This report presents the highlights of a national workshop attended by research, policy, and data experts from academia, nonprofit organizations, and government. It summarizes the presentations, the recommendations of the discussion groups, and the consensus of workshop participants on targets of opportunity for improving data on marriage, divorce and cohabitation. The targets of opportunity were […]

This article represents the unveiling of a series of articles addressing the issue of domestic violence. It is the beginning of this author’s scripted actualization of the issue as informed by numerous professional individuals, entities, and victims of domestic violence. It is offered as a catalyst of transformation in our commitment to child wellness through […]

Using nationally representative data, this examination of marital expectations, desires, and behaviors of single and cohabiting unmarried mothers suggests that a majority of unmarried women, including disadvantaged single and cohabiting mothers, value marriage as a personal goal. Among disadvantaged women, single mothers, and racial minority women, systematic differences point to subgroups with lower marital expectations. […]

This paper reviews the large literature on family change. Ultimately we want to know how well social scientists really can explain the intertemporal changes in the prevalence of single parent families, particularly the variations across groups. We also want to identify places we might look for further answers. To do this we will need to […]

Marriage promotion has taken a prominent position on the public policy agenda as a solution for economic hardship and “”undesirable”” social behavior. The most extensive legislation that promotes marriage as a way to combat poverty is the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Given the higher rate of single parenthood, and the […]

Current U.S. government policy views marriage as an economic panacea for disadvantaged unwed mothers. In this article, we use retrospective family life history data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth to examine marital histories of at-risk women. First, we examine current marital behavior and poverty of women from disadvantaged family backgrounds. Second, we […]

Engaged couples who took a premarital inventory called FOCCUS were contacted five years later to see if their scores could predict their future marital success. The results showed that FOCCUS successfully predicted the future marital success of most couples, supporting the validity of FOCCUS.

This study investigated the correlates of relationship satisfaction, marriage expectations, and relationship longevity among unmarried African American and Black Caribbean (Caribbean Black) adults who are in a romantic relationship. The study used data from the National Survey of American Life, a national representative sample of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States. The […]