September 2012 - Marriage Foundation

Claims that cohabiting couples are as likely to have children as married couples are misleading

Claims that cohabiting couples are as likely to have children as married couples are misleading, says the Marriage Foundation. Research for Co-operative Legal Services published today in the Guardian reports that 38% of cohabiting couples are parents – the same percentage as married couples with children. But this does not mean that the […]

Divorce rates have halved for new brides. Why?

New research from The Marriage Foundation (see here for the full report) shows that the divorce rate for wife-granted divorces has more than halved since 1993. The reason? Less pressure from family and society to get married makes men who decide to tie the knot more dedicated to their relationship. The report, written by Harry […]

Family breakdown costs £50bn a year

When couples split up, families move from one to two households. Poverty is a common outcome that affects children. Six out of ten lone parents are supported by the state compared to one out of ten couple parents. That's where most of the £50bn is spent.

UK Among highest family breakdown in Europe

Five years ago, the UK had the highest rate of family breakdown in Europe. We're not doing as badly today, but only because of big falls in divorce rates. Alas there's no sign of a similar improvement among cohabitees

Lower Divorce Rates – Higher Lone Parents

Divorce rates have plummeted over the past 3 decades, but the number of lone parents has doubled in the same period. Why?... Because unmarried parents make up only one in five cohabiting parents but are responsible for one half of all family breakdown.

Stability is found in Marriage

Whereas stability is the norm if parents are married (75% stay together), it is the exception if they are not (30% stay together). As a result, among parents of teens who are still together as a couple, nine out of ten are married

Single Most Important Factor

The single most important factor in a child’s healthy development is the stable relationship of the parents. Our groundbreaking research shows that family breakdown is the #1 predictor of teenage mental health problems.

The Marriage Foundation is registered as a charity in England and Wales.

Registered charity number: 1150453

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Month: September 2012

Claims that cohabiting couples are as likely to have children as married couples are misleading

Divorce rates have halved for new brides. Why?

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