ABSTRACT
The increasing diversity of family and household arrangements in the United States during the past few decades compels us to rethink how family units should be conceptualized and defined. In the area of poverty, the debate revolves around the most appropriate unit of measure—the family, the household, or some other group. Complicating the issue is the fact that cohabiting couples are not counted as families using “official” family definitions in most government surveys and statistics, although many argue they should be treated as such when assessing individuals' economic well-being.
