Family trends
Snapshots of Australian Families with adolescents
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Abstract
Over the last few generations the composition of families and the roles and responsibilities of parents have changed substantially. Despite these transformations, the family unit remains the foundation of society and the place in which children are nurtured as they grow to maturity. This article provides a snapshot of Australian families with adolescent children and is based on statistics drawn from the 2001 Census, Wave 4 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (2004) and several publications from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In particular the authors provide information on family type, parents' employment circumstances, residential location and country of birth of parents, education and employment of adolescents, and issues seen as important by adolescents.
Over the last few generations the composition of families and the roles and responsibilities of parents have changed substantially. Despite these transformations, the family unit remains the foundation of society and the place in which children are nurtured as they grow to maturity. This article provides a snapshot of Australian families with adolescent children and is based on statistics drawn from the 2001 Census, Wave 4 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (2004) and several publications from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In particular the authors provide information on family type, parents' employment circumstances, residential location and country of birth of parents, education and employment of adolescents, and issues seen as important by adolescents.