[Image]

 [Image]                    Father Facts

                     Wade F. Horn, Ph.D.
               National Fatherhood Initiative


------------------------------------------------------------

                 The Facts of Father Absence

A 1997 Gallup Youth Survey found that of teens:

   * only 67% report their fathers currently live with them
   * 91% report their mothers live with them
   * 11% report that stepfathers live with them
   * only 57% of urban teens report their fathers currently
     live with them

          Source: "Youthviews" - The Newsletter of the
          Gallup Youth Survey 4 (June 1997).

In 1995, nearly 19 million children lived with only one
parent, and of these children 87% lived with their mother.

          Source: U.S. Congress, Committee on Ways and
          Means, The Green Book, U.S. Government Printing
          Office, Washington, DC, 1996.

In 1996 there were 11.7 million single parent families, of
these 9.85 million were headed by mothers and 1.86 million
were headed by fathers.

          Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical
          Abstract of the United States 1997, U.S.
          Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
          1997.

"Nearly one-fourth (24%) of AmericaÕs children live in
mother-only families."

          Source: Arlene F. Saluter, Marital Status and
          Living Arrangements: March 1994, U.S. Bureau of
          the Census, Current Population Reports, Series
          P20-484, U.S. Government Printing Office,
          Washington, DC, 1996.

With the increasing number of premarital births and a
continuing high divorce rate, the proportion of children
living with just one parent rose from 9 percent in 1960 to
28 percent in 1996. Currently, 57.7 percent of all black
children, 31.8 percent of all Hispanic children, and 20.9
percent of all white children are living in single-parent
homes.

          Source: Arlene F. Saluter, Marital Status and
          Living Arrangements: March 1994, U.S. Bureau of
          the Census, Current Population Reports, Series
          P20-484, U.S. Government Printing Office,
          Washington, DC, 1996 and U.S. Bureau of the
          Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States
          1997, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
          DC, 1997.

                           [Image]



                           [Image]

The number of children living only with their mothers grew
from 5.1 million in 1960 to over 17 million in 1996.

          Source: Arlene F. Saluter, Marital Status and
          Living Arrangements: March 1994, U.S. Bureau of
          the Census, Current Population Reports, Series
          P20-484, U.S. Government Printing Office,
          Washington DC, 1996 and U.S. Bureau of the Census,
          Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997,
          U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
          1997.

While the incidence of single parenthood increased in most
industrialized countries between 1970 and 1990, the U.S. has
the highest incidence of single parent families, and
experienced the highest growth from 1970 to 1990.

          Source: Sara McLanahan, "The Consequence of Single
          Motherhood," The American Prospect 18 (Summer
          1994) 48-58.

The United States is now the worldÕs leader in fatherless
families. In the early 1970s, Sweden reported the highest
percentage of single-parent families Ñ 15 percent of all
families with children. By 1986, the United States took over
first place, when 24 percent of AmericaÕs families were
headed by a single parent, compared to less than 20 percent
for Sweden.

          Source: Alisa Burns, "Mother-Headed Families: An
          International Perspective and the Case of
          Australia," Social Policy Report 6, no. 1 Spring
          1992; see also Arlene F. Saluter, Marital Status
          and Living Arrangements: March 1994, U.S. Bureau
          of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series
          P20-484, U.S. Government Printing Office,
          Washington, DC, 1996

                                [Image]

                                [Image]

           [Previous | Table of Contents | Next ]

(c) 1998, National Fatherhood Initiative. All rights reserved.

Father Facts 3 is available in softcover from the National
Fatherhood Initiative. NFI Resource Catalog Price: US $8.00.

               National Fatherhood Initiative
            101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360
                   Gaithersburg, MD 20877
                    phone: (301) 948-0599
                     fax: (301) 948-4325
                 email: info@fatherhood.org
                   web: www.fatherhood.org

[-] Printer-Friendly Version
[-] See Related Resources
------------------------------------------------------------
copyright (c) 1995-2002 Leadership U. All rights reserved.
This site is part of the Telling the Truth Project.

Updated: 4 May 2002