Visualizing Children’s Family Structure

Abstract

This visualization illustrates the multidimensionality of family life among U.S. children. The authors used the 2022 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series to examine the intersection of three family structure domains: number of parents, relationship of child to parent(s), and parental union type. Even as 74 percent of children live with two parents, only 60 percent lived with their two biological or adoptive married parents, and substantial variation was evident in children’s family configurations. By focusing on child’s relationship to parent, the authors revealed that a minority of children lived with only their stepparent(s). A consideration of parents’ parental union status shows that parents within stepfamilies are almost nearly as likely to cohabit than marry. Children not residing with their parents were mostly living with other family members, mainly their grandparents, and these relatives were largely married or single. The results suggest that limiting family structure to one domain conceals its complexity by providing a narrow lens on families.

A key measure in research on children’s health and well-being, family structure provides a social address of sorts that functions as a shorthand for family processes and resources (Brown 2017). Researchers have implemented various approaches to measuring family structure (e.g., Manning, Brown, and Stykes 2014), but a comprehensive portrait of children’s family structure is overdue. Using the 2022 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we investigate three distinct components of family life that together provide a richer and more nuanced measure of family structure to illustrate the diversity of arrangements in which children reside. The three components are the number of parents the child lives with, the parent type(s) or relationships between the child and the adults in the household, and the parental relationship status, namely, whether children’s caregivers are married, cohabiting, or single. We provide a stepwise visualization of how these three components intertwine to illustrate the complexity of children’s family structure. By providing a multilayer portrait of children’s family structure, our approach reveals the myriad types of families in which children live.

As shown in Figure 1, in 2022, nearly three quarters of children (74.2 percent) were living with two parents, about one fifth (22.2 percent) were residing with one parent, and 3.6 percent did not live with a parent (left portion of the figure).

Figure 1.

Distribution of minor children by number of parents, parent type, and parent relationship status, 2022.

The second component of family structure shown in the middle portion of the figure is parent type. Most children (63.8 percent) lived with two biological or adoptive parents, and 10.0 percent lived in stepparent families. A very small proportion of children (0.4 percent) were living with a biological parent and an adoptive parent. A small share (1.0 percent) of children resided with two stepparents. One-parent families were composed mainly of a biological or adoptive parent, except a small fraction that were composed of a single stepparent (0.4 percent). Relatively few children (1.8 percent) lived with a grandparent and no biological or adopted parent, but this was the most common family type among children who did not live with any parent. Small fractions of children were living with another relative (0.9 percent), nonrelative (0.5 percent), or foster parent (0.4 percent).

The third component of family structure integrates parental relationship status (right portion of the figure). Three in five children (59.8 percent) were living with two biological or adoptive married parents, and 4.0 percent were living with two biological or adoptive parents who were cohabiting. Similar shares of children were being raised by married (5.5 percent) and cohabiting (4.4 percent) stepparents. Overall, 8.4 percent of children were living in a cohabiting-parent family. One-parent families were exclusively single; 19.2 percent of children were living in single-mother families, and 3.4 percent were living in single-father families. Nonparent caregivers were mainly either married (1.6 percent) or single (1.6 percent), with a smaller fraction cohabiting (0.4 percent).

This visualization shows that children’s families are multidimensional. This multidimensionality can go beyond children’s main caregivers; thus, we acknowledge that the reported family configurations are not exhaustive. Future work should fully distinguish the gender composition of the parents. This visualization demonstrates the importance of carefully defining family structure and reveals the complex terrain of family life in the United States.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 – Supplemental material for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure by Gabrielle Juteau, Krista K. Westrick-Payne, Susan L. Brown and Wendy D. Manning in Socius

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-2-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 – Supplemental material for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure by Gabrielle Juteau, Krista K. Westrick-Payne, Susan L. Brown and Wendy D. Manning in Socius

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-3-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 – Supplemental material for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-srd-10.1177_23780231231205216 for Visualizing Children’s Family Structure by Gabrielle Juteau, Krista K. Westrick-Payne, Susan L. Brown and Wendy D. Manning in Socius