ABSTRACT

Family structure addresses the multiple arrangements members of a household might exhibit. Families are distinguished by the combination of adults and children who are members of the family unit. Family households consist of two or more members related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Nonfamily households are defined by the Bureau as including persons living alone or householders who share a home with nonrelatives only. Day-to-day living experiences among married couple families are influenced to some extent by the interaction of socioeconomic status and ethnic–cultural backgrounds, and to some extent by choices made by adults in terms of how they wish to conduct family life. Families in which mothers care for children in the home while fathers work outside the home most closely resemble the traditional nuclear family that emerged in the 19th century and resurfaced in the 1950s, and again in the 1980s, as the preferred family form.