may be due to cultural norms and values regarding the institution of marriage, issues we do not explore here.

Cherlin (1992:20-22) summarizes the changes in the divorce rate (proportion of marriages that end in divorce) that have taken place in the United States since 1860. The rate has been rising since the middle of the nineteenth century, with a smaller increase than expected from 1950 to 1960, but a sharp rise from the early 1960s to 1979. The divorce rate declined slightly in the 1980s, but nevertheless is currently higher than predicted by the long-term trend. Nationwide events show a clear effect on the divorce rate: it has increased temporarily after every major war and was lower during the depression of the 1930s.

It is impossible to compare trends in the proportion of marriages that end in divorce for whites and Indians because of the lack of racial identification in marriage and divorce records. What we can do is examine the percentage of women among the American Indian and U.S. populations who are divorced. To reiterate, this is not the same as the percentage of marriages that end in divorce. Such figures are sensitive not only to the proportion of marriages that end in divorce, but also to the marriage and remarriage rates. Figure 9-2 shows the percentage of women aged 14+ or 15+ who were divorced for the years 1940 through 1990. In 1940, a very small percentage of women by contemporary standards were divorced. This figure was slightly higher for American Indians than for the U.S. population in general. The percentage of women divorced has increased steadily since then, and the gap between American Indians and whites has widened since 1960. The combination of an increased proportion of women who have never married and a higher percentage of women who have been divorced helps explain why more American Indian children reside with a single parent.

Table 9-4 shows the percentages of women aged 15+ who were divorced as of 1990 for different segments of the American Indian population. The percentage divorced is the same for Indians on reservations as for the total population of women, and lower for those in Alaska NVSAs. On the other hand, the percentage is higher among Indian women in the Oklahoma TJSAs than among women in general.

The reservations with the highest percentages of divorced women (Pine Ridge and Rosebud) also have the third and fourth highest percentages of women never married (see Table 9-3), and this helps explain the low percentage of children residing with two parents on these reservations (see Table 9-2). In contrast, the Papago reservation has a low general divorce rate, but this is accompanied by the highest percentage of women

Front matter (R1-R12)

1 Introduction (1-14)

I Overview of Demographic and Health Conditions (15-16)

2 The Size and Distribution of the American Indian Population: Fertility, Mortality, Residence, and Migration (17-52)

3 Recent Health Trends in the Native American Population (53-76)

II Indentification: Indications and Consequences (77-78)

4 The Growing American Indian Population, 1960-1990: Beyond Demography (79-102)

5 Tribal Membership Requirements and the Demography of (103-112)

6 Problems in Sampling the Native American and Alaska Native Populations (113-130)

III Social and Economic Conditions (131-132)

7 The Individual Economic Well-Being of Native American Men and Women During the 1980s: A Decade of Moving Backwards (133-171)

8 American Indian Poverty on Reservations, 1969-1989 (172-195)

9 The Demography of American Indian Families (196-217)

10 Demography of American Indian Elders: Social, Economic, and Health Status (218-232)

IV Health Issues and Health Care Access and Utilization (233-234)

11 Overview of Alcohol Abuse Epidemiology for American Indian Populations (235-261)

12 Diabetes Mellitus in Native Americans: The Problem and Its Implications (262-288)

13 Health Care Utilization, Expenditures, and Insurance Coverage for American Indians and Alaska Natives Eligible for the Indian Health Service (289-314)