Between 1991 and 1996, families' average financial situations improved significantly. Typically, such improvements reduce the number of divorces. By one estimate, every one percentage point gain in the unemployment rate generates some 10,000 extra divorces. In any case, the rise of nuclear families portends good news for children, researchers say. The trend also suggests smoother sailing for parents.
Single parents struggle mightily to do the best for their kids.
But it's hard. Two-parent families typically have more resources, she adds. Despite the rise in the nuclear family, some 44 percent of children still live in other family arrangements. A quarter of all children lived in single-parent households. And 4 percent lived with neither parent.