Blended Family or Stepfamily & Subsequent Marriage Statistics

What are the statistics for those in the wake of marital dissolution? It has been long known that the United States divorce rate hovers at or above 50%. My generation, along with those subsequent, has been quite aware. What happens after the fact? I am a product of a stepfamily dynamic along with many others. It is interesting to note the plain facts as reported by the United States Census Bureau regarding marital and familial information.

Approximately 80% of divorced Americans remarry. Of these, approximately 60% have children from prior marriages.

One in four children will live in a blended family home before the age of 18.

Based on monthly marriage numbers, approximately 50,000 people become part of a stepfamily each month nationwide.

These figures are staggering, and yet they are still growing. It will be interesting to see what changes we see from the U.S. 2000 census, which reported 10.6 million children living in blended families, to that of the 2010 census. I look forward to posting those results.

Deviation from the nuclear or intact family occurs for many reasons. Divorce is of course the number one reason, however death of a spouse and first marriages of unwed parents are yet others.

These stats are not meant to scare you. It is simply good practice to know the facts.

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