Abstract
The Census Bureau defines a family as a group of two or more people who reside together and are related by birth, marriage, or adoption (U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Subject Definitions 2019). Since the 1950s marriage and family structure in the United States has undergone a significant transformation. This transformation includes a decline in marriage, a rise in new forms of family, and an expansion of what constitutes a “family” for the general population. The historical conception of family as being the “traditional” nuclear family consisting of a mother and father and their children continues to erode. Future trends in marriage and family suggest the continued decline in the rate of marriage and expansion of new forms of family. I review trends in marriage and family utilizing U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Census and Current Population Survey data from 1950 through 2018, discuss the expanding view of “family” using Pew Research Center Changing American Family data (2011), and close with a discussion of the future forms of families.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bean, F. D., Berg, R. R., & Van Hook, J. V. W. (1996). Socioeconomic and cultural incorporation and marital disruption among Mexican Americans. Social Forces, 75(2), 593–617.
Bialik, K. (2017). Key facts about race and marriage, 50 years after Loving v. Virginia. Pew Research Center. Retrieved www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/12/key-facts-about-race-and-marriage-50-years-after-loving-v-virginia.
Cherlin, A. (2009). The marriage-go round: The state of marriage and the family in America today. New York: Vintage Books.
Fitch, C. A., & Ruggles, S. (2000). Historical trends in marriage formation: The United States 1850–1990. In L. J. Waite & C. A. Bacharach (Eds.), The ties that bind: Perspectives on marriage and cohabitation (pp. 59–88). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Fry, R. (2010). The reversal of the college marriage gap. Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/10/07/the-reversal-of-the-college-marriage-gap/. Retrieved 10 Aug 2019
Graefe, D., & Lichter, D. (1999). Life course transitions of American children: Parental cohabitation, marriage and single motherhood. Demography, 36, 205–217.
Kennedy, S., & Bumpass, L. (2008). Cohabitation and children’s living arrangements: New estimates from the United States. Demographic Research, 19(47), 1663–1692.
Manning, W., & Lichter, D. (1996). Parental cohabitation and children’s economic well-being. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 998–1010.
Martin, S. P., Astone, N. M., & Elizabeth Peters, H. (2014). Fewer marriages, more divergence: Marriage projections for millennials to age 40. Urban Institute.http://www.urban.org/publications/413110.html.
Pew Research Center. (2010a). The decline of marriage and rise of new families. Retrieved 14 Aug 2019. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/.
Pew Research Center. (2010b). Changing American family dataset. Retrieved 23 Aug 2019. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/dataset/changing-american-family/.
Pew Research Center. (2017). Support for same sex marriage grows, even among groups that have been skeptical. Retrieved 18 Aug 2019. www.people-press.org/2017/06/26/support-for-same-sex-marriage-grows-even-among-groups-that-had-been-skeptical.
Phillips, J. A., & Sweeney, M. M. (2005). Premarital cohabitation and marital disruption among white, black, and Mexican American women. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 296–314.
Raley, R. K., Sweeney, M. M., & Wondra, D. (2015). The growing racial and ethnic divide in U.S. marriage patterns. Future Child, 25(2), 89–109.
Thomas, A., & Sawhill, I. (2005). For love and money? The impact of family structure on family income. The Future of Children, 15(2), 57–74.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). Current population survey (CPS): Subject definitions. Retrieved 18 Aug 2019. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/subject-definitions.html#family.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Miller, G.H. (2020). Future Trends in Marriage and Family. In: Farris, D.N., Bourque, A.J.J. (eds) International Handbook on the Demography of Marriage and the Family. International Handbooks of Population, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35079-6_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35079-6_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35077-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35079-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)