Data Source

"American Community Survey, 5-year estimates: The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to give communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It is critical in the Census Bureau's reengineered decennial census program. The ACS collects and produces population and housing information yearly instead of every ten years and publishes one-year and five-year estimates. The County Health Rankings use American Community Survey data to measure social and economic factors."

Measure Methods

• "Children In Single-Parent Households is a percentage: Children in Single-Parent Households is the percentage of children (under 18 years of age) living in family households that are headed by a single parent."

• "Children In Single-Parent Households has changed over time: Before the 2013 data releases of the American Community Survey, people who reported being in a same-sex marriage were recorded and counted as unmarried partners, so households, where children were living with same-sex parents were reported as single-parent households. Beginning with the 2013 ACS data releases (included in the 2015 Rankings), same-sex spouses were no longer recorded and were counted as married couples. Also, beginning with the 2019 ACS releases (included in the 2021 Rankings), cohabiting households were reported separate from single-parent households. Cohabiting unmarried households are no longer included in the numerator."

• "Measure limitations: Children in Single-Parent Households can be a problematic measure because households headed by single parents, like those headed by married or cohabiting couples, can be quite heterogeneous, with differing levels of family, community, and economic support. Therefore, the distribution of health risks in single-parent households can vary dramatically, particularly for children."

• "Numerator: The numerator is the number of children in family households where the household is headed by a single parent (male or female head of household with no spouse present)."

• "Denominator: The numerator is the number of children in family households where the household is headed by a single parent (male or female head of household with no spouse present)."

• "Can This Measure Be Used to Track Progress?: This measure can be used to track progress with some caveats. It is important to note that the estimate provided in the County Health Rankings is a 5-year average. However, for counties with a population greater than 20,000 individuals, single-year estimates can be obtained from the resource listed in Finding More Data. In addition, please refer to the Measure Methods section above for more information about how the methodology for calculating this measure has changed."

Source: Children in Single-Parent Households | County Health Rankings & Roadmaps

References

• McLanahan S, Sawhill I. Marriage and Child Wellbeing Revisited: Introducing the Issue. The Future of Children. 2015;25(2):3-9.

• Manning W. Cohabitation and Child Wellbeing. The Future of Children. 2015;25(2).

• Ribar DC. Why Marriage Matters for Child Wellbeing. The Future of Children. 2015;25(2).

• Balistreri KS. Family Structure and Child Food Insecurity: Evidence from the Current Population Survey. Social Indicators Research. 2018: 138(3);1171-1185.

• Berkman LF, Zheng Y, Glymour MM, Avendano M, Borsch-Supan A, Sabbath EL. Mothering alone: cross-national comparisons of later-life disability and health among women who were single-mothers. Epidemiology and Community Health. 2015; 69(9).

• Chiu M, Rahman F, Vigod S, Lau C, Cairney J, Kurdvak P. Mortality in single fathers compared with single mothers and partnered parents: a population-based cohort study. Lancet Public Health. 2018 March; 3(3).

• Anderson J. The impact of family structure on the health of children: Effects of divorce. LinacreQ. November 2014; 81(4):378-387.