Experts link the new data to a wide array of social ills.
According to a new report issued by the Census Bureau, the share of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled since 1968. Experts are once again expressing concerns regarding the harm to both children and the weakening of communities by this transformation in family structure norms.
The data released by the Census Bureau shows that “the number of children living with two parents has dropped since 1968, while the percentage living with their mother only has doubled.” The 1968 census showed just 15 percent of children not living with both parents. By last year, that share jumped to 30 percent. Single parent homes with mother as head of household “is the second most common U.S. living arrangement,” the Census Bureau states.
Sociologists have long noted that children from single-parent homes are far more likely to exhibit high-risk behaviors and experience negative outcomes relative to their peers in two-parent households. The Census Bureau itself noted that “children’s living arrangements can have implications for children’s outcomes, such as academic achievements, internalizing problems (e.g., depression and anxiety), and externalizing problems (e.g., anger and aggression).”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the Census Bureau as officials evaluate and release data to the nation.
- For the federal, state, and local officials concerned with programs to support families and children.
- For families nationwide to seek the Lord and find ways of keeping their families together in Him.
Sources: JustTheNews, Census Bureau
