INTRODUCTION

Nonmarital childbearing increased dramatically in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century, changing the context in which American children are raised and giving rise to a new family form – fragile families – defined as families formed by unmarried parents. As shown in Figure 8.1, the proportion of all children born to unmarried parents grew from about 4 percent in 1940 to nearly 40 percent in 2007, an almost tenfold increase (NCHS). Although the rate of increase was similar for whites and nonwhites, the impact was much more dramatic for nonwhites because they started from a much higher base.

Some analysts argue that the increase in nonmarital childbearing is a sign of progress, reflecting an expansion of individual freedom and the growing economic independence of women (Coontz 1998). To support their claim, they note that similar trends are occurring throughout Western industrialized countries. Other analysts are less sanguine. Pointing to high poverty rates among single mothers in the United States, they argue that the increase in fragile families does not bode well for children and may be contributing to the reproduction of racial and class disparities in future generations (McLanahan and Percheski 2008).