Abstract

Detailed profiles of subgroups of children under six years of age living in step and intact families are presented for 1995 and 2005. These profiles allow one to assess important aspects of the well-being and quality of step and intact family children. Some 9% of Canada's children were step children in both 1995 and 2005, and girls and boys were about equally represented. In 2005 the step child rate, percentage of children in step families, ranged from 7% in Newfoundland to 13% in Prince Edward Island. The rate was over twice the national average in families in which the main parent was under 25 years of age.

A small number of these qualities are displayed in chart form in chapters 1 and 2. Appendix tables 1 and 2 profile children, their parents and family in 1995 and 2005, respectively. In each table the characteristics for both step children and other children appear in order to ease the job of comparison.

The introduction presents a small number of the results found in the chapters and appendix tables. In it we first examine the human capital of the home. Both the educational attainment and religious foundation are relatively weak in the step family homes. The step children are much more likely than the average, 9%, to have relatively uneducated parents who either have no religious affiliation, or who worship less frequently than the average, or worship either more or less often than their children. The religious commitment is especially weak in step family homes, but also weak in the intact family homes, and this is considered to be a major source of quality deficiencies in the parents, family and community involvement to be noted elsewhere in our results.

The parents of step children have less commitment to their children, to each other, and to responsible behaviour, than other parents. They are much more likely than average to cohabit rather than to be married. They are more likely to report poor or fair health rather than excellent or very good health. They are about twice as likely to report two or more heavy drinking sessions in the preceding year, than to report none. They report more frequent problems of loss of appetite. They are more prone to report feelings of loneliness, and less likely to say they enjoyed life.

There are several indications of step children living in lower quality homes and households, than children in intact families. The household income in relation to family size is likely to be lower. The main parent is more likely than the average to find planning family activities difficult. The main parent is more likely than average to report bad feelings in the family, though not in 2005, and to agree that drinking is a source of conflict in the family.

Finally, there is some indication that the commitment to civic involvement by parents was lower in homes with step children, compared with intact families. Parents of step children were less inclined than other parents to think that people help their neighbours. In 1995 the parents of step children were less inclined to report that adults in the neighbourhood watch out for child safety, though this was not evident in 2005. Commitment of step parents to volunteering in the local community, though, was rather similar to that of other parents.

A note on practical suggestions for Christian parents and inquirers appears at the end of the introduction.