Families then and now: 1980-2010

This paper by Alan Hayes, Ruth Weston, Lixia Qu and Matthew Gray reviews data collected over three decades, and shows an increase in divorce rates, a decline in marriage rates and family size, and a shift to double income families and paid childcare. Compared with 30 years ago, parenthood today tends to start later in life, couples tend to have fewer children, and both parents are likely to be in paid employment.