couple Archives - Marriage Foundation

The couple that eats together …

Marriage Week UK launches today under the banner of a ‘recipe for a happy marriage‘. And so we thought we’d try and find some evidence to see whether it wasn’t just the recipe that made a marriage but the entire meal. With my colleague Professor Steve McKay at the University of Lincoln, we delved into […]

Proof that monthly date nights work … but only if you’re married!

I’m not sure I’d be taking marriage advice from Katie Price. But according to a recent interview, one thing she swears by is the idea of a “date night” to keep her third marriage on track. Relationship commentators and marriage educators agree. Google the words “date night” and any number of articles pop up exhorting […]

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.

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Tag: couple

The couple that eats together …

Proof that monthly date nights work … but only if you’re married!

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