The Traditional Nuclear Family and New Alternatives legally married -->never married singlehood, nonmarital cohabitation with children -->voluntary childlessness two-parent -->single-parent permanent -->divorce, remarriage male primary provider, -->egalitarian (dual-career) ultimate authority sexually exclusive -->extramarital relationships heterosexual -->same-sex relationships, households

The Growing Diversity of Canadian Families

MARRIAGE AND COMMON-LAW UNIONS, YOUNG ADULTS, CANADA, 2001 Age Age Percent of age cohort

The Five Functions of Families  Sexual regulation  Economic cooperation  Reproduction  Socialization  Emotional support

Family Satisfaction and the Family Life Cycle, USA, 1998 Family satisfaction (scale 1-5) Men Women

The Five Bases of Marital Satisfaction  Economic forces  Divorce laws  The family life cycle  Housework and childcare  Sex

Crude Divorce Rate, Canada, Divorces per 100,000 population Year

Total Divorce Rate, Canada, Divorces per 1,000 marriages in preceding 30 yrs. Year

More Separations in Canada & More People Entering a Second Union Percentage of Women Experiencing at Least One Separation (Marriages or Common-law unions) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Birth cohort % experiencing the event Percentage of Women With at Least Two Unions (Marriage or Common-law) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Birth cohort % experiencing the event

WomenMen Odds ratio Likelihood of Marriage Dissolution for People Whose Parents Separated or Divorced Versus Those Whose Parents Stayed Together

Three Factors Account for Emotional Distress among Children of Divorce  A high level of parental conflict  A decline in living standards  The absence of a parent

Nuclear Family Decline: USA and Sweden, Early 1990s USASweden median age at first marriage men * women * percentage of population never married men * women * nonmarital birth rate * 1-parent hshlds among all hshlds with children < *18.0 % of mothers in labor force with children < * total fertility rate average household size *

Child Well-Being: USA and Sweden, Early 1990s USA Sweden mean reading performance score at * % of children in poverty single-mother households * two-parent households * death rate of infants from abuse * suicide rate for children (/100,000) * juvenile delinquency rate (/100,000) 11.6*12.0 juvenile drug offence rate (/100,000) *