Recent years have seen important trends exerting an impressive influence on household and family living in the United States. Increases in divorce, remarriage, age at first marriage, labor force participation of women, and delays and declines in childbearing are among the more notable of these trends. In the span of just one generation, these developments—individually and collectively—have helped to dramatically alter the living arrangements of the American people. Today's individual and family life courses involve many more important transitions as people form, dissolve, and re-form households and families. As compared with 20 years ago, today's families are smaller, more likely to be maintained by a single parent, to have multiple earners, to require child care assistance, or to contain stepchildren.

The three papers presented in this report address some of the causes and consequences of recent changes in patterns of living arrangements. Arlene Saluter explores "Singleness in America," and its impact on all generations; in "Single Parents and Their Children," Steve Rawlings discusses the social and economic circumstances of this important family type; and Louisa Miller and Jeanne Moorman examine the changing characteristics of "Married-Couple Families With Children."

This is the first of a new set of subject-specific analyses to be published by the Census Bureau in the Special Studies Series of Current Population Reports. Future reports will present the research of individuals or teams in areas of current interest. They will be organized by broad subject with individual articles focusing on specific trends. Each will analyze and interpret data beyond that typically provided by other Current Population Reports series. Future reports will delve into aspects of geographic mobility, education, and fertility.