Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives
Indicator 1.5: Family Structure

Figure 1.5. Percentage distribution of family households, by race/ethnicity and family status: 2003
Percentage distribution of family households, by race/ethnicity and family status: 2003
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race groups include persons of Hispanic origin.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey, unpublished data, 2003.

The majority of American Indian/Alaska Native families, like the majority of U.S. families, are married-couple families with the husband and wife present in the household.

In this indicator, race groups include persons of Hispanic origin. In 2003, about 61 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native families were headed by married couples, 29 percent were headed by females with no husband present, and 10 percent were headed by males with no wife present. The proportion of American Indian/Alaska Native families living in married-couple households was greater than the proportion of Black families (44 percent), but less than the proportions of White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander families (80 percent, 65 percent, and 80 percent, respectively). American Indian/Alaska Native families were about twice as likely as White families and Asian/Pacific Islander families to be headed by females with no husband present (29 percent vs. 14 and 13 percent, respectively). They were less likely than Black families, however, to be living in this situation (29 vs. 47 percent). American Indian/Alaska Native families were also more likely than White or Asian/Pacific Islander families to be headed by males with no wife present (10 percent vs. 6 and 7 percent, respectively).

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