Contemporary Sociology of Marriage and Family · LibreTexts
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1.9: The Study of Demography
Opening the book…
Exploring The Study of Demography
Demography is the scientific study of human populations, focusing on their size, growth, structure, and changes over time. Sociologists use demographic data to examine patterns such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, migration, and aging in order to understand how populations evolve and how demographic trends both shape and are shaped by society.
A generational cohort is a group of people born during roughly the same time in a particular society (see Figure 1.9.1.). As they move through life, members of a generational cohort often encounter similar social conditions, cultural expectations, technologies, and historical events. These shared experiences can influence their attitudes, opportunities, and family patterns.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Commonly used generational categories and birth years in the United States. Birth-year ranges for the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials are based on Pew Research Center Generations, 2019); boundaries for Generation Z and Generation Alpha vary by source.
After World War II, the United States experienced dramatic shifts in family life: families had been separated, many relatives had died or been injured, and women who had worked in factories returned home. In 1946, these disruptions were reflected in unusual demographic trends. People married younger, had more children, and divorced and remarried at higher rates than before. From 1946 to 1956, the birth rate surged and then began to decline, returning to pre-war levels by 1964. The millions of children born during this period became known as the Baby Boom Generation (born 1946–1964).
Baby Boomers left a lasting imprint on family life in the United States, shaping it in ways that are still felt today. Baby Boomers—many of whom are now the grandparents of current college students—came of age during a period of major changes in marriage and family life, including a sharp rise in divorce during the 1960s and 1970s.
Even today, Baby Boomers continue to experience relatively high rates of divorce, particularly later in life. Their children make up much of Generation X and the Millennial generation. Because Baby Boomers constitute such a large demographic cohort, changes in their marriage, divorce, and parenting patterns have had an especially visible impact on U.S. family life. Understanding contemporary demographic trends therefore requires attention not only to Baby Boomers themselves but also to the ripple effects of their experiences across subsequent generations.
Licenses and Attributions for Sociological Imagination and Family Life
