Some Characteristics of Children's Second Families

The structure of second families is conditioned by characteristics of children and parents at the time or remarriage and by subsequent fertility. For U. S. children whose mothers have recently remarried this report documents the ages and number of siblings at the time of remarriage, the previous marital status of the new stepfather, the duration of single-parent experience before remarriage, and the age and education of the mother. Estimates are also made of the acquisition of a half sibling through second-family fertility. Finally, the consequences of these patterns for the parental and sibling composition of the families of all U. S. children in 1980 are examined.