Children of DivorceThis report analyzes trends for the period

1950-84 in the number and proportion of

children whose parents divorced.

Characteristics of divorcing couples with

and without children are examined,

including number of previous marriages,

age at divorce, age at marriage, race,

education, and whether it was the husband

or the wife who petitioned for the divorce.

Geographic variations are also discussed.

Data From the NationalVital Statistics SystemSeries 21, No. 46

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 89-1924

U.S. Department of Health and Human

SaMces

Public HeafthSeMceCentersfor Dkease ControlNational Center for Health Statistics

Hyattaville, Md.

- ~@J

Copyright Information

All material appearing in this reporl IS m the public domain and may bereproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is

appreciated.

Suggested Citation

National Center for Health Statistics, Kathryn A. London. 1989. Children of

Dworce. Wa/ and Hea/th Skrtisfics. Series 21, No. 46. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS)89-1924. Public Health Service Washington: U.S. Government Prlnfing Office.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publiitiin Data

London, Kathryn A.

Children of dworce.p. cm.(Vital & health statistics. Series 21, Data from the national vital

Stetistlcs system; no. 46) (DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 89-1924)Bibliography: p.ISBN 0-8406-0400-91. Divorce-United StetesStatistics. 2. Children of divorced parents

Umted StatesStatistics. 3. Dworced parentsUnited StatesStatwtics,4. United StatesStatwtics, Vital. 1. National Center for Health Statistics (U.S )II. Title. 111.Series. IV. Series: Vital and health statistics. Sertes 21, Data from

fhe national vital statstics system : no. 46.HA21 1.A3 no. 46[HQ834]

304.630973021-dc 19 8831316[306.89] CIP

National Center for Health Statistics

Manning Feinleib, M. D., Dr. P. H., Director

Robert A. Israel, Deputy Director

Jacob J. Feldman, Ph. D., Associu[e Director ,Jw- Analysisund Epidemiology

Gail F. Fisher, Ph. D., Associute Director ,jbr Planning andE.rtramut-al Programs

Peter L. Hurley, Associate Director jbr Vitul und Health

Statistics Systems

Stephen E. Nieberding, Associute Director for Manugetnent

George A. Schnack, Associate Director,fbr Data Processingand Sertices

Monroe G. Sirken, Ph. D., Associate Director for Resectrchand Wlethodology

Sandra S. Smith, Injim-mation Oflicer

Division of Vital Statistics

John E. Patterson, Director

James A. Weed, Ph. D., Deputy Director

Robert L. Heuser, M. A., Acting Chief, Marriage andDi\w-ce Statistics Brunch

Joseph D. Farrell, Chief, Systems and Programming Branch

Mabel G. Smith, Chief Statistical Resources Branch

Contents

Introductio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...1Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IHighlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Cun-ent patternsand trendsindivorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . 2Prevalence ofdivorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . ~Trends inchildrens experience with divorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Current patternsof divorce by presence ofchi[drenSourceandreliabilit yofdata . . . . . . . .Number oftimes previously married . . . . . .Ageatdivorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ageatmarriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Duratio nofrnarriage . . . . . . . . . . . . .Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Petitioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Geogmphic differerwes . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---- . . . . . . . . . . . 8

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1~

Listofdetailedtables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -. . . . . . 13

Appendix

Tcchnicalnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

List of text figures

1. Divorces andchiIdren involved:United States, 1950-84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32. Divorcerzdteper 1.000 married women 15 years of age and over, and children involved in divorce per 1,000 children

underage 18: United States, 195084 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4?. . Averdge number of children per decree and average number of own children under 18 years ofa.ge per married

coupIehousehol d:UnitedStates. 1956-84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54. Percent of women who had a first birth by the time they had been married two years, for marriage cohorts of

women: UnitedStates. 1935-74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65. Percent distributi(>n ()fdiv(>rcing c()uples bynumber ()fchildren atdivorce: divorce-registration area, 1984 . . . . . 11

List of text tables

A. Percent distribution of divorces by presence of children under 18 years of age at time of divorce, according tonumber of this marriage for wife and husband. and mean number of children: 30 reporting States, 1984 . . . . . . . 8

B. Percent distribution of divorces by presence of children under 18 years of age at time of divorce, according to raceof wife and husband. and mean number of children, all marriages and primary marriages: 26 reporting States,1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...9

C. Percent distribution of divorces by petitioner, according to presence of children under 18 years of age at time ofdivorce, andmeannurnb erofchildren. all marriages andprimary marriages: 30 reporting States, 1984 . . . . . 10

D. Percent distribution of divorces by presence ofchikh-en under 18 years of age at time of divorce, according to regionof the country where divorce was granted, and mean number of children, all marriages and primary marriages: 30reporting States. 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . 11

Symbols

..- Data not available

. . . Category not applicable

Quantity zero

0.0 Quantity more than zero but less than0.05

z Quantity more than zero but less than500 where numbers are rounded tothousands

. Figure does not meet standard ofreliability or precision

# Figure suppressed to comply withconfidentiality requirements

Children of Divorceby Kathryn A. London, Division of Vital Statistics

Introduction

Background

Each year since 1972, over a million children have seentheir parents divorce. In 1984, 1,081,000 children were af-fected, or 17.2 of every 1,000 children. This report presentsdata from one of the few major sources of national informationabout children and divorce, the National Vital Statistics Pro-gram. The following sections of the report document thedramatic rise in the number and proportion of children under18 years of age whose parents divorced and describe howdivorcing couples with children differ from divorcing coupleswithout children in terms of the number of times each spousehas been married, age at divorce, age at marriage, race, educa-

tion, and whether it was the husband or the wife who petitionedfor the divorce. Differences by State and region of the countryare also discussed.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) receives

an annual count of the number of divorces and annulmentsgranted by county from each of the 50 States and the Districtof Columbia. In addition, data on characteristics of divorcingcouples come from divorce certificates from the 3 I Statesthat participate in the divorce-registration area (DRA). In 1984,eight of the DRA SMtes provided State-coded data tapes of100 percent of their divorce records through the Vital StatisticsCooperative Program. In the remaining 23 DRA States, a

sample of records was drawn using sampling rates rangingfrom 5 to 100 percent. The DRA includes all States thatmaintain central files of divorce records and whose divorcerecords are usually complete and accurate. In 1984 divorcesin DRA States accounted for about 48 percent of the divorcesin the United States. See the appendix for further discussion

of the DRA and the sampling technique used.

Highlights

. Edch year in the United States, more than a million couplesdivorce and more than a million children are affected.In 1984, 54 percent of divorcing couples had at leastone child under 18 years of age.

Many more children have to cope with divorce than didprevious coho