The decades-long decline in the proportion of family groups with children that were married-couple fami- lies leveled off during the mid-1990s, at about 68 percent from 1996 to 2003. This change reflects declining divorce rates and reduced non- marital fertility, especially among teens.  Between 1970 and 1996, the medi- an age at first marriage also increased but since 1996 has been fairly stable for both men and women.