This special issue focuses on the increasing disconnect between parenthood and marriage and how to make marriage more child centered. It begins by discussing the three levels of decline of the child centered marriage, including the weakening link between marriage and parenthood and the growing acceptance of unwed parenthood, the shift away from children within […]
Encouraging and strengthening marriage continues to move up the US’s social policy agenda. This analysis uses nationally representative data on cohabiting couples with children from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) to assess the actual marriage penalties or bonuses facing these couples. In addition to examining the consequences of current […]
There has been a sharp increase over the last two generations in the proportion of American children who do not live with their own two married parents, first spurred largely by increases in divorce, and more recently by large jumps in unmarried or cohabitating childbearing. A vigorous public debate sparked by these changes in family […]
This information packet provides facts and information about national marriage initiatives. It begins by discussing the recent involvement and investment of the government in marriage promotion, statistics on the economic gains from marriage, and recommendations for federal policies. Federal legislation addressing marriage is reviewed. A list of electronic resources is then provided, as well as […]
At a conference cosponsored by Center of the American Experiment and the Institute for American Values in February 2002 in Washington, D.C., American Experiment president Mitch Pearlstein moderated a panel discussion on the future of the marriage movement. This article includes excerpts from the panelists’ presentations and their discussions with one another and with participants. […]
This information packet on national and State marriage initiatives begins by discussing the growing trend towards marriage promotion in light of substantial research that has emerged supporting the link between marriage and poverty reduction, as well as other measures of child well being. A literature review highlights findings on the benefits of marriage and the […]
This report explores the effectiveness of initiatives to promote marriage in the United States. It begins by discussing President Bush’s Health Marriage Initiative, the support of proponents, and the criticisms of opponents. Research findings on the benefits of marriage are shared, including benefits for children and for adults. The report then explores how marriage promotion […]
Developed by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), this technical assistance module explains how to form coalitions to support Community Healthy Marriage Initiatives (CHMI) designed to strengthen marriages and improve child well-being. The CHMI conceptual model involves combining the efforts of public and private social service agencies to inform couples and parents about resources […]
This report outlines President Bush’s Healthy Marriage Initiative. The proposed program would seek to increase healthy marriage by providing individuals and couples with: information on the value of marriage in the lives of men, women, and children; marriage-skills education that will enable couples to reduce conflict and increase the happiness and longevity of their relationship; […]
Children are increasingly born into cohabitating parent families, and past research based on children born 10 to 20 years ago suggests that children born to cohabitating parents experience greater family instability than children born to married parents. This study adds to the literature by analyzing three waves of the Fragile Families Study to examine family […]