Social institutions that have been around for thousands of years generally change slowly, when they change at all. But that's not the way things have been playing out with marriage and family since the middle of the 20th Century. Some scholars argue that in the past five decades, the basic architecture of these age-old institutions has changed as rapidly as at any time in human history. This Pew Research Center report, done in association with TIME, sets out to illuminate these changes by using two complementary research methodologies: a nationwide survey of 2,691 adults we conducted from Oct…
Americans today are less likely to be married than at any time in the nation's history. Rates have declined for all groups, but they have fallen most sharply among those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. A new survey finds that these less-advantaged adults are more likely than others to say that economic security is an important reason to marry. Even as marriage shrinks, family remains the most important and most satisfying element in the lives of most Americans. (Author abstract)
We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the association between multipartnered fertility (MPF) -- when parents have children with more than one partner -- and depression. Random-effects models suggest that MPF is associated with a greater likelihood of depression, net of family structure and other covariates. However, these associations disappear in more conservative fixed-effects models that estimate changes in MPF as a function of changes in depression. Results also suggest that social selection may account for the link between MPF and depression, as…
Nonmarital childbearing has increased dramatically in the U.S. since the early 1960s, rising from 6% of all births in 1960 to fully 40% in 2007 (Hamilton, Martin, & Ventura, 2009). Whereas similar trends have occurred in many developed nations, the U.S. stands out in the extent to which such births are associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and relationship instability. This has given rise to a new term "fragile families," which we define as unmarried couples who have a child together. The increase in fragile families reflects changes not only in the initial context of births but also…
As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities in outcomes for the next generation. This paper reviews evidence about the effectiveness of two strategies to strengthen fathers' involvement and family relationships-- fatherhood programs aimed at disadvantaged noncustodial fathers and relationship…
