This article is a Reporter at Large feature about state-sponsored marriage seminars in the ghettos of Oklahoma. It tells the story of two women living in the Sooner Haven housing project in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who are enrolled in a federally funded initiative to promote marriage among the poor. Characteristics of the housing’s residents, the […]
Using nationally representative data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, I estimate the association between intimate premarital relationships (premarital sex and premarital cohabitation) and subsequent marital dissolution. I extend previous research by considering relationship histories pertaining to both premarital sex and premarital cohabitation. I find that premarital sex or premarital cohabitation that is […]
In seeking the elusive answer, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have consulted the experts: couples in fabulously high-functioning, happy marriages. The field research has included narrative-type interviewing with newlyweds and long-married couples; engaging in “Candid Camera”-type antics, such as filming a couple in a raging fight; and inviting couples for a videotaped […]
Using the two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), we examine the effects on marital dissolution of couple’s gender attitudes, perceived unfairness, marital disagreements, and relationship alternatives, exploring whether these dimensions of marriage influence marital dissolution, net of serious forms of hardship commonly noted in divorce research. With event history methods, […]
Using ethnographic and survey data on low-income families residing in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, we examine the relationship between women’s patterns of union formation and their experience of physical and sexual abuse. Both sets of data suggest that women who have been physically or sexually abused are substantially less likely to be married or […]
The recent push for high school marriage preparation is encouraging. But it would be more effective if the leaders of the marriage preservation movement saw marriage education in its broadest light, as an introduction to the history, cultural richness, social utility, and civic meaning of marriage as an institution. Unfortunately, what passes for marriage preparation […]
Designed for Cooperative Extension System (CES) educators, this resource packet contains materials for promoting marriage and couples workshops and training sessions. Information is provided on marriage and couples’ education as a community priority and suggested roles for extension educators in marriage and couples’ education, including providing direct education, serving as a community catalyst, and promoting […]
As a response to the growing problem of family breakdown in the UK, fledgling community initiatives are emerging. These offer marriage and relationship education programmes to adult couples. The aim of this paper is to show how both research and experience might be applied to ensure these initiatives are genuinely effective. Worldwide, only three educational […]
Marriage, Poverty, and Child Well-Being is a report from the forum held on December 5, 2002 at the University of Washington’s Husky Union Building, Seattle, Washington, co-sponsored by the UW’s Human Services Policy Center and the Center for Research on Families. The purpose of this forum was to explore the implications of policies designed to […]
This brief discusses the impact unmet childhood needs have on adults and on their marriage, and reviews what kind of marriage children must witness to become healthy adults and create a happy marriage of their own. It cites findings from a study that indicates children need an environment infused with reliable warmth, a free flow […]