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Lifestyles
Changing
While it may be the norm for a woman and man to fall in love, get married, settle down and have two-pointsomething kids, it is not as usual as it used to be even a decade ago.
According to a report published in the July 14, 1979, issue of Science News, the latest Census Bureau report indicates that Americans increasingly are adopting various bits and pieces of that typical family, rather than the whole scenario.
The number of unmarried couples living together has more than doubled since 1970 - climbing to 1.1 million in 1978, an increase of 117 percent, according to the Census Bureau. The increase was greatest - 165 percent - among childless couples, compared with a 39 percent rise among unmarried couples with children. Couples without children account for about threefourths of the unmarried households.
While unmarried couples still comprise only 2 percent of all cohabitations in the United States, the increase does reflect notable changes in family patterns, according to Census officials. Fewer persons are marrying and those that are, are doing so later. They are divorcing more, and rearing children by themselves. About 22 percent of all homes are single-person households. And although 62 percent of these are maintained by women, such lifestyles are increasing faster among men.
The statistics also suggest that young persons want to further their education and careers before marrying. Since 1970, the average age at first marriage in the United States has increased by one year to 21.8 years for women and 24.2 years for men.
In 1978, 78 percent of the U. S. children under 18 years of age lived with both parents - a drop of 7 percent since 1970, and the increase in single-parent situations has been higher among blacks than whites. One percentage that has not changed since the start of the decade is the ratio of women heading oneparent households; females account for about 11 million □f the 12 million such households. The divorce rate has nearly doubled in eight years - rising from 47 to 90 divorces for ivery 1,000 marriages; between 1960 and 1978, the divorce rate jumped 296 percent among persons under 30 and 83 percent in the 45 to 64 age group.
94.6%