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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 info@ioe.ac.ukWeb www.ioe.ac.uk