

this marriage. There was some improvement in reporting from 1963 to 1967 (table III). Even so, in1967

information on age for two States was stated on less

than 10 percent of the records. In contrast, 10 States

reported this information on over 90 percent of their

records. The average item completeness for registration States is shown in figure 111.

Percent distributions and medians shown in this

report were computed from data that exclude numbers

ofnot stated cases.

Methods of Estimating

The national estimate of the number of children

involved in divorce is prepared by multiplying the

national divorce total by the ratio between children

involved in divorce and divorce decrees inthefollowing

DRAStates: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho,Iowa, Kansas,Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, South

Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Estimates were also made of annual numbers of

divorces that would have been granted in the United

States if age-specific divorce rates were stable and if

all changes of the national annual totals were due

exclusively to the changing size and age distribution

of the married population. This was accomplished by

applying the estimated age-specific divorce rates

shown in table 8 of Vitul and Health Statistics, Series

21, No. 17,tothemarried female population classified

by age as estimated for each year 1955 through 1967

and publishedin Curmmt PopufationRe@orts, Series

P-20. Differences between the resulting estimates

and the observed national totals were attributed to

variations in age-specific rates.

17
Table III. Percent completeness of reporting of selected demographic characteristics: divorceregistration area, 1963-67

Year

Average

of the

five

items

1967------------------------------------ 75.7

1966------------------------------------ 75.5

1965------------------------------------ 74.8

1964------------------------------------ 71.2

1963------------------------------------ 70.2

Characteristic

Age of Race of

husband husband

64.5 58.4

63.5 58.2

62.1 58.7

58.3 58.1

53.8 56.2

63.1 97.4 95.3

62.7 97.6 95.6

61.5 97.4 94.3

54.7 96.1 90.3

52.6 97.1 91.3

I

—

o 20 40 60 80 1(

DIVORCE- REGISTRATION

AREA

WISCONSIN

VIRGINIA

HAWAII

TENNESSEE

MISSOURI

MONTANA

KANSAS

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

OREGON

IDAHO

NEBRASKA

GEORGIA

MARYLAND

ALASKA

UTAH

OHlO

SOUTH DAKOTA

MICHIGAN

WYOMING

ALABAMA

PERCENT COMPLETENESS

)

—

Figure Ill. Average completeness of reporting selected demographic characterlstlcs: divorce-registrationarea

and each registration State, 1967.

(Included inthe computation of theaverages are the following items:age, race,number of this marriage, duration

of marriage, and number of children)

18 * U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTJNG OFFICE :1973 515-213/58
OUTLINE OF REPORT SERIES FOR VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS

Sez-ies 1.

SeTies 2.

Series 3.

Sevies 4.

Series 10.

Series 11.

SeTies 12.

Series 13.

Series 14.

Series 20.

Serz”es 21.

SeTies 22.

Public Health Service Publication No. 1000

Progvams and collection pTocedures.- Reports which describe the general programs of the National

Center for Health Statistics and its offices and divisions, data collection methods used, definitions,

and other material necessary for understanding the data.

Data evaluation and methods research. —Studies of new statistical methodology including: experimental tests of new survey methods, studies of vital statistics collection methods. new analytical

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected data, contributions to statistical theory.

Ana&ytical studies. —Reports presenting analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and health

statistics, carrying the analysis further than the expository types of reports in the other series.

Documents and committee reports. — Final reports of major committees concerned with vital and

health statistics, and documents such as recommended model vital registration laws and revised birth

and death certificates.

Data fvom the Health Intevview Survey. —Statistics on illness, accidental injuries, disability, use of

hospital, medical. dental. and other services, and other health-related topics. based on data collected

in a continuing national household imterview survey.

Data from the Health Examination Suzz’ey. — Data from direct examination, testing, and measurement of national samples of the population provide the basis for two types of reports: (1) estimates

of the medically defined prevalence of specific diseases in the United States and the distributions of

the population with resjpect to physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics; and (2)

analysis of relationships among the various measurements without reference to an explicit finite

universe of persons.

Data fvom the Institutional Population Sun’eys. — Statistics relating to the health characteristics of

persons in institutions, and on medical, nursing, and personal care received, based on national

samples of establishments providing these services and samples of the residents or patients.

Data fvom the Hospital Disc fzavge Survey. —Statistics relating to discharged patients in short-stay

hospitals, based on a sample of patient records in a national sanlple of hospitals.

Do h on health ?%souvces: manpower and facilities. —Statistics on the numbers, geographic distribution, and characteristics of health resources including physicians, dentists, nurses, other healrh

manpower occupations, hospitals, nursins? homes, and outpatient and other inpatient facilities.

Data on mortality .- Various statistics on mortality other than as included in annual or monthly

reports —special analyses by cause of death, age, and other demographic variables, also geographic

and time series analyses.

Data on natality, marviage, and divorce. —Various statistics on natality, marriage, and divorce other

than as included in annual or monthly reports— special analyses by demographic variables, also

geographic and time series analyses, studies of fertility.

Data from the National Natality and Mortality Suneys. —Statistics on characteristics of births and

deaths not available from the vital records, based on sample surveys stemming from these records,

including such topics as mortality by socioeconomic class, medical experience in the last year of

life, characteristics of pregnancy. etc.

For a ,Iist of titIes of reports published in these series, ,write to: office of Information

National Center for Health Statistics

U.S. Public Health Service

Rockville, hid. 20S52
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

Health Services and Mentai Health Administration

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, Maryland 20852

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use $300

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEW

HEW 396 0*

US.MUL

THIRD CLASS

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