Family change in the first five years of life: new evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
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Transcript of Family change in the first five years of life: new evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
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Family change in the first five years of life: new evidence from the UK
Millennium Cohort Study
Lisa Calderwood
Sub-brand to go here
CLS is an ESRC Resource Centre based at the Institute of Education
Motivation: Demographic context• Family life in the UK has changed significantly over the last
30 years • Increasingly common for children to live apart from their
natural father – usually either with lone natural mother or natural mother and step-father
• Proportion of all children living in lone parent families increased from 9% in 1972 to 24% in 2006 (ONS, 2007)
• 10% of all families with dependent children were step-families in 2005 (ONS, 2007)
Research Questions• How prevalent are different family types among families
with young children?
• How does this change over the first five years of children’s lives?
• What are the characteristics of children who are most ‘at risk’ of experiencing family change?
The Data: UK Millennium Cohort Study• Longitudinal birth cohort study following over 19,000
children born in the UK in 2000/2001• Four sweeps so far at 9 months, 3 years, 5 years and 7
years• Funded by ESRC and UK government departments• Over sampled places in Scotland, Wales, Northern
Ireland, areas with high child poverty and in England areas with higher minority ethnic populations.
• One of four British Birth Cohort Studies
Results 1: Family type at 9 months and 5 years
• The vast majority of children were living with both natural parents – but this proportion was lower at 5 years than 9 months: 77% compared with 86%
• Decline due to a fall in proportion living with cohabiting natural parents – from 24% to 14%
• Increase in proportion living with natural mother and step-father – from 0.2% to 4% - and lone natural mothers – from 14% to 17%
• Living with married natural parents was the most common family situation at both 9 months (61%) and 5 years (63%)
Results 2: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years
• Most children (85%) did not experience a change in family type between 9 months and 5 years
• Children living with lone natural parents at 9 months were much more likely to experience a change in family type by 5 years than children living with both natural parents at 9 months – 32% compared with 12%
• Children living with cohabiting natural parents at 9 months were much more likely to experience a change in family type by 5 years than children living with married natural parents at 9 months – 24% compared with 8%
Results 3: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years – living with both natural parents at 9 months
Both natural parents
Both natural parents
(88%)
Lone natural mother
(10%)
Natural mother and step-father
(2%)
Results 4: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years – living with lone natural mother at 9 months
Lone natural mother
Both natural parents
(20%)
Lone natural mother
(68%)
Natural mother and step-father
(12%)
Results 5: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years – living with married natural parents at 9 months
Married natural parents
Both natural parents
(92%)
Lone natural mother
(7%)
Natural mother and step-father
(1%)
Results 6: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years – living with married natural parents at 9 months
Cohabiting natural parents
Both natural parents
(76%)
Lone natural mother
(19%)
Natural mother and step-father
(5%)
Summary so far…..
• For the vast majority of children, family type was stable in the first five years of life – though this data is likely to underestimate change as comparing two fixed points in time
• The minority of children living with a lone natural parent or cohabiting natural parents at 9 months were much more ‘at risk’ of experiencing a change in family type in the first five years of life
• However, family life in the first five years of life is very different for children of younger mothers
Results 7: Family type at 5 years for children with mothers under 25
• The most common family type for children with mothers under 25 was living with a lone natural parent – 48% compared with 17% overall
• Living with a natural mother and step-father was much more common for children with mothers under 25 – 14% compared with 4% overall
• Living with both natural parents was much less common for children with mothers under 25 – 35% compared with 77% overall
• Living with married natural parents was the least common of the (major) family types at 5 years - 12% compared with 63% overall
Results 8: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years for children with mothers under 25
• A significant proportion of children with mothers under 25 experienced a change in family type between 9 months and 5 years – 39% compared with 15% overall
• Children living with both natural parents at 9 months were more likely to experience change in family type in the first five years if their mother was under 25 – 43% compared with 12% overall
• Children living with lone natural mothers at 9 months were more likely to be living with a step-father by 5 years if their mother was under 25 – 18% compared with 12% overall
Results 9: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years for children with mothers under 25 – living with both natural parents at 9 months
Both natural parents
Both natural parents
(57% versus 88%)
Lone natural mother
(32% versus 10%)
Natural mother and step-father
(10% versus 2%)
Results 10: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years for children with mothers under 25 – living with lone natural mother at 9 months
Lone natural mother
Both natural parents
(16% versus 20%)
Lone natural mother
(66% versus 68%)
Natural mother and step-father
(18% versus 12%)
Results 11: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years for children with mothers under 25 – living with married natural parents at 9 months
Married natural parents
Both natural parents
(71% versus 92%)
Lone natural mother
(22% versus 7%)
Natural mother and step-father(7% versus 1%)
Results 12: Change in family type from 9 months to 5 years for children with mothers under 25 – living with married natural parents at 9 months
Cohabiting natural parents
Both natural parents
(56% versus 76%)
Lone natural mother
(34% versus 19%)
Natural mother and step-father
(10% versus 5%)
Summary• Minority of children (1 in 7) were living in a different family
type at 5 years than at 9 months
• Some groups of children were much more likely to experience family change:
– Living with lone natural mother at 9 months
– Living with cohabiting natural parents at 9 months
– Living with a teenage mother at 9 months
• For some children this family change may have been associated with a strengthening of ties between their natural parents (although less evidence of this for children with younger mothers)
Policy Implications
• Support for polices which encourage young women to delay childbearing and reduce teen pregnancy rate
• Families with young mothers may benefit from further targeted support?
More information aboutthe birth cohort studies at
www.cls.ioe.ac.uk
Institute of EducationUniversity of London20 Bedford WayLondon WC1H 0AL
Tel +44 (0)20 7612 6000Fax +44 (0)20 7612 6126Email [email protected] www.ioe.ac.uk