# data[].attributes.body
Functionalism: This perspective views family as a necessity to fill society's basic needs: reproduction, sexual control, socialization, etc.
Conflict: The conflict perspective looks at the power struggle over housework and who does it in the family.
Symbolic Interactionism: These sociologists look at the interactions between family members and their roles.

# data[].attributes.body
A nuclear family consists of two parents and their children; all the kids are biologically related to both parents. One example would be the Belchers from Bob's Burgers.

# data[].attributes.body
Your extended family would be any family members past your parents and siblings (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc)that live with you. One example would be the Smith family from Rick and Morty. Beth (the mom) lets her father, Rick, live with the family.

# data[].attributes.body
A blended family is made up of two parents and their children from previous relationships. One example would be the Brady Bunch.

# data[].attributes.body
The amount of people having/wanting children in the past years has decreased.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About seven-in-ten U.S. parents younger than 50 (71%) say it's unlikely they will have more children in the future - and among childless adults in the same age group, about four-in-ten (37%) say they don't ever expect to become parents, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July and August.

Among parents under 50, four-in-ten say they're not likely to have more kids in the future because they just don't want to, while 30% point to some other reason for not expecting to have more kids, according to the survey. Among childless adults under 50, meanwhile, around a quarter (23%) say they're unlikely to have children in the future because they just don't want to, while 14% name some other reason for not expecting to have kids.

Parents ages 40 to 49 stand out as being far more likely than those under 40 to say they don't expect to have more children. About nine-in-ten parents ages 40 to 49 (91%) say they are unlikely to have more children in the future, compared with 56% of parents younger than 40. Three-in-ten childless adults in this younger age group say they are unlikely to become parents someday (there are too few childless adults ages 40 to 49 in the sample to analyze them separately).

The survey asked those who say there is some other reason why they don't expect to have more children or to have children at all to elaborate on those reasons. The responses of childless adults cannot be analyzed due to the small number of respondents in this category, but among parents who don't expect to have more kids, the most common response is that either they or their partner is unable to have children due to a medical reason (41% of parents ages 18 to 49 say this). Age is the second-most cited reason, given by 25% of these respondents. A small share (6%) cites financial reasons, such as the cost of child care, and 3% say they either don't have a partner or that their partner doesn't want to have more children.

Mothers and fathers ages 18 to 49 who don't expect to have more children are about equally likely to say this is because they don't want more kids: 58% of mothers and 55% of fathers say this.

Among parents younger than 40 who say they are unlikely to expand their families, more say this is because they don't want more kids (64%) than say there is some other reason (36%). In contrast, 49% of parents ages 40 to 49 who don't expect to have more children say there's another reason for this other than simply not wanting more.

These findings come as the U.S. annual fertility rate has hit an all-time low of 60.3 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age. Annual fertility declines have been dramatic over the past decade, as a result of the Great Recession. But even as the economy has rebounded, fertility has not followed.

Declines in what people consider the ideal family size also may play a role. During the U.S. baby boom - a period that was characterized by unusually high fertility - most said the ideal family size was three or more children, but since then, the number has declined. Today, the largest share of Americans report that two or fewer children is the ideal family size.

A number of broader demographic and cultural shifts also may be contributing to U.S. fertility declines. In the long run, rising educational levels and delays in marriage have led to the postponement of parenthood for many. At the same time, the shift toward women working outside the home has likely contributed to the decline as well, especially when coupled with rising child care costs.
Note: See full topline results and methodology for the survey.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Most parents - and many non-parents - don't expect to have kids in the future

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
About seven-in-ten U.S. parents younger than 50 (71%) say it's unlikely they will have more children in the future - and among childless adults in the same age group, about four-in-ten (37%) say they don't ever expect to become parents, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July and August.

# data[].attributes.headline
Trend: Family Structure & Cohabiting Couples

# data[].attributes.subject
Trend: Family Structure & Cohabiting Couples

# data[].attributes.body
Over the years, the number of children living with 2 parents has gone down, while the number of children living with only their mother has gone up. And although, the number went down from 2016-2017, the amount of cohabiting couples without children is one the rise.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Publication Date:

Aug 23, 2016

Publication Date:

Aug 23, 2016

Key facts about family structure

From 1960 to 2017, the proportion of children living with two married parents fell from 88 percent to 65 percent.

Overall, the proportion of children living in each major type of family structure (two married parents, single parent, and no parent) has not changed considerably since 2010, with fluctuations of only 1 to 2 percentage points.

Black children are about twice as likely to live in single-parent families as children in other race/ethnicity categories included in this indicator.

Trends in family structure

From 1960 to 1996, the proportion of all children under age 18 living with two married parents decreased steadily, from 88 to 68 percent. This proportion was stable during much of the late 1990s and into the 2000s, but had decreased to 64 percent by 2012. The proportion was again stable from 2012 to 2016, and was at 65 percent as of 2017.

In 1960, the proportion of children living in mother-only families was 8 percent, but that proportion had tripled to 24 percent by 1996. Since then, it has fluctuated between 22 and 24 percent, and was 23 percent in 2017. The proportion of children living in father-only families increased from 1 percent in 1960 to 4 percent in 1996. Since then, this proportion has fluctuated between 3 and 5 percent, and was 4 percent in 2017. The proportion living without either parent (with either relatives or nonrelatives) has remained steady, at around 3 to 5 percent.

In 2017, 7 percent of all children lived in the home of their grandparents; in two-thirds of these households, one or both parents were also present. The proportion of children living with their grandparents increased until the mid-1990s, from 3.2 percent of children in 1970 to 5.6 percent in 1995. After remaining at around 5 percent until 2006, the proportion increased slightly until 2011, but has since remained steady at 6 to 7 percent ( Appendix 2).

Differences by race/Hispanic origin*

Black children are less likely than other children to live with two married parents. In 2017, 36 percent of black children were living with two parents, compared with 86 percent of Asian children, 74 percent of white children, and 61 percent of Hispanic children.

Most children who live with just one parent, regardless of their race or Hispanic origin, live with their mothers. Nearly half of all black children and around one-quarter of all Hispanic children live with their mothers only. Among white and Asian children, smaller proportions (about one in five, and one in 10, respectively) live with their mothers only.

In 2017, 7 percent of all black children did not live with either parent, compared with 4 percent of Hispanic children and 3 percent of both white and Asian children.
* Hispanic persons can be of any race. Estimates for white persons in this report do not include Hispanic persons.

Cohabiting couples

In 2017, there were 2.9 million heterosexual cohabiting couples (unmarried) with children under age 18.* This number has been steadily increasing: In 1996, it was 1.2 million. The number of all unmarried couples (with or without children) has increased even more during the same period.

Compared to their married counterparts, cohabiting couples with children tend to be younger, less-educated, lower-income, and hold less-secure employment. In cohabiting couples with children, just over two-fifths of parents are 25 to 34 years old, compared with around one-quarter of parents in married couples. About three in 10 parents in cohabiting couples are 35 to 44 years old, compared with four in 10 parents in married couples ( Appendix 3).

Among women in cohabiting couples, 15 percent have no high school diploma, and another 35 percent have a high school diploma or a GED but no college-level education. Among women in married couples, 9 percent have no high school diploma, and 20 percent have a high school diploma but no college-level education ( Appendix 3).

In cohabiting couples with children, 63 percent of women and 83 percent of men were employed in 2017, compared with 67 and 91 percent of women and men in married couples, respectively. In 7 percent of cohabitating couples with children, neither person was employed, compared with 3 percent among married couples with children ( Appendix 3). Compared to children born to married parents, children born to cohabiting parents have lower rates of remaining in a stable family: Two-thirds experience family instability before age 12, compared with about one-quarter of children with married parents.[1]
* Same-sex couples with children are not included in the analysis because, in some states, the distinctions between married and unmarried couples are unclear. Additionally, due to the small proportion of same-sex couples who have children, estimates are more susceptible to measurement error. [1] Manning, W. D. (2015). Cohabitation and child wellbeing. Future of Children, 25(2), 51-66.

Definition

For this indicator, unless otherwise specified, a two-parent family refers to parents who are married to each other and living in the same household. They may be biological, adoptive, or step-parents. The Current Population Survey (CPS) identifies all parents who are family or subfamily heads. Where cohabitants are concerned, the CPS did not ask whether that person was also the parent of the child until 2007. Single-parent families refer primarily to those in which only one parent is present; however, before 2007, this category included some families where both parents were present but unmarried. No-parent families refer to families where neither parent of the child lives in the household. Data about children living with grandparents reflect those living in households headed by their grandparents, and do not include families where a grandparent is in the household as a dependent. Parents may or may not be present in such cases.

Close newsletter popup.

Stay Connected

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aug 23, 2016 Aug 23, 2016 From 1960 to 2017, the proportion of children living with two married parents fell from 88 percent to 65 percent. Overall, the proportion of children living in each major type of family structure (two married parents, single parent, and no parent) has not changed considerably since 2010, with fluctuations of only 1 to 2 percentage points.

# data[].attributes.body
The average age of mothers giving birth to their first child has risen from 22 in 1970 to 26 in 2014.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many women in the U.S. are waiting longer than ever to have their first child.

Fifteen years ago, the mean age of a woman when she first gave birth was 24.9 years old. In 2014, that age had risen to 26.3.

"It doesn't sound like a big change," says T.J. Mathews, a demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics and an author of the report published online Thursday. But, he says, the small shift underscores some important trends.

First, the researchers found that an increase happened across all states and across all racial and ethnic categories, to one degree or another. The average age increased half a year for moms of Cuban descent, for example, while for non-Hispanic black moms it increased by about two years.

Women of Asian and Pacific Islander descent continue to have the highest average age at first birth - close to 30 years old. Women who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native or Mexican have the lowest average ages at first birth, at 23 and 24.

The main force pulling the average age to the older end of the spectrum is a decrease in the number of teen moms, the researchers say. Over the past 15 years, the proportion of first-time mothers younger than 20 years old dropped from 23 percent to 13 percent.

Bill Albert with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy calls the drop "one of the nation's great unheralded success stories of the past two decades." Overall, he says the teen pregnancy rate has halved since its peak in 1990, declining in all 50 states and among all racial and ethnic groups.

Why? The short answer, he tells Shots, is "less sex and more contraception," possibly due to a combination of factors including government investment in sex ed programs, a bump in the number of teens using long-acting forms of birth control, and even MTV shows like 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom, which have demonstrated their potential to scare the bejesus out of young, would-be parents.

The teen birth rate is not declining because of an uptick in teen abortions. That rate has also decreased since the 1990s.

This shift in age among first-time mothers impacts public health, says Dr. Priya Rajan, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University. She says teen moms are at higher risk of serious medical complications like anemia and hypertension, and are more likely to give birth prematurely and to have small babies.

On the other hand, first-time moms who are over 35 also have a higher-than-average risk of pregnancy complications, and their numbers are growing in the U.S. Since 2000, the proportion of first-time births to women older than 30 and 35 each increased by a few percentage points. These older mothers contributed to the rise in the average age of first-time moms, the researchers say, but the decline in births to teen moms was more influential.

Rajan says it's "an overall great thing" that improvements in contraception and in reproductive technology have offered women more flexibility in when to have kids.

But, she adds, women should be aware that as they approach 40 they're more likely to face risks during pregnancy. "Sometimes there is a belief that there's no limit to when people can bear children," she says.

In the last 45 years, the mean age of first-time moms has gone up by five years - from 21.4 years old to 26.3. If teen pregnancies continue to decline, Mathews says, and there's no slowdown in first births to older moms, the trend will likely continue to climb.

" 'How much? Where? Among whom?' Those questions remain unanswered," says Mathews.

The U.S. is far from the top when it comes to pushing the age-at-first-birth limit. In some countries, the mean age of mothers when they start having kids is over 30.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Average Age Of First-Time Moms Keeps Climbing In The U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many women in the U.S. are waiting longer than ever to have their first child. Fifteen years ago, the mean age of a woman when she first gave birth was 24.9 years old. In 2014, that age had risen to 26.3. "It doesn't sound like a big change," says T.J.

# data[].attributes.body
Although the amount of stay-at-home parents hasn't changed much, the amount of fathers who are stay-at-home parents has increased.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
More than 11 million U.S. parents - or 18% - were not working outside the home in 2016, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

The stay-at-home share of U.S. parents was almost identical to what it was in 1989, but there has been a modest increase among fathers. The share of dads at home rose from 4% to 7%, while the share of moms staying at home remained largely unchanged - 27% in 2016 versus 28% about a quarter-century earlier. As a result, 17% of all stay-at-home parents in 2016 were fathers, up from 10% in 1989, the first year for which reliable data on fathers are available.

The share of stay-at-home parents in the United States has fluctuated in recent decades. Around 2000, the share of stay-at-home moms hit a low of 23%; the overall share of stay-at-home parents dipped to 15%. But in the immediate wake of the Great Recession, rates of stay-at-home parenting rose to 20% in 2010, driven in part by parents who were at home because they were unable to find work. This was particularly true of stay-at-home fathers, one-third of whom reported they were home for this reason in 2010.

However, the long-term uptick in dads at home is not driven solely by economic factors. The modest increase is apparent even after excluding those who were home due to unemployment. Furthermore, a growing share of stay-at-home fathers say they are home specifically to care for their home or family, suggesting that changing gender roles may be at play. About a quarter (24%) of stay-at-home fathers say they are home for this reason. Stay-at-home mothers remain far more likely than dads to say they are home to care for family - 78% say so.
More stay-at-home dads among Millennials than among Gen X
In 2015-16, 21% of Millennial parents (ages 20 to 35 at the time) were stay-at-home parents, while that figure stood at 17% among Gen X parents when they were the same age in 1999-2000.

Three-in-ten Millennial mothers ages 20 to 35 were at home with their children, compared with 25% of Gen X mothers a generation earlier. Among Millennial dads, 6% were home with their children in 2016, compared with 3% of Gen X fathers when they were a comparable age.

While the share of stay-at-home fathers is higher among Millennials, the share who are home specifically to care for their family has ticked up modestly: 23% of Gen X stay-at-home fathers around 2000 said they were home to care for family, compared with 26% of Millennial stay-at-home dads today.
The profile of stay-at-home parents varies depending on the reason they are at home
Among all stay-at-home moms and dads, those who are home to care for family are more likely to have a college degree than stay-at-home parents who are home for other reasons. A quarter of dads who are home to care for family have a college degree, compared with 17% of dads who are home for other reasons. Among stay-at-home moms, 29% of those who are caring for family have a college degree, compared with 18% of those home for other reasons. In addition, both mothers and fathers who stay at home to care for family are far more likely than those at home for other reasons to have a working spouse.

These patterns likely contribute to the fact that stay-at-home parents who are home primarily to care for their family are less likely to be living in poverty than other stay-at-home parents. This is particularly true of mothers: A quarter of those home to care for family are in poverty, compared with 41% of those home for other reasons. (By comparison, 8% of working dads and 9% of working moms are living in poverty.)

Stay-at-home parents home to care for family are also more likely to have a young child, and are a bit younger than other stay-at-home parents: 68% of fathers home to care for family are younger than 45, compared with 52% of fathers home for some other reason. Among moms, 80% of those home to care for family are younger than 45, compared with 71% of those home for another reason.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
About 1 in 5 U.S. moms and dads are stay-at-home parents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More than 11 million U.S. parents - or 18% - were not working outside the home in 2016, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The stay-at-home share of U.S. parents was almost identical to what it was in 1989, but there has been a modest increase among fathers.

# data[].attributes.body
Multiracial couples are on the rise in the past years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers

Multiracial Americans are at the cutting edge of social and demographic change in the U.S.-young, proud, tolerant and growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole.

As America becomes more racially diverse and social taboos against interracial marriage fade, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities of multiracial adults are proud of their mixed-race background (60%) and feel their racial heritage has made them more open to other cultures (59%).

At the same time, a majority (55%) say they have been subjected to racial slurs or jokes, and about one-in-four (24%) have felt annoyed because people have made assumptions about their racial background. Still, few see their multiracial background as a liability. In fact, only 4% say having a mixed racial background has been a disadvantage in their life. About one-in-five (19%) say it has been an advantage, and 76% say it has made no difference.

While multiracial adults share some things in common, they cannot be easily categorized. Their experiences and attitudes differ significantly depending on the races that make up their background and how the world sees them. For example, multiracial adults with a black background-69% of whom say most people would view them as black or African American-have a set of experiences, attitudes and social interactions that are much more closely aligned with the black community. A different pattern emerges among multiracial Asian adults; biracial white and Asian adults feel more closely connected to whites than to Asians. Among biracial adults who are white and American Indian-the largest group of multiracial adults-ties to their Native American heritage are often faint: Only 22% say they have a lot in common with people in the U.S. who are American Indian, whereas 61% say they have a lot in common with whites.

The U.S. Census Bureau finds that, in 2013, about 9 million Americans chose two or more racial categories when asked about their race. The Census Bureau first started allowing people to choose more than one racial category to describe themselves in 2000. Since then, the nation's multiracial population has grown substantially. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of white and black biracial Americans more than doubled, while the population of adults with a white and Asian background increased by 87%. And during that decade, the nation elected as president Barack Obama-the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas.

The share of multiracial babies has risen from 1% in 1970 to 10% in 2013. And with interracial marriages also on the rise, demographers expect this rapid growth to continue, if not quicken, in the decades to come.

Yet the Pew Research survey findings suggest that the census's estimate that 2.1% of the adult population is multiracial may understate the size of the country's mixed-race population. Taking into account how adults describe their own race as well as the racial backgrounds of their parents and grandparents-which the census count does not do- Pew Research estimates that 6.9% of the U.S. adult population could be considered multiracial. This estimate comprises 1.4% in the survey who chose two or more races for themselves, an additional 2.9% who chose one race for themselves but said that at least one of their parents was a different race or multiracial, and 2.6% who are counted as multiracial because at least one of their grandparents was a different race than them or their parents.

These findings emerge from a nationally representative survey of 1,555 multiracial Americans ages 18 and older, conducted online from Feb. 6 to April 6, 2015. The sample of multiracial adults was identified after contacting and collecting basic demographic information on more than 21,000 adults nationwide. For comparative purposes, an additional 1,495 adults from the general public were surveyed, including an oversample of non-Hispanic adults who are black and have no other races in their background and who are Asian and no race.

To be sure, not all adults with a mixed racial background consider themselves "multiracial." In fact, 61% do not. An added layer of complexity is that racial identity can be fluid and may change over the course of one's life, or even from one situation to another. About three-in-ten adults with a multiracial background say that they have changed the way they describe their race over the years-with some saying they once thought of themselves as only one race and now think of themselves as more than one race, and others saying just the opposite.

In addition to painting a portrait of multiracial Americans, the survey findings challenge some traditional ideas about race. The Census Bureau currently recognizes five racial categories: white, black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Hispanic origin is asked about separately as an ethnicity and is not considered a race.

But when Latinos are asked whether they consider being Hispanic to be part of their racial or ethnic background, the survey finds that about two-thirds of Hispanics say it is, at least in part, their race. For the majority of this report, Hispanic origin is treated as an ethnicity, rather than a race, and multiracial Hispanics are those who say they are Hispanic and two separate races (for example, someone who is Hispanic and also chooses black and white as his or her races). This is consistent with how the Census Bureau counts mixed-race Hispanics. However, because Hispanic identity is tied to both race and ethnicity for many Latinos, Chapter 7 of this report explores a broader definition of mixed race.

The Multiracial Experience

The survey finds that many multiracial adults, like other racial minorities, have experienced some type of racial discrimination, from racist slurs to physical threats, because of their racial background.

Again, the specific races that make up an individual's background matter. For example, while about four-in-ten mixed-race adults with a black background say they have been unfairly stopped by the police because of their racial background, only 6% of biracial white and Asian adults and 15% of white and American Indian adults say they have had this experience. A similar pattern is evident for other types of racial discrimination.

For multiracial adults with a black background, experiences with discrimination closely mirror those of single-race blacks. Among adults who are black and no other race, 57% say they have received poor service in restaurants or other businesses, identical to the share of biracial black and white adults who say this has happened to them; and 42% of single-race blacks say they have been unfairly stopped by the police, as do 41% of biracial black and white adults. Mixed-race adults with an Asian background are about as likely to report being discriminated against as are single-race Asians, while multiracial adults with a white background are more likely than single-race whites to say they have experienced racial discrimination.

Demographically, multiracial Americans are younger-and strikingly so-than the country as a whole. According to Pew Research Center analysis of the 2013 American Community Survey, the median age of all multiracial Americans is 19, compared with 38 for single-race Americans.

The Pew Research survey finds that multiracial adults also are less likely than other adults to be college graduates and less likely to be currently married. But when they do wed, mixed-race Americans are more likely than other adults to marry someone who also is multiracial. Mixed-race adults are also more likely than the general public to have close friends or neighbors who are multiracial.

Even so, shared multiracial backgrounds do not necessarily translate into shared identity. Only about a third (34%) of all multiracial Americans think they have a lot in common with other adults who are the same racial mix that they are, while only half as many (17%) think they share a lot with multiracial Americans whose racial background is different from their own.

The Size of the Multiracial Population

It was less than 50 years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case bearing the evocative title Loving v. Virginia, struck down laws prohibiting mixed-race marriages. And it has been only 15 years since the U.S. Census Bureau first allowed Americans to choose more than one race when filling out their census form.

Since then the multiracial population has grown significantly. To measure its size, the Pew Research Center used a different method than the Census Bureau for determining an individual's racial background. In addition to self-reported race, Pew Research took into account the racial backgrounds of parents and grandparents. This approach led to the estimate that multiracial adults currently make up 6.9% of the adult American population.

Using this definition, the Pew Research survey finds that biracial adults with a white and American Indian background comprise half of the country's multiracial population-by far the country's largest multiracial group but also the one whose members are the least likely to consider themselves "multiracial" despite their mixed-race background.

Black and American Indian biracial adults account for an additional 12% of the total multiracial adult population, while those with a white and black background make up 11%. Those with white, black and American Indian in their racial background make up 6% of the mixed-race population, and white and Asian biracial adults account for 4%. An additional 11% are Hispanic multiracial adults. The remaining share of the mixed-race population is scattered across the 16 other combinations of races represented in the Pew Research sample.

The relatively small share of all U.S. adults who are mixed race obscures the rapid growth of the multiracial population. If current trends continue-and evidence suggests they may accelerate-the Census Bureau projects that the multiracial population will triple by 2060.

Feeding this growth is the increase in mixed-race couples and, as a natural consequence, births of children who have a multiracial background. For example, since 1980 the share of marriages between spouses of different races has increased almost fourfold (from 1.6% to 6.3% in 2013).

The share of multiracial children is growing at an even faster rate. In 1970, among babies living with two parents, only 1% had parents who were different races from each other. By 2013, that share had risen to 10%. Today, nearly half (46%) of all multiracial Americans are younger than 18. By contrast, only 23% of the overall U.S. population is under the age of 18.

As the multiracial population in the U.S. grows, its profile is also changing. While biracial white and American Indian is currently the predominant group among mixed-race adults, in 2013 a majority of mixed-race babies were either biracial white and black (36%) or biracial white and Asian (24%). Some 11% were white and American Indian.

The Multiracial Identity Gap

Multiracial identity is complicated, as much an attitude that can change over a lifetime as it is a genetic or biological certainty. Only four-in-ten adults with a mixed racial background (39%) say they consider themselves to be "mixed race or multiracial." Fully 61% say they don't consider themselves to be multiracial.

When asked why they don't identify as multiracial, about half (47%) say it is because they look like one race. An identical share say they were raised as one race, while about four-in-ten (39%) say they closely identify with a single race. And about a third (34%) say they never knew the family member or ancestor who was a different race. (Individuals were allowed to select multiple reasons.)

This multiracial "identity gap" plays out in distinctly different ways in different mixed-race groups. A quarter of biracial adults with a white and American Indian background say they consider themselves multiracial. By contrast, seven-in-ten white and Asian biracial adults and 61% of those with a white and black background say they identify as multiracial.

For some mixed-race Americans, the pressure to identify as a single race is a significant part of the multiracial experience. According to the survey, about one-in-five (21%) say they have felt pressure from friends, family or "society in general" to identify as a single race.

A similar share says they have attempted to look or behave a certain way in order to influence the way others perceive their race.

Being Mixed Race

A majority of multiracial adults say they are proud of their mixed racial background (60%), more see their racial background as an advantage than a disadvantage (19% vs. 4%), and they overwhelmingly say they have rarely if ever felt ashamed or like an outsider because of their mixed racial background.

While these views are broadly shared by each of the five biggest multiracial groups, the large proportion of white and Asian biracial adults who see their racial background as an advantage stands out. About six-in-ten in this group (58%) say their racial background has been an advantage to them in life. In the other four groups, only about one-in-four or fewer say their racial heritage has been as helpful.

This contrast further sharpens when white and Asian biracial Americans are compared with single-race whites and Asians. According to the survey, white and Asian biracial Americans are even more likely than single-race whites (58% vs. 32%, respectively) or Asians (15%) to say their racial background has been an advantage.

Social Connections

Mixed-race adults often straddle two or more worlds, and their experiences and relationships reflect that.

Overall, biracial adults who are both white and black are three times as likely to say they have a lot in common with people who are black than they do with whites (58% vs. 19%). They also feel more accepted by blacks than by whites (58% vs. 25% say they are accepted "very well") and report having far more contact with their black relatives: 69% say they've had a lot of contact with family members who are black over the course of their lives, while just 21% report similar levels of contact with their white relatives. About four-in-ten (41%) say they have had no contact with family members who are white.

By contrast, biracial adults who are white and Asian say they have more in common with whites than they do with Asians (60% vs. 33%) and are more likely to say they feel accepted by whites than by Asians (62% vs. 47% say they are accepted "very well"). More also say they have had a lot of contact with family members who are white than say the same about Asian members of their family (61% vs. 42%).

For biracial adults who are white or black and American Indian, their connections with the white or black community are often stronger than the ones they feel toward Native Americans; about one-in-four or fewer in each group say they have a lot in common with American Indians.

Other survey findings suggest these differences may slow the development of a multiracial group identity similar to the sense of linked fate and shared experience that unites many blacks and other minority groups. Overall, the Pew Research survey finds that few multiracial adults think they have much in common with other mixed-race Americans-even those who share their racial background.

Marriage and Friendships

As a group, mixed-race adults are much more likely than all married adults to have a spouse or partner who is also multiracial, the survey finds. Among all mixed-race adults who are married or living with a partner, about one-in-eight (12%) say their spouse or partner is two or more races. By comparison, only 2% of adults among the general public who are married or living with a partner say the same.

The survey also finds that multiracial adults with a white background are significantly less likely than single-race whites to have a white partner (67% vs. 92%). Multiracial adults with a black background are also less likely than single-race blacks to have a spouse or partner who is black only (54% vs. 86%).

A similar pattern emerges when the focus turns to the friendships formed by multiracial Americans. Mixed-race adults are more likely than the general public to have friends who are multiracial. According to the survey, eight-in-ten multiracial adults say at least some of their friends are mixed-race, compared with 62% for all adults.

The Politics of Multiracial Americans

Overall, the politics of multiracial Americans resemble the country as a whole. About six-in-ten (57%) multiracial adults identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 37% support or lean toward the Republican Party, and 6% favor neither major party. Among the general public, about half (53%) tend to favor Democrats, while 41% support or lean toward the GOP.

But just as the country is a mix of individuals and groups with different party preferences and ideological leanings, multiracial Americans are likewise politically diverse.

Multiracial Americans with a black background favor the Democratic Party, similar to the party preferences of single-race blacks. For example, about nine-in-ten biracial black and American Indian adults (89%) identify or lean toward the Democratic Party, as do 92% of all single-race blacks. By contrast, single-race whites favor the Republican Party over the Democrats by a ratio of 55% to 41%.

White and Asian biracial adults also tend to favor the Democratic Party over the GOP (60% vs. 38%), roughly similar to the 68% to 26% advantage held by Democrats among single-race Asians.

The political leanings of biracial white and American Indians-the country's largest multiracial group-closely resemble those of single-race whites. Among this group, the Republican Party holds a 53% to 42% advantage over the Democrats, making it the only major mixed-race group that tilts toward the GOP. (The sample of single-race Native Americans was too small to analyze.)

The remainder of this report examines in greater detail the attitudes, experiences and demographics of multiracial Americans. Chapter 1 traces the history of efforts by the U.S. Census Bureau to measure race and reports on the latest government estimates of the size of the multiracial population. Chapter 2 describes how the Pew Research Center used a different method than the Census Bureau to measure racial background and how that method produces a significantly larger estimate of the country's multiracial population. Chapter 3 describes how multiracial adults see their own racial identity and how they believe others see their racial background. Chapter 4 focuses on how the racial backgrounds of the country's largest multiracial groups shape their attitudes and experiences in different ways, including the likelihood they have encountered racial discrimination. Chapter 5 describes the social connections of multiracial Americans, including how much mixed-race adults say they have in common with other races and how accepted they feel by different racial groups. Chapter 6 examines the party preferences and political ideology of multiracial adults as well as their views on abortion, aid to the poor, marijuana legalization and other issues. Chapter 7 reports on the elements of Hispanic identity and the percentage of Hispanics who consider their Hispanic background to be, at least in part, their race. It also explores an expanded definition of multiracial adults that includes Hispanics who are one race but say they consider their Hispanic background to be part of their racial background.

Other Key Findings

In their ideological preferences, white and American Indian biracial adults are the only group where political conservatives outnumber liberals (37% to 18%), virtually identical to the ideological preferences of single-race whites. Biracial Americans who are white and Asian or white and black tilt toward the political left.

Few multiracial adults (9%) say a relative or member of their extended family has treated them badly because they are mixed race. But these experiences vary considerably by multiracial group. For example, white and black biracial adults are much more likely than adults with a biracial white and American Indian background to say they have been treated badly by a family member (21% vs. 4%).

Today's mixed-race parents are more likely to have talked to their own children about being multiracial. Fully 46% of multiracial parents say they talked to their adult children when they were growing up about having a mixed-race background. By contrast, about a third (32%) say their parents had similar conversations with them.

One-in-four mixed-race adults say people are often or sometimes confused by their racial background. And one-in-five (19%) say that they have felt like they were a go-between or "bridge" between different racial groups.

For multiracial adults, as for the general public, race is not the most important element of their personal identity. Some 26% of multiracial adults say their racial background is "essential" to their identity (as do 28% of all adults). Both multiracial adults and the general public are much more likely to point to gender (50% for multiracial adults, 51% for the general public) or religion (39% for both groups) as essential parts of their identity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers Multiracial Americans are at the cutting edge of social and demographic change in the U.S.-young, proud, tolerant and growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole.