Marriage, these days, is getting bad press. For example, a string of recent headlines claim that living together is healthier than marriage, citing a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. Though provocative, headlines can be misleading, focusing only on a non-representative subset of findings. A more nuanced analysis of the above study, for example, points to a different conclusion. Indeed, on balance, the study’s overall findings suggest that compared to cohabitation, marriage is associated with better psychological and physical well-being. The news coverage completely neglects two other …
A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family examines how single mothers’ religious participation may influence their young children’s behavioral outcomes. Using a Princeton University survey that followed over 1,100 urban single-mother families for the first five years of the children’s lives, the study finds that mothers’ religious attendance was associated with lower risk of displaying aggressive and delinquency behaviors among five-year-olds. Compared to no religious attendance, even a moderate level of attendance (e.g., several times a year on average) was associated with reduced risk of behavioral problems …
Recent headlines, heralding the findings of a new government study, claim that “living together before marriage no longer predicts divorce” or that cohabitation before marriage poses no greater divorce risk. Regrettably, opting for the provocative rather than the accurate, the media has focused on these findings in a rather misleading way. The study reveals that premarital cohabitation, regardless of the couple’s intention to marry when they moved in together, was associated with a higher risk of divorce for women specifically. For those who did not cohabit before marrying, the probability …
Marriage is antiquated and on its ways out, and cohabitation is the relationship of the future, the relationally avant-garde would have us believe. Take a recent headline, for example: “Living together may be mentally healthier than marriage,” it claims, citing a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family. While provocative, such headlines are often misleading. The actual findings require a bit more careful handling. So what does the study actually find? First, the study is based on a nationally representative sample of nearly 2,800 …
February 7-14, 2012 is National Marriage Week. During this week, a series of blogs explores the latest trends in marriage and their implications for adults, children, and society. Though “Americans believe overwhelmingly in the importance of marriage,” for decades now, marriage has been steadily declining. Marriage. Americans have become less likely to marry. In 1960, about two in three adults were married, compared to one in two adults today. This is partly because Americans are marrying later. Since 1970, the median age for first marriage has increased by more than …
High-quality social science research shows that marriage is associated with a number of health benefits. Studies indicate a strong link between marriage and mental health, in particular depressive symptoms. Marriage can both affect and be affected by psychological well-being, through, for example, greater emotional and social support as well as personal connection. Alternatively, it may be that less-depressed individuals are more likely to marry and remain married. Thus, to discern the true effect of marriage on mental health, research must account for the possibility of a “selection effect.” One method …
For many, the end of the holiday season and the beginning of a new year activates a new (or old) set of resolutions. A healthier lifestyle often tops such lists. While exercise and a better diet are the most-touted health contributors, marriage, as recent research suggests, can be a significant factor as well. For example, married individuals tend to report better health. According to the National Health Interview Survey, 89.2 percent of married adults report being in good or very good health, compared to 85.4 percent of never-married adults, 84.4 …
Despite the increasing effort to strike “Christmas” from our common vocabulary, 91 percent of Americans say that they personally celebrate the holiday, according to a LifeWay Research poll. While it’s not surprising that almost all self-identified Christians (97 percent) celebrate Christmas, 89 percent of agnostics or those with no religious preference, 62 percent of non-Christian faiths, and even 55 percent of atheists do so as well. Much of this may be explained by the fact that, although the majority of Americans recognize the religious source of Christmas, Christmastime activities tend …
There is some good news about the rate of teenage parenthood in America. It’s on the decline again. According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday, between 2007 and 2008, teen birth rates decreased by 2.4 percent. From a long-term perspective, the drop is even more dramatic. Between 1991 and 2008, the teen birth rate fell by nearly one-third. In only two years during this period, from 2005 to 2007, were there slight upticks in the number. The other main findings of the report …
Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released preliminary U.S. birth data for 2008. A flurry of news stories followed. Two statistics dominated the headlines: the total number of births fell by 2 percent, after peaking in 2007, and teen birthrates declined as well, reversing a slight two-year uptick. But the mainstream media completely ignored the most genuinely concerning trend in childbearing. In 2008, more than 4 in 10 children, or about 1.7 million births, were born to unmarried mothers. For decades, unmarried childbearing has been trending unrelentingly …
