It’s Nature and Nurture: How Our Genes and Our Friends Shape the Way We Live Our Lives

A new Population Reference Bureau (PRB) Population Bulletin, “Understanding the Dynamics of Family Change in the United States,” discusses how changes in marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and nonmarital childbearing have transformed family life in the United States.

The 2018 Data Book focuses on key trends in child well-being during the economic recovery following the Great Recession. Over the last six years, children experienced gains in economic well-being, but results were mixed for the Health, Education, and Family and Community domains.

Latino children currently account for one-fourth of U.S. children under age 18, and by 2050 they are projected to make up nearly one-third of the child population. Of the 18.2 million Latino children currently living in the United States, 95 percent are U.S.-born citizens.

Scientists have long debated the importance of nature versus nurture—genes versus the environment—in shaping the choices people make and the paths their lives take. Two decades of research make it increasingly clear that both nature and nurture always play a role—that is, the extent to which genetic…

The chance of earning lower income in adulthood is greater for children raised in unstable families.

Children who enter kindergarten after experiencing repeated household changes are more likely to display problem behaviors that inhibit learning and disrupt classrooms. Such changes include residential moves and shifts in family composition and household routines.

Studies and analyses show an understanding of the dynamics of teenagers’ intimate relationships and attitudes is essential to any policy aimed at preventing teenage births.

Despite an almost continuous decline over the past twenty years, the rate of teenage pregnancy in the United States remains substantially higher than in other industrialized nations. The birth rate for teenagers ages 15 to 19 in Washington, D.C. is the 13th highest in the nation.

Latino children have made progress over the past 10 to 15 years in several key areas of well-being according to a report co-authored by PRB and UnidosUS, but there are pronounced differences in the well-being of Latino children with different ethnic or national origins.

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage to more people than any other single program in the United States, with coverage for low-income children, adults, seniors, and those with disabilities.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book features a comprehensive index of child well-being and includes a national profile and state-level rankings across four content domains: (1) Economic Well-Being, (2) Education, (3) Health, and (4) Family and Community.

New studies add to the body of research on the toll U.S. mass incarceration is taking on prisoner’s children and families. Three recent articles in the journal Demography document the spillover effects of the prison boom on family poverty, couples’ relationship stability, and child well-being.</p…

The number of married same-sex couples in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years, as reported in a PRB Bulletin on U.S. family change.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book—now in its 27th year—provides an up-to-date and detailed picture of how children are faring in the United States, nationally and in each state.

This infographic illustrates data on family caregiving for people with dementia.