In 2023, there were about 15.09 million children living with a single mother in the United States, and about 3.05 million children living with a single father. The number of children living with a single mother is down from its peak in 2012, and the number of children living with a single father is down from its peak in 2005.

Marriage and divorce in the United States

Despite popular opinion in the United States that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” the divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen significantly since 1992. The marriage rate, which has also been decreasing since the 1990s, was still higher than the divorce rate in 2021. Half of all marriages may not end in divorce, but it does seem that fewer people are choosing to get married in the first place.

New family structures

In addition to a falling marriage rate, fewer people in the U.S. have children under the age of 18 living in the house in comparison to 1970. Over the past decade, the share of families with children under 18, whether that be married couples or single parents, has stayed mostly steady, although the number of births in the U.S. has also fallen.

Many studies during the past 50 years have found an association between father absence and earlier menarche. In connection with these findings, several evolutionary theories assume that father absence is a causal factor accelerating reproductive development. However, a recent study analysing data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) found that father absence does not predict age at menarche when adjusted for sibling relatedness. In this study, we have replicated these results in the Czech section of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC), which used the same questionnaires as ALSPAC to study a geographically distinct population. Our results support the conclusion that sibling relatedness rather than father absence predicts age at menarche. Furthermore, our results show that age at menarche in 1990s UK and Czech cohorts is very similar despite socioeconomic differences between the two countries.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, ** percent of parents in the United States said that they faced challenges finding high-quality, affordable childcare or after-school care, while ** percent said that they have experienced being late or absent from work due to lack of childcare.

About 13.2 percent of households in Nigeria had, as of 2018, children being raised with neither their mother nor their father present. In addition, 7.3 percent of all households had children with one dead parent and an unknown survival status of the other parent.

Identify households with absent parents and provide data on child support arrangements, visitation rights of absent parent, amount and frequency of actual versus awarded child support, and health insurance coverage. Data are also provided on why child support was not received or awarded. April data will be matched to March data.

The 1991 Census Basic Community profiles present 57 tables containing summary characteristics of persons and/or dwellings for Local Government Areas (LGA) in Australia. This table contains data relating to family type by number of dependent offspring (usually resident (a)) by annual parental income. Counts are of families with offspring, based on place of enumeration on census night which excludes adjustment for under-enumeration however in determining family and household type visitors to dwellings are excluded and usual residents who are temporarily absent are included. The data is by LGA 1991 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. This data is ABS data (cat. no. 2101.0 & original geographic boundary cat. no. 1261.0.30.001) used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The tabular data was processed and supplied to AURIN by the Australian Data Archives. The cleaned, high resolution 1991 geographic boundaries are available from data.gov.au. For more information please refer to the 1991 Census Dictionary. Please note: (a) A maximum of 3 temporarily absent dependent offspring can be counted in each household. (b) Comprises two parent families where a parent present did not state their income or a parent was temporarily absent. (c) Comprises cases where in a two parent family, both parents did not state their income or were temporarily absent; origin a one parent family, the parent did not state their income or was temporarily absent.

(BSRI = Bem Sex Role Inventory; AQ = Aggression Questionnaire; FSS = Fear Survey Schedule; BIS = Barratt Impulsivity Scale.) Ns represent the number of participants providing data for each item/subscale.

The statistic shows the opinion on which are the main problems in the relations between parents and children in Italy in 2017. According to data, over ** percent of respondents believed that the loss of the value of family was the biggest problem in the parent-child relations, followed by the absence of communication (over ** percent).

It is known that heterozygosity affects mate selection in various taxa. But also beyond mating, in species with parental care, heterozygosity can modulate interactions among family members and their fitness-related decisions. However, to date, this question remains little explored. Here, we studied whether nestling heterozygosity was related to parent-offspring interactions and sib-sib competition in the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, while controlling for the degree of relatedness among nestlings. It has been argued that heterozygosity-fitness correlations are more easily detected under demanding environmental conditions. Thus, we also investigated whether the decision rules of family members according to offspring heterozygosity were affected by brood size, as a proxy of the strength of sibling conflict. First, we found that chick individual heterozygosity was positively although weakly associated with individual body mass. Mean brood heterozygosity did not predict fledging success, but broods that fledged more chicks showed a higher number of less common alleles. Interestingly, fathers, but not mothers, favored heterozygous broods with many nestlings, that is, heterozygous broods with higher potential for sibling conflict. Moreover, the lower the mean brood heterozygosity the stronger the begging intensity when parents were absent, regardless of brood size. Finally, the degree of relatedness among nestlings was not associated with any behavioral parameter, supporting a more prominent role for heterozygosity in shaping intra-family interactions. Importantly, our findings suggest sex-specific rules of parental care according to offspring heterozygosity and that genetic diversity is associated with lower sibling competition.

Paternal absence can significantly alter bio-behavioral development in many biparental species. This effect has generally been demonstrated by comparing the development of offspring reared under biparental care with those reared after removal of the father. However, studies employing this design conflate two significant modifications to early life experience: removal of father-specific qualities and the general reduction of offspring-directed care. In the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), the experience of paternal absence without substitution during development inhibits partner preference formation in adulthood, a hallmark of social monogamy, in females and males. Employing alloparents as substitutes for fathers, our previous work demonstrated that paternal absence affects pair-bond formation in female offspring via reduced quantity of care; but it affects pair-bond formation in male offspring by means of a missing paternal quality (or qualities). Here, we prese...

All data and R code for Huber P., Bartl S., Schneider J., Steiger S. (2025): Better Together: Offspring Benefits from Siblings Both in the Absence and Presence of Parents

Abstract

Family groups, ranging from simple to complexly structured, are widespread in the animal kingdom, with parent-offspring interactions in the form of parental care traditionally considered the primary driver of family life. However, recent considerations suggest that sibling cooperation might have facilitated the early evolution of social and family life. While the effects of isolated family interactions have been extensively studied, the intricate dynamics between different family interactions and their reciprocal impacts have gained little attention. Using a full-factorial social isolation experiment in the subsocial burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, where we isolated offspring from siblings and/or parents, we showed that offspring benefited from the presence of both parents as well as siblings. The positive effects of siblings were evident in the absence and presence of parents, though they manifested differently. Without parents, growing alongside siblings resulted in higher larval mass at dispersal, perhaps due to advantages of collective feeding. With parents, having siblings accelerated early growth and increased survival, possibly due to higher begging activity, which may have influenced parental investment. Our results support the notion that beneficial sibling interactions are an important part of facultative family systems and may encourage offspring to stay in a family group.

LGA based data for Proficiency in Spoken English of Parents by Age of Dependent Children, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of dependent children in couple families. Comprises children aged under 15 years and dependent students aged 15-24 years, who were present in the household on Census Night. Excludes same-sex couples. Excludes couple families where the husband/wife or de facto partner was temporarily absent on Census Night. G12 is broken up into 2 sections (G12a - …Show full descriptionLGA based data for Proficiency in Spoken English of Parents by Age of Dependent Children, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of dependent children in couple families. Comprises children aged under 15 years and dependent students aged 15-24 years, who were present in the household on Census Night. Excludes same-sex couples. Excludes couple families where the husband/wife or de facto partner was temporarily absent on Census Night. G12 is broken up into 2 sections (G12a - G12b), this section contains 'Child 15-17 years female parent Speaks English only male parent Speaks other language and speaks English total' - 'Total Child female parent Total male parent Total'. The data is by LGA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

The 1991 Census Expanded Community Profiles present 44 tables comprising more detailed information than that of the basic community profiles which provide characteristics of persons and/or dwellings for Statistical Local Areas (SLA) in Australia. This table contains data relating to family type by number of dependent offspring (usually resident) by annual parental income. Counts are of families with offspring, based on place of enumeration on census night which; includes overseas visitors; excludes Australians overseas; and excludes adjustment for under-enumeration. The data is by SLA 1991 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. This data is ABS data (cat. no. 2101.0 & original geographic boundary cat. no. 1261.0.30.001) used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The tabular data was processed and supplied to AURIN by the Australian Data Archives. The cleaned, high resolution 1991 geographic boundaries are available from data.gov.au. For more information please refer to the 1991 Census Dictionary. Please note: (a) A maximum of 3 temporarily absent dependent offspring can be counted in each household. (b) Comprises two parent families where a parent present did not state their income or a parent was temporarily absent (c) Comprises cases where in a two parent family, both parents did not state their income or were temporarily absent; or in a one parent family, the parent did not state his/her income or was temporarily absent.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many disruptions to children’s education, including the education of children with intellectual (learning) disability and/or autism. We investigated the educational experiences of autistic children and children with an intellectual disability about a year after the COVID-19 pandemic started in the UK. An online survey collected data during the summer/autumn of 2021 from 1,234 parents of 5 to 15 year-old children across all 4 UK countries. The study investigated school attendance and home learning experiences of children with intellectual disability and/or autistic children who were registered to attend school in 2021. The study also investigated the experience of Elective Home Education in families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition whose child was de-registered from school before and after the pandemic started in the UK in March 2020. The study provided evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on school attendance and home education for children with a neurodevelopmental condition.Education changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools closed in 2019/20. There was compulsory return to school in September 2020 with measures in place to control infection and new regulations about COVID-19-related absences. School attendance in the first term of 2020-21 was lower compared to other years. Many children were de-registered from school. In early 2020-21, there was a second prolonged period of national school closures. The pandemic has caused many disruptions to children's education. Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs), in particular intellectual disability and autism, are the most vulnerable of vulnerable groups. Among children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), children with intellectual disability and/or autism consistently struggle to meet the required standards in education. Our study will focus on these two groups of children. Before the pandemic, many children with NDCs missed school. Then the pandemic disrupted everyone's education. Approximately one year after the pandemic started, we will investigate the educational experiences of children with NDCs. Our project will investigate: - School absence and reasons for absence among children with intellectual disability and/or autism - Child, family, and school factors associated with school absence - Barriers and facilitators of school attendance - Parents' experiences of home schooling An online survey will collect data from approximately 1,500 parents of 5 to 17 year-old children with NDCs across all 4 UK countries. We will recruit parents of: (i) children registered with a school in spring/summer 2021; (ii) children not registered with a school in spring/summer 2021 but who were registered with a school at the start of the pandemic in March 2020; and (iii) children not registered with a school on either date. We will collect data on school attendance for those registered with a school, and data on home learning experiences for those not registered with a school. For all children, we will collect data on their mental health. The first analysis will investigate school absence with a focus on children registered with a school. We will summarise school absence data as well as reasons for absence as reported by the parents. The second analysis will investigate school attendance: attending school or home schooling. We will describe the children currently registered to attend school (group 1), those not currently registered who were registered in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic (group 2), and those not registered on either point (group 3). We will summarise the reasons parents give for de-registering their child from school. Our final analysis will focus on home learning support during home schooling. We will describe the types of support schools offer to school-registered students during remote learning (when students are self-isolating/shielding, or schools are closed because of lockdown). We will describe the home learning experiences of school de-registered children and parents' satisfaction with these arrangements. We will work closely with parents of children with NDCs, seeking their advice on the study. Our team includes the Council for Disabled Children, the largest umbrella organization in the UK bringing together many charities supporting disabled children and their families. We will share the study findings widely, including key messages for policies related to the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

SA1 based data for Age of Dependent Children, and Proficiency in Spoken English/Language of parents, for 2011 Census. Count of dependent children in couple families. Excludes same-sex couples. Excludes couple families where the husband/wife or de facto partner was temporarily absent on Census Night. Comprises children aged under 15 years and dependent students aged 15-24 years, who were present in the household on Census Night. Data sourced from: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. For further …Show full descriptionSA1 based data for Age of Dependent Children, and Proficiency in Spoken English/Language of parents, for 2011 Census. Count of dependent children in couple families. Excludes same-sex couples. Excludes couple families where the husband/wife or de facto partner was temporarily absent on Census Night. Comprises children aged under 15 years and dependent students aged 15-24 years, who were present in the household on Census Night. Data sourced from: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Services on 1300 135 070. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2011): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

The 1991 Census Expanded Community Profiles present 44 tables comprising more detailed information than that of the basic community profiles which provide characteristics of persons and/or dwellings for Statistical Local Areas (SLA) in Australia. This table contains data relating to family type by birthplace of parent(s) by age of offspring. Counts are of offspring counted at home on census night, based on place of enumeration on census night which; excludes Australians overseas; and excludes adjustment for under-enumeration. The data is by SLA 1991 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. This data is ABS data (cat. no. 2101.0 & original geographic boundary cat. no. 1261.0.30.001) used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The tabular data was processed and supplied to AURIN by the Australian Data Archives. The cleaned, high resolution 1991 geographic boundaries are available from data.gov.au. For more information please refer to the 1991 Census Dictionary. Please note: (a) Comprises England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, USA and New Zealand. (b) Comprises offspring where the birthplace of one or both parents was not stated or a parent was temporarily absent.

GCCSA based data for Family Blending, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of couple families with children. Classifies couple families based on the parent-child relationships within them. Temporarily absent children are taken into consideration when classifying families. Excludes 'Couple families with no children', 'One parent families' and 'Other families'. Excludes families in: 'Non-family/Non-classifiable households', 'Non-private dwellings' and 'Migratory, off-shore and …Show full descriptionGCCSA based data for Family Blending, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of couple families with children. Classifies couple families based on the parent-child relationships within them. Temporarily absent children are taken into consideration when classifying families. Excludes 'Couple families with no children', 'One parent families' and 'Other families'. Excludes families in: 'Non-family/Non-classifiable households', 'Non-private dwellings' and 'Migratory, off-shore and shipping' SA1s. Excludes overseas visitors. The data is by GCCSA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

The 1991 Census Expanded Community Profiles present 44 tables comprising more detailed information than that of the basic community profiles which provide characteristics of persons and/or dwellings for Local Government Areas (LGA) in Australia. This table contains data relating to family type by labour force status (part-time/full-time) of parent(s)/partners by annual family income. Counts are of one and two parent families, and couples without offspring, based on place of enumeration on census night which; includes overseas visitors; excludes Australians overseas; and excludes adjustment for under-enumeration. The data is by LGA 1991 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. This data is ABS data (cat. no. 2101.0 & original geographic boundary cat. no. 1261.0.30.001) used with permission from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The tabular data was processed and supplied to AURIN by the Australian Data Archives. The cleaned, high resolution 1991 geographic boundaries are available from data.gov.au. For more information please refer to the 1991 Census Dictionary. Please note: (a) Full time is defined as having worked 35 hours or more in the main job held last week. (b) Comprises families where at least one, but not all, member(s) aged 15 years or more did not state an income and/or at least one spouse or offspring was temporarily absent. (c) Comprises families where no members presentstated an income. (d) Comprises families where the sole parent or both parents/partners in the couple were unemployed or not in the labour force. (e) Comprises families where one parent/partner was employed and stated his/her hours worked and the other parent/partner was either unemployed or not in the labour force. (f) Comprises families where one or both parents/partners did not state his/her labour force status and/or hours worked or a parent/partner was temporarily absent.

Descriptive statistics and correlations between key variables.

Parenting programs have primarily focused on supporting mothers with knowledge and practice of responsive caregiving. However, the role of non-primary caregivers such as grandparents, aunts, and older siblings has not been adequately addressed in programming. Using ChildFund International’s programmatic data from Kenya and Uganda, this cross-sectional study examined the extent to which children aged 0–5 years were left in the care of non-primary caregivers in the household and whether the primary caregivers’ absence was associated with engagement by non-primary caregivers. We found that a considerable proportion of children aged 0–5 years in Kenya and Uganda were entrusted in the care of non-primary caregivers for at least 3 days or more during the week. Yet, the primary caregivers’ absence was not consistently associated with greater engagement by fathers and other members of the household. Our findings call for parenting programs to consider adopting a holistic and contextualized approach where all involved caregivers are intentionally targeted rather than focusing just on the identified primary caregiver alone.