This federally funded brief discusses how the rise in the popularity of cohabiting is linked to other important shifts in family patterns in the United States, and provides information on the number of cohabiting couples with children, different types of cohabitation, and research findings on cohabitation. Evidence is cited that indicates cohabiting before marriage is […]
This tip sheet offers practical tips to help practitioners meet the needs of couples who are living together. These couples do not always want a long-term future together, so traditional marriage education may not be the best match for these couples. Although many relationship issues are the same, couples who are living together and who […]
State and local governments pay attention to households when making decisions about issues such as traffic patterns and school lunch programs. A broad spectrum of decision makers look to U.S. Census Bureau data to help them understand how the characteristics of families and living arrangements have changed over the decades. While many adults live alone, […]
A bibliography of resources on unwed parents and parenting.
A bibliography of resources on cohabitation and marital outcomes.
A bibliography on gender roles and family relationships.
The period following the Second World War marked an era of high marriage rates. This era between the 1950s and early 1960s was marked by improved economic conditions, high fertility, and a social climate which encouraged an earlier onset of adult transitions. Since the 1960s, marriage rates have declined while divorce rates have increased. The […]
The percent of non-marital births in the United States has steadily increased over the past few decades, from an estimated 4.5% in 1955 to 35.6% in 2004. Several factors account for such trends. Over the past decades, an increasing proportion of women has postponed marriage, while increased numbers of unmarried couples cohabit. The rates of […]
The percentage of children under the age of 18 who live with two parents decreased steadily for several decades (from approximately 85% in 1970 to approximately 68% by the mid-1990s1). Beginning in the mid-1990s, this decrease leveled off and the proportion of U.S. children who live with two married parents has since remained at approximately […]
Many marriage and relationship education programs focus on developing effective communication and conflict resolution skills. While different processes or methods are used, the target skills remain consistent. These skills include assertive communication, I-messages, decision-making, arguing effectively, learning to avoid behaviors that hurt when arguing, and conflict resolution. As a result it is important for professionals […]