Jackson County

Nina Chen, Ph.D.
Human Development Specialist 

·        Healthy married couples are likely to have more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples. Married men earn between 10 and 40 percent more than do single men.

·        Healthy married couples are twice as likely to be "very happy" than divorced or never-married adults.

·        Healthy married couples live longer and have better health and lower rates of illness and disability than do people who are single or divorced.

·        Healthy married couples are less likely to attempt suicide than divorced women and men.

·        Married mothers are half as likely to be victims of domestic violence than are never-married mothers or cohabiting women and less likely to suffer from depression than single mothers.

·        Children raised by low-conflict biological parents are better off than children raised in a single, step, or cohabitating family.

·        A child born and raised outside of marriage will spend an average of 51% of her childhood in poverty.

·        Compared to teenagers raised in intact married families, teenagers from divorced or never-married families are twice as likely to have poor health and be willing to have children out of wedlock.

·        Divorce has negative effects on children's school performance, and achieving higher education and high-status jobs.

·        While studies reveal negative effects on children of divorced parents, such as a child's development, behavioral problems, and mental health problems, other studies show that the majority of children of divorce are not mentally ill and grow up without serious problems.

·        Children benefit more from living with their own two married parents than do children from other family structures.  Parental divorce reduces a child's life expectancy by four years according to a study.

·        Married fathers are likely to have good relationships with their children, however, some studies also show that children from a divorced family have a closer relationship with their fathers.

References:

Hetherington, E., & Kelly, J. (2002). For better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered. NY: W.W. Norton & Co.)

Parke, M. (2003). Are married parents really better for children? What research says about the effect of family structure on child well-being. Couples and Marriage Research and Policy Brief 
No. 3.

The positive effects of marriage: A book of charts (2002). The Heritage Foundation.

Why marriage matters. (2002). Institute for American Values.

White, D., & Kaplan, J. (2003). The state's role in supporting marriage and family formation. Welfare Information Network Brief Vol. 7, No. 8: The Finance Project.

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		University of Missouri Extension Jackson County Jacksonblsp@missouri.edu Updated 12/13/06