Marriage
Divorce
Cohabitation
Loss of Child Centeredness
Fragile Families with Children
Teen Attitudes About Marriage and Family
Key Finding: Marriage trends in recent decades indicate that Americans have become less likely to marry, and the most recent data show that the marriage rate in the United States continues to decline. Of those who do marry, there has been a moderate drop since the 1970’s in the percentage of couples who consider their marriages to be “very happy,” but in the past decade this trend has flattened out.
Key Finding: The American divorce rate today is nearly twice that of 1960, but has declined since hitting the highest point in our history in the early 1980’s. For the average couple marrying for the first time in recent years, the lifetime probability of divorce or separation remains between 40 and 50 percent.
Key Finding: The number of unmarried couples has increased dramatically over the past four decades, and the increase is continuing. Most younger Americans now spend some time living together outside of marriage, and unmarried cohabitation commonly precedes marriage.
Key Finding: The presence of children in America has declined significantly since 1960, as measured by fertility rates and the percentage of households with children. Other indicators suggest that this decline has reduced the child centeredness of our nation and contributed to the weakening of the institution of marriage.
Key Finding: The percentage of children who grow up in fragile—typically fatherless—families has grown enormously over the past four decades. This is mainly due to increases in divorce, out-of-wedlock births, and unmarried cohabitation. The trend toward fragile families leveled off in the late 1990s, but the most recent data show a slight increase.
Key Finding: The desire of teenagers of both sexes for “a good marriage and family life” has increased slightly over the past few decades. Boys are more than ten percentage points less desirous than girls, however, and they are also a little more pessimistic about the possibility of a long-term marriage. Both boys and girls have become more accepting of lifestyles that are alternatives to marriage, especially unwed childbearing, although the latest data show a surprising drop in acceptance of premarital cohabitation.
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Entire report
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Marriage
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Divorce
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Cohabitation
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Loss of Child Centeredness
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Fragile Families with Children
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Teen Attitudes About Marriage and Family
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PRESS RELEASE
The 2009 State of Our Unions
makes clear that money matters for contemporary American marriages.
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AUTHORS
W. Bradford Wilcox
Article// The Generation That Can't Move On Up By Andrew J. Cherlin and W. Bradford Wilcox, Wall Street Journal September 2, 2010
Article// Amid Downturn, Divorce and Infidelity Decrease Wall Street Journal August 31, 2010
Article// Shared suppers a recipe for healthy families Chicago Tribune August 3, 2010
Article// 3 innovative proposals touted by conservative thinkers The Washington Post May 14, 2010
Commentary// Can the Recession Save Marriage? Wall Street Journal December 11, 2009
Radio// Brad Wilcox discusses The State of Our Unions on the Tom Joyner Morning Show December 7, 2009
Commentary// Tiger Woods scandal prompts question: Why do men cheat? USA Today December 4, 2009
Commentary// The Evolution of Divorce National Affairs Fall 2009
Commentary// To Have, To Hold, For a While Wall Street Journal April 13, 2009
Elizabeth Marquardt
Radio Documentary// Divorced Kid Elizabeth Marquardt is interviewed in this
radio documentary on Minnesota Public Radio
Sep 9, 2009
Article// Children of Divorce Are Good Actors Illiana Simons citing Elizabeth Marquardt's work, Psychology Today blog July 30, 2009
Alex Roberts
Commentary// Reaching for Savings By Alex Roberts and Andrew Yarrow, The Baltimore Sun July 19, 2009
Commentary// Bonds Could Mimic Experience of Playing Ohio Lottery By Alex Roberts, The Cleveland Plain Dealer July 14, 2009
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