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Most research focuses on two major causes for the growth in fatherlessness since
the early 1960's: divorce and out-of-wedlock births. 1. Divorce - The number of currently divorced adults quadrupled from 4.3 million in 1970 to 17.6 million in 1995. Source: Saluter, Arlene F. "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1995, Update." US Bureau of the Census. Current Population Report, PPL-52. Washington, DC: GPO, 1997. 
Year 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995
# 390,000 708,000 1,189,000 1,182,000 1,169,000
- A recent poll found that 75% of Americans strongly agree that "children suffer when their parents divorce."
Source: Maggie Gallagher, USA Today.
Year 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995
# 463,000 870,000 1,174,000 1,075,000 1,052,000
- "Of the children born to married parents, half will experience their parents divorce by the age of 18."
Source: Bumpass, Larry. "Children and Marital disruption: A Replication and Update.", Demography 21 (1984): 71-82.
2. Out-of-Wedlock Births
- 1/3 of all newborns born out-of-wedlock in 1994. Of those births, one third were to teenagers, and another third were to women aged 20 to 24. Source: Moore, Kristin A., Angela Romano, and Cheryl Oakes. "Facts at a Glance." Child Trends, October 1996.
- The number of live births to unmarried women went from 224,300 in 1960 to 1,248,000 in 1995.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the census. Statistical Abstract of the United States 1996, 1997. Washington, DC; GPO, 1997. 
Source: Source: U.S. Bureau of the census. Statistical Abstract of the United States 1996, 1997. Washington, DC; GPO, 1997. - Children living with never married mothers has grown from 221,000 in 1960 to 5,862,000 in 1995. Source: Saluter, Arlene F. Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1995. Current Pop. survey, PPL-52, update. Washington DC; GPO, June 1997.
Source: Saluter, Arlene F. Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1995. Current Pop. survey, PPL-52, update. Washington DC; GPO, June 1997.
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