Trends in the Well-Being of America's Children and Youth: 1996

Foreword

INTRODUCTION

PART 1 INDICATORS OF CHILD AND YOUTH WELL-BEING

SECTION I POPULATION, FAMILY, AND NEIGHBORHOOD (PF)

CHILD POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

PF 1. I - Number of children

PF 1.2 - Children as percent of the population

PF 1.3 - Proportion of families containing children

PF 1.4 - Race/ethnicity composition

PF 1.5 - Immigrant children

FAMILY STRUCTURE

PF 2.1 - Family structure: number of parents in household

PF 2.2 - Percent of births to unmarried mothers

PF 2.3 - Foster care

NEIGHBORHOODS

PF 3.1 - Residential stability

PF 3.2 - Children in poor/very poor neighborhoods

SECTION 2 ECONOMIC SECURITY (ES)

POVERTY AND INCOME

ES 1.1 - Mean family income

ES 1.2 - Income distribution

ES 1.3 - Children in poverty

ES 1.4 - Sustained child poverty

ES 1.5 - Lifetime childhood poverty

ES 1.6 - Child support nonpayment

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS

ES 2.1 - Impact of government transfer programs

ES 2.2 - Current receipt of AFDC or Food Stamps

ES 2.3 - Lifetime welfare dependence

PARENTAL EMPLOYMENT

ES 3.1 - Parental labor force participation

ES 3.2 - Maternal employment

ES 3.3 - Parental labor force detachment

ES 3.4 - Secure parental labor force attachment

ES 3.5 - Child care

HOUSING

ES 4.1 - Inadequate housing

SECTION 3 HEALTH CONDITIONS AND HEALTH CARE (HC)

MORTALITY

HC 1.l.a -Infant mortality

HC 1.l.b - Child and youth mortality

HC 1.2.a - Teen violent deaths: motor vehicles

HC 1.2.b - Teen violent deaths: homicides

HC 1.2.c - Teen violent deaths: suicides

HEALTH CONDITIONS

HC 2.1 - Healthy births

HC 2.2.a - Low birth weight

HC 2.2.b - Very low birth weight

HC 2.3 - General health conditions

HC 2.4 - Chronic health conditions

HC 2.5 - Overweight adolescents

HC 2.6 - Abuse and neglect

HC 2.7 - Suicidal teens

HEALTH CARE

HC 3.1 - Health insurance coverage

HC 3.2.a - Early prenatal care

HC 3.2.b - Late or no prenatal care

HC 3.2.c - Inadequate prenatal care

HC 3.3 - Immunization

SECTION 4 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, AND TEEN FERTILITY (SD)

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

SD 1. 1 - Life goals

SD 1.2 - Positive peer influences

SD 1.3 - Religious attendance

SD 1.4 - Voter registration

SD 1.5 - Excessive TV viewing

SD 1.6 - Violent crime arrest rate

SD 1.7 - Low-risk teens

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: PHYSICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

SD 2.1 - Fighting

SD 2.2 - Carrying weapons

SD 2.3 - Scat beat use

SD 2.4 - Regular physical exercise

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: SMOKING, ALCOHOL, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

SD 3.1 - Cigarette smoking

SD 3.2 - Smokeless tobacco use

SD 3.3 - Binge drinking

SD 3.4 - Drunk driving

SD 3.5 - Marijuana and cocaine use

SD 3.6 - Peer attitudes toward alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND FERTILITY

SD 4.1 - Sexually experienced teens

SD 4.2 - Sexually active teens

SD 4.3 - Unprotected sex

SD 4.4 - Number of sex partners

SD 4.5 - Teen pregnancy

SD 4.6 - Teen abortion rate

SD 4.7 - Teen birth rate

SD 4.8 - Teen non-marital birth rate

SD 4.9 - Second and higher order births to teens

SECTION 5 EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENT (EA)

ENROLLMENT/ATTENDANCE

EA 1.1 - Pre-school enrollment

EA 1.2 - Grade retention

EA 1.3 - School absenteeism

EA 1.4 - Teen dropout

EA 1.5 - High school completion

EA 1.6 - Enrollment in higher education

ACHIEVEMENT/PROFICIENCY

EA 2.1 - Reading proficiency

EA 2.2 - Writing proficiency

EA 2.3 - Mathematics proficiency

EA 2.4 - Science proficiency

RELATED BEHAVIORS AND CHARACTERISTICS

EA 3.1.a - Parental reading to children

EA 3.1.b - Reading habits of children

EA 3.2 - Parental involvement in school



PART 2 POPULATION CHANGE AND THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT OF CHILDREN

by Donald J. Hernandez, Ph.D., U.S. Bureau of the Census

INTRODUCTION

POPULATION CHANGE

Population Size and Composition

Geographic Distribution of the Population

Marriage and Divorce

Childbearing and Family Size

Childbearing among Unmarried Women

Life Expectancy and Mortality

Household Size and Composition

THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT OF CHILDREN

The Revolutionary Rise in Father's Non-Farm Work

The Revolutionary Decline in Large Families

The Revolutionary Rise in Educational Attainments

Why the Revolutions in Father's Work, Family Size, and Schooling?

The Revolutionary Rise in Mother's Labor Force Participation

Why the Revolution in Mother's Labor Force Participation?

The Revolutionary Rise in Mother-Only Families

Historic Experience with One-Parent Families

The Myth of the "Ozzie and Harriet Family"

Family Income and Poverty

Accounting for Poverty Change

The Relative Value of Welfare Benefits

Relative Poverty Work, and Welfare Dependence

Official Poverty, Work, and Welfare Dependence

Working Men with Low Earnings

The Preschool Childcare Revolution

Housing for Families with Children

Children Living with Grandparents and in Doubled-Up Families

Poverty, Work Status, and Family Break-up and Doubling-Up

Official Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage

Children with Disabilities

Children as the Unit of Statistical Analysis

Children and Public Policy

Historical and Important Future Statistics on Children

Concluding Observations

APPENDIX 1: DOUBLING-UP, DEFINITIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

APPENDIX II: CREATING DATA BASES FOR CHILDREN AND STATISTICAL ESTIMATES

REFERENCES

DETAILED HISTORICAL TABLES