Indicators of Child, Family, and Community Connections. Family Functioning

The majority of parents with children under the age of 13 demonstrate some expression of warmth and affection to their child daily, such as hugging or showing them physical affection, telling them that they love them, and telling them that they appreciate something that they did. Mothers are more likely than fathers to report showing their children warmth and affection. For example, in 1997, eighty-five percent of mothers told their child that they love him/her, compared with 62 percent of fathers. These displays of warmth by both mothers and fathers decreased as children got older for all three behaviors.

Percentage of parents of children under age 13 who expressed various forms of warmth and affection to their child every day in the past month, by parent gender: 1997

Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, University of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement. As reported in Child Trends. (2002). Charting parenthood: A statistical portrait of fathers and mothers in America. Washington, DC: Author.

Overall, in 1999, the majority of adolescents reported positive relationships with their resident parents (more than 60 percent). Positive relationships between adolescents and their parents, both mothers and fathers, were more common when both resident parents were the biological parents of the child than when there was a single biological parent or one biological and one nonbiological parent. Note that for single parents, relationships are measured among a different group of children for the mother than for the father. For these families, differences in outcomes between mothers and fathers could be due to characteristics of the parents, or characteristics of the children that live with them. Also note that for biological/other parent families, a greater share of biological parents are mothers and a greater share of other parents are fathers.

Percentage of adolescents with a positive relationship with their resident parent,
by family structure: 1999

Note: For this indicator, a positive parent-adolescent relationship is based on a youth-reported scale of parental behaviors toward the youth (e.g., praising, helping, criticizing, or blaming the youth; canceling plans with the youth). Adolescents are reporting on parents and parent figures who live with the adolescent.
Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - 1997, Rounds 1 and 3.

Mothers are more likely than fathers to be aware of their adolescents' close friends, as well as their activities, regardless of family structure. Data for 2000 indicate that mothers were slightly more likely to be aware of their adolescent's friends and activities when they resided with the biological father of the child (57 percent) than when they were the sole biological parent, or part of a biological parent/nonbiological parent couple (51 percent each). Fathers in either two-parent or one-parent biological families had higher levels of awareness (31 percent) than did fathers who were part of a one biological and one nonbiological parent couple (20 percent). Note that for single parents, awareness is measured among a different group of children for the mother than for the father. For these families, differences in outcomes between mothers and fathers could be due to characteristics of the parents, or characteristics of the children that live with them. Also note that for biological/other parent families, a greater share of biological parents are mothers and a greater share of other parents are fathers.

Percentage of adolescents who report that their parents are aware of
their friends and activities, by family structure: 2000

Note: For this indicator, parental awareness is measured by the adolescent's report of the degree to which their parents know "some" or "most" things about their close friends, close friends' parents, company when not at home, and teachers and school activities. Adolescents are reporting on parents and parent figures who live with the adolescent.
Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - 1997, Rounds 1 and 4.

In two-parent families, children under age 13 spent an average of 1 hour and 46 minutes engaged in activities with their fathers and 2 hours and 21 minutes doing so with their mothers on a daily basis in 1997. This was substantially more time than children in single-parent families spent with their fathers (25 minutes) and mothers (1 hour and 16 minutes). Note that children in both family types spent more time with their mothers than with their fathers. Also, the amount of time that children spent with either parent generally decreased with age. Nonresidential parents are not presented in this indicator.

Average amount of time children under age 13 are engaged in some activity
with parents per day, by family structure: 1997

Source: Estimates supplied by J. Sandberg, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement. As reported in Child Trends. (2002). Charting parenthood: A statistical portrait of fathers and mothers in America. Washington, DC: Author.

Overall, 60 percent of children from non-intact families had some contact with their nonresident fathers and 78 percent had contact with their nonresident mothers in 1997. Children living with a parent with higher levels of education were more likely to have had contact with their nonresident parent. Seventy-four percent of children whose resident mother had a college degree had contact with their nonresident father in the previous year, compared with 44 percent of children whose mothers had less than a high school degree. Likewise, 88 percent of children whose resident father had graduated college had contact with their nonresident mother, compared with 69 percent of those living with fathers who had not graduated from high school.

Percentage of children with any contact with nonresident parent in the previous year, by educational attainment of resident parent: 1997

Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1998 April Supplement of the Current Population Survey. As reported in Child Trends. (2002). Charting parenthood: A statistical portrait of fathers and mothers in America. Washington, DC: Author.