[Departure of children and contraction of the family as observed in the 1971 and 1981 Canadian censuses]. / Depart des enfants et contraction des familles d'apres les recensements canadiens de 1971 et de 1981.

An analysis of data from the 1971 and 1981 Canadian censuses is presented concerning children leaving home. "It is estimated that the timing of children's departure from their family of origin was almost the same in 1981 as in 1971; median age at departure was identical: 20.5 for women and 22.3 for men. Broken families, more numerous than in the past, become contracted earlier than unbroken families; among unbroken families, the contraction phase started earlier in 1981 than in 1971 among large or medium-sized families while it began later among small families." (SUMMARY IN ENG)