The patterns of family life are changing and diversifying. This new book from the Australian Institute of Family Studies describes many of the changes. It is quite a large book, both in size (A4) and in scope, dealing with issues of marriage and divorce, young people and ageing, work, income, housing and family life, family care, violence and well-being. It seeks to present the facts, making comparisons with past times in Australia and overseas data, rather than to theorise on why changes are occurring.

The book begins by noting changes in the types of household families. 86% of all types of families in Australia involve a couple (of partners). 92% of these couples are in registered marriages, with 8% in de facto marriages. 42.5% of all types of families consist of a couple and dependent children. However, the number of couples without children is increasing, as a proportion of all families from 10.7% in 1982 to 13% in 1992. It also appears there has been an increase in the number of adult children living with their parents.
Household size has declined. In 1911, there were an average of 4.6 persons per household. By 1961 it had declined to 3.65 persons, and by 1992 to 2.7 persons per household. The authors cite three significant reasons: increased rates of divorce, delayed age of marriage and child-bearing, and more lone elderly people remaining in their own homes.
Over the next 45 years, the population will change markedly. The number of Australians over 65 years of age will increase from 2.15 million in 1995 to 5.48 million in 2041, representing a change in the proportion of the population from 12% to 22%. The pressures in family life and in the society at large in caring for the elderly will also increase considerably.
The proportion of dependent people in the society (both elderly and children) will increase from 50.3% of the population in 1995 to 63.6% in 2041.

Marriage and Divorce

The proportion of Australians 15 years of age or over who have never married has increased between 1975 and 1995 from 25.4% to 30.6% reflecting the fact that more Australians are marrying later in life, or are living in de facto relationships. The proportion currently divorced has risen from 2.3% to 6.3% of the population 15 years of age or over. People divorced or widowed are less likely to remarry than in the past. Two-thirds of the Australian population believe that is acceptable for men and women to live together without planning marriage.
Australians rate faithfulness, communication, respect, understanding and tolerance as very important for a successful marriage. Having children was ranked quite low. Sharing religious beliefs was considered of even less importance. In general, younger people are placing less emphasis than older people on having shared beliefs or background, or putting a partner’s wishes first. Younger people place greater emphasis on maintaining separateness and difference in marriage, good communication and sharing household tasks.
Marriages ending in divorce, on average, last 7.6 years before separation, and 11 years before the divorce is granted. Some people say that living together before marriage will improve the chances of a successful marriage. However, the figures do not support it. In a study conducted by the Institute of Family Studies it was found that, after 10 years of marriage, 26% of marriages of people who had lived together prior to marriage had ended in divorce, compared with 14% of the marriages of people who had not lived together prior to marriage.
It has been estimated that about 1% of children experience the divorce of their parents for each year of life. Thus 5% of 5 year olds, 10% of 10 year olds, and 15% of 15 year olds will have experienced the divorce of their parents. In 1995, almost 50,000 children under 18 years of age experienced the divorce of their parents. In 1992, 450,000 dependent and non-dependent children were living in step and blended families, representing 7 per cent of all children living in household families.
74% of Australians disagree with the statement that marriage is for life even if the couple is unhappy. However, 87% also disagree with the view that it is OK to marry with the view that if it does not work out one can divorce. Church attenders are much more inclined than non-church attenders to believe that divorce is too easy to obtain. Older people are more inclined than younger people to believe partners should stay together for the sake of the children.

Extended Families

Many people have extensive contact with family members apart from those with whom they are living. In a study in 1991,
•          35% of adults indicated that they received financial assistance from parents or parents in law;
•          55% received care for themselves and their children when sick;
•          82% received help with babysitting or child care (nearly one-third was with regular work-related child care), and
•          69% received emotional support in a crisis from relatives.
While the numbers of elderly people living alone has increased, many receive help and care on a regular basis from relatives.

Children

The average number of children per Australian woman during the life-time has decreased from 3.55 in 1961 to 1.85 in 1994. This rate is higher, however, than in many Western countries. For example, in 1990, it was 1.27 children in Italy, 1.62 in the Netherlands, 1.84 in the UK, and 2.09 in USA.
The period of life during which women are having children has contracted. Today, women are having their first child later in life and are ceasing to have children earlier in life. The number of teenagers having children has decreased considerably.
Children are remaining dependent on their families for longer. The proportion of 20 to 24 year old children living with their parents has increased from 34% in 1981 and 40% in 1991. Part of the reason is the increased length of education. The other reason is unemployment, which tends to keep children dependent on their parents. Young men are slower to move out of the house than young women.
Youth suicide is an increasing concern. Between 1982 and 1994, the rate for young males rose from 19 per 100,000 to 27 per 100,000. Four females per 100,000 commit suicide. One strongly correlated factor is unemployment.

Ageing

The patterns of life for older people are changing. Because people are generally living longer, older people are more likely to be living with a partner through much of their retirement. Of those who are widowed, most are women because of their longer life expectancy and tendency to marry men older than themselves. Thus, of people aged 85 years and over, 72% of women were widowed compared to 38% of men. The percentage age of older people who are divorced has increased substantially over recent years and is likely to increase further in the future.
Nine out of every ten people between the ages of 65 and 80 years of age live in a private dwelling. Above that age, the%age in nursing homes increases: 8% of those between 80 and 84 years of age, 15% of those between 85 and 89, and 20% of those 90 years old or more.
Most Australians believe that adults should help their ageing parents, providing appropriate assistance and financial assistance if necessary. However, there is division as to the extent people believe one should go: whether one should give up work to help elderly parents, and how the responsibilities towards children should be balanced. 31% of Australians believe adults should be prepared to have elderly parents live with them, but 53% disagree.

Family Life

Over recent decades, patterns of family life have changed considerably as mothers have entered the work-force. One third of mothers with children less than four years old and one half of all mothers with the youngest child between 10 and 14 worked full time in 1995. Many would have preferred to work part-time. In a study in 1992, 37% of all mothers, nearly half of mothers working full-time, and 24% of fathers reported difficulty in managing work and child care responsibilities. Many said they felt that they did not have the energy to be good parents.
Division of household tasks remains an important issue in family life. Women continue to do much more of the laundry, cleaning and cooking, while men’s tasks like home maintenance and mowing the lawns tend to be more sporadic. Parents appear to be sharing more of responsibilities of caring for children than in the past.
One means of coping is working from home. There was an 11% increase in numbers working from home between 1992 and 1995. Approximately 4% of all employees and many self-employed people worked from home in 1995.
Part of the economic pressure for both parents to work is to meet the costs of housing. 74% of families owned or were purchasing the dwelling in which they lived in 1992. 22% were renting, and 4% boarding or living rent-free. People owning or purchasing their own homes were much more satisfied with their housing arrangements than people renting.

Family Care

In 1993, nearly half of all Australian children aged 0 to 12 years of age used some type of formal or informal child care. Around 60% used informal care only through family members, neighbours or privately arranged baby-sitters. 23% used formal care as provided through government, community or private child care facilities. 17% used both kinds of care. Provision of services has increased, but in many areas does not meet demand, or is too expensive.
Families are the major source of care for people with some form of disability. Almost three-quarters of people with a handicap live in a family situation. Many carers find the care involved causes emotional and physical strain.

Family Violence

Although it is difficult to know how much abuse of family members is reported, the extent of abuse in families appears to have risen in recent years. 1994-95, State and Territory child protection departments received 76,954 reports of suspect child abuse and neglect, a 3% increase over 1993-94. Around 50% of reports were substantiated or the child assessed as being at risk. Of 30,615 cases substantiated, 29% involved physical abuse, 28% emotional abuse, 16% sexual abuse, and 26% neglect. Children in the age group 13 to 14 were most frequently at risk and boys more than girls, except in cases of sexual abuse.
Children in lone-parent families and in families containing a non-biological parent are significantly over-represented in cases of abuse. In 13,518 substantiated cases from Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, the ACT and NT,
•          39% involved children from lone mother families
•          30% involved children with two biological parents
•          21% involved other two-parent families such as stepfamilies.

In 1996, a study of women’s safety by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that
•          8% of women experienced violence from their current partner sometime in the relationship
•          2.6% experienced an incident of domestic violence in 12 months prior to the survey
•          42% of women who had been in a previous relationship reported an incident of physical violence and 10% an incident of sexual violence by a previous partner.

Family Well-being

There are many strains and stresses in family life, economic, emotional, and physical, and these are well covered by the book.These stresses are increasing as economic demands on families increase and as divorce becomes more frequent.
The highest levels of satisfaction are where the children are preschoolers, and the lowest where the youngest child is between 12 and 15 years of age. Satisfaction with relationships with stepchildren were much more varied than among biological parents living with their children.
Overall, however, family life remains one of the most satisfying aspects of life for Australians. The large majority of mothers and fathers report high levels of satisfaction with their lives as a whole, with their children’s well-being and with their relationships with their spouses.

Philip Hughes