2.1: Family Structures

The family structures that were very common a century ago are not nearly as common today. In the U.S. around the year 1900, most families had three generations living in one home (e.g., children, parents, and uncles/aunts/grandparents) and most did manual labor. Today, very few families live with multiple generations. Most modern families fall into one of two types: nuclear or blended. The nuclear family is \(a\) family group consisting of parents and their biological or adopted children. This is the family type that is mostly preferred. One variation of this type is the single-parent family (one parent and his or her biological or adopted children), which can be created by unwed motherhood, divorce, or death of a spouse. The second most common family form is the blended family, which is a family created by remarriage and includes at least one child from a prior relationship. All of the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and step relatives are considered extended family (one's relatives beyond the nuclear and blended family level).

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts annual surveys of the U.S. population and publishes them as the Current Population Surveys. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) represents U.S. family types. You will notice that married families comprised over half ( \(52 \%\) ) of the family types in 2008. Single never marrieds are the second largest type and include opposite sex and same sex cohabiters. \({ }^1\) Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) shows the trend (1950-2008) in family types, clearly illustrating that married families have always been the most common form.

Table 1. U.S. Family Types, 2008. ²

Types	Numbers	Percentages
Married	123,671,000	52%
Widowed	14,314,000	6%
Divorced	23,346,000	10%
Separated	5,183,000	2%
Never Married - Single	71,479,000	30%
Total Families 15 and over	237,993,000	100%

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