Despite the steady growth in their numbers, very little is known of single-parent families in Australia. Even estimations of the number of one-parent families are often crude and inaccurate. This paper outlines a simple procedure for deriving, from census data, a more realistic estimate of the number of one-parent families.
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References
1.
Schlesinger, B., "The Single-parent Family in Australia: an Overview", Australian Journal of Social Issues, 1972, 7 (2), 151-161.
2.
Australia, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 30th June, 1971, Bulletin3, Demographic Characteristics, Part 9, Australia.
3.
The Barrie Report notes that in 1966 11.8% of all wives aged 45-49 had no children from their existing marriage. The report acknowledges that the proportion of childless families is somewhat smaller than this figure, but no evidence is presented for completed family size for people in different categories of marital status. See Population and Australia, A Demographiac Analysis and Projection, First Report of the National Population Enquiry Borrie Report , Vol. 1, The Government Printer of Australia, 1975, 85-87.
4.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1971, Census of Population and Housing, Table SP 054 Family Type by Marital Status by Sex.
5.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, General Social Survey, Bulletin No. 1, Preliminary Estimates of Families, May 1975 , Reference No. 13-17.
