PENNSYLVANIA STAT£ Ul Almost 1 in 5 married-couple stepchild. Nicholas Zill of Child had a median income of $25,272. families with children had a Trends, Inc., has estimated that The median income of married stepchild living In the household In 1985. about one-quarter of today's couple families with at least one children will live with a steppar stepchild and at least one biolog By 1985, a higher proportion of ent by the time they reach the ical child was even lower Americans (23 percent) than ever age of 16. $22,932. The striking exception before had been divorced at some point in their lives. Be Most stepchildren live with their was families with a biological fa cause most people who divorce biological mothers and ther and stepmother: they had the eventually remarry, more children stepfathers. highest median family income - $34,850. and adults experience living as After divorce, mothers are still part of a stepfamily. much more likely than fathers to This Brief describes the situation have custody of their children. Parents In stepfamllles were less of married-couple families with Over 6 million children, or 9 of 10 well-educated than parents In married-couple families, In stepchildren. It does not count stepchildren in married-couple general. stepparents and stepchildren families, lived with their biologi Who live in different households cal mothers and stepfathers. This finding is consistent with re and, therefore, underestimates Only 740,000 stepchildren lived search by the National Center for the total number of stepparents with their biological fathers and Health Statistics showing that and stepchildren. Stepchildren stepmothers. those persons Who dissolved Who have been adopted by the their first marriages and persons stepparent with Whom they are Most stepfamilies are at an economic disadvantage as who remarried had fewer years of living are still considered to be compared with other school when compared with all stepchildren for the purposes of married-couple families with persons marrying for the first this report. children. time. Our research showed that In 15185, about 4.5 million Median income for all married 44 percent of fathers and 37 per families contained 6.8 million couple families with children was cent of mothers in all married stepchildren under age 18 - 15 percent more than in 1980. $28, 162 in 1985. Families that couple families had at least contained a biological mother, a some college education, While Of these families, 2.4 million had stepfather, and stepchildren only only 35 percent of fathers and 29 stepchildren only and 2.1 million had a mix of at least one step child and at least one child borne Among married-couple families with children, one-fifth to or adopted by both parents in had at least one stepchild living with them. the household. The 6.8 million Number Type of Married- Couple Family (OOO 's) Percent stepchildren accounted for 15 Total with own children under 18 23,868 100 percent of children in all married Biological and/or adopted children only 18,996 80 couple families in 1985. In Black Stepchildren only 2,387 10 married-couple families, 1 in 4 Biological mother-stepfather 2,207 9 children under 18 was a Biological father- stepmother 180 1 Biological and stepchildren only 2,038 9 SB-1-89 Issued August 1989 Other families with stepchildren 44 U.S. Department of Commerce Unknown 403 2 BUREAU OF THE CENSUS Digitized by Google BUREAU OF THE CENSUS STATISTICAL BRIEF August 1989 percent of mothers in families with their biological mothers. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. comprising a stepfather, a biolog 20402. For telephone orders, call ical mother, and stepchildren only The recent striking growth in (202) 783-3238.) had at least some college. Bio stepfamilies has left little time for Contact- logical fathers in stepfamilies, individuals, families, and society Louisa Miller however, were relatively well to develop ways of coping with (301) 763-7987 educated: 48 percent had at least problems associated with living some college. in families where step relation For further information on Census Bureau Statistical Briefs: ships exist. Their swelling num Even under the best of Contact bers have led researchers to circumstances, stepchildren may Jennifer Maries study more intensely the unique have Increasing and competing (301) 763-8337 demands on their time from qualities of this family type so ef family members in their homes fective programs to assist them and elsewhere. can be created. This is one of a series of occasional reports from the Census Bureau that Stepchildren not only have to provides timely data on specific poli deal with complex social relation The data shown here were cy-related issues. The Bureau col ships within their own household, derived from information col lects a variety of data from U.S. but many also have to deal with lected in the Current Population households, businesses, and other entities. This Brief presents statistics SuNey for June of 1980 and 1985 complex relationships involving from one or more of these data col their noncustodial biological par unless noted otherwise. lections. Statistical data are subject ent and often that parent's family. to certain errors, such as data col For further information on lection design flaws, respondent Data from the National Health ln classification and reporting errors, stepfamilies: teNiew SuNey in 1981 showed and data processing mistakes. The that almost half of children living See- Bureau has taken quality control measures to reduce reported data with a stepfather never saw their Current Population Reports, Se errors, and data in this Brief have biological fathers. Among the mi ries P-23, No. 162, Studies in been tested and are in accord with nority of children living with a Marriage and the Family. (For applicable statistical standards. However, caution should be used stepmother and biological father. sale by the Superintendent of when comparing these and other three-quarters had some contact Documents, U.S. Government data sets. One-fourth of Black children who live in married-couple families live with a stepparent. ,------1 % ----- 2% ,------2% Biological mother 2% and father 2% .---- 1% Biological mother-stepfather - 2s% Stepmother biological father Adoptive mother and father Unknown 83 % - 70% - *U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989-0-247--064