Household Structure

The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines a household as a “person or group of people who occupy a housing unit” (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2001, p. 2). In the United States as elsewhere, household membership continues to evolve, reflecting social complexities in varied forms. Generally, the states of Florida, California, Texas, and New York are home to more than 31 percent of all [Page 611]households. Regionally, on average, more households were located in the South.

Historically and globally, families have lived in many arrangements depending on cultural practices, family circumstances, and accepted standards. What defines a household? Who lives in a household and under what conditions? Who may return to a household after leaving it? These issues are currently being debated and redefined in the United States. As always, economic climate can affect the formation of households and their stability. The ability to maintain steady income has affected how familial bonds are formed and sustained at any given time in history. In contemporary U.S. society, many definitions that were once commonly understood to some degree are now being reassessed in the midst of cultural flux and technological change. Increasingly, individuals themselves define their household composition and who constitutes their families; members of households often demand to be recognized as such, and bond together for common purposes in various forms of residential preferences. Government agencies are making the shift to recognize various household types.

What was once commonly viewed as the “typical” American household (mother, father, children) might now include unmarried partners, adopted children, stepchildren, foster children, non-relatives, roommates, grandchildren, or parents-in-law. Although still in the majority, from 1990 to 2000, the number of marriedcouple families decreased by a greater percentage than other types—that is, one person nonfamily, two or more people nonfamily, male householders, female householders, and other family household types (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2002). Households headed by women continued to grow, while overall, one in four were singleperson households.

In addition, adult children continue returning home, and parents are becoming grandparents at much younger ages as their children become parents long before they are ready to assume parenting responsibilities.