This brief explores the complications involved in computing the divorce rate in the United States. Reasons for the complications include the federal government’s decision to stop collecting divorce data from States in 1996 and the reliance on the National Center for Health Statistics to publish an annual divorce rate, although several States (including California) do […]
In the last fifteen years, M. Gary Neuman, marital therapist and architect of the Sandcastles Divorce Therapy Program, has helped thousands of couples in crisis. Couples who fight. Who’ve grown apart. Who are stuck in relationships that run more on routine and rancor than love and understanding. What he’s found is that, contrary to popular […]
This research links residence with biological and nonbiological married and unmarried parents to the cognitive achievement and behavioral problems of children aged 3-12, controlling for factors that make such families different. The data were drawn from the 1997 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Achievement differences were not associated with father […]
Divorce is a powerful force in contemporary American family life. Current estimates suggest that between 43 and 50 percent of first-time marriages will end in divorce. Consequently, more than one million U.S. children experience parental divorce each year. The growing number of divorces has profound implications for children, mothers, fathers, and society. The consequences of […]
The evidence is in and it is clear that fathers do matter for the lives of children. Hundreds of studies over the past two decades have consistently demonstrated that fathers have a measureable impact on children. Studies show that infants are positively affected by the interactions and care given by their fathers. Research has also […]
This article warns that affairs can happen in good marriages and urges couples to work on their marriage on a daily basis. Reasons for affairs are explored and the role of personal and environmental vulnerabilities and opportunity are highlighted. The personal responsibility of the person having the affair, and not the spouse, is stressed.
This research brief discusses the growing disconnect between men and families that has been termed the “”male problematic””, factors that have conspired in the modern world to distance men from family life, and the role religion can play in integrating men into families and the lives of their wives and children. To explore how religious […]
This fact sheet explains strategies family caregivers can use to prevent and cope with depression. Strategies include reaching out for support in providing care, determining commitments, developing positive meanings about providing care, and protecting intimate relationships. Caregivers are urged to plan ahead and wear ID jewelry to ensure care is continued if the caregiver is […]
In the late 1990s the State of Oklahoma, recognizing the economic and social consequences of its high rates of divorce and non-marital childbearing, undertook an innovative strategy to strengthen families. At the direction of the Governor, the state initiated an effort to reduce divorce and decrease non-marital childbearing. This pioneering effort became the Oklahoma Marriage […]
This fact sheet discusses the postpartum depression that both mothers and fathers can experience following the birth of a child. Feelings new parents might have are described, and the two-day Bringing Home Baby workshop for helping prepare parents for changes in their relationship is highlighted. The workshop’s goal is to strengthen the marriage so couples […]