description http://stateofourunions.org/ copyright Press Release http://stateofourunions.org/press.php#pr http://stateofourunions.org/press.php#pr Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST A decade ago, David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead published the first The State of Our Unions, offering trenchant commentary on the state of marriage and family life in the United States and compelling statistical indicators tracking "the social health of marriage in America." http://stateofourunions.org/2009/introduction.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/introduction.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST Marriage trends in recent decades indicate that Americans have become less likely to marry, and the most recent data show that the marriage rate in the United States continues to decline. Of those who do marry, there has been a moderate drop since the 1970's in the percentage of couples who consider their marriages to be "very happy," but in the past decade this trend has flattened out. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-marriage.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-marriage.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The American divorce rate today is nearly twice that of 1960, but has declined since hitting the highest point in our history in the early 1980's. For the average couple marrying for the first time in recent years, the lifetime probability of divorce or separation remains between 40 and 50 percent. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-divorce.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-divorce.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The number of unmarried couples has increased dramatically over the past four decades, and the increase is continuing. Most younger Americans now spend some time living together outside of marriage, and unmarried cohabitation commonly precedes marriage. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-cohabitation.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-cohabitation.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The presence of children in America has declined significantly since 1960, as measured by fertility rates and the percentage of households with children. Other indicators suggest that this decline has reduced the child centeredness of our nation and contributed to the weakening of the institution of marriage. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-child_centered.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-child_centered.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The percentage of children who grow up in fragile--typically fatherless--families has grown enormously over the past four decades. This is mainly due to increases in divorce, out-of-wedlock births, and unmarried cohabitation. The trend toward fragile families leveled off in the late 1990s, but the most recent data show a slight increase. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-fragile_families.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-fragile_families.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The desire of teenagers of both sexes for "a good marriage and family life" has increased slightly over the past few decades. Boys are more than ten percentage points less desirous than girls, however, and they are also a little more pessimistic about the possibility of a long-term marriage. Both boys and girls have become more accepting of lifestyles that are alternatives to marriage, especially unwed childbearing, although the latest data show a surprising drop in acceptance of premarital cohabitation. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-teen_attitudes.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/si-teen_attitudes.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The 2009 edition of The State of Our Unions makes clear that money matters for marriage. Income, employment, debt, assets, and the division of household labor all shape the quality and stability of married life in the United States. In other words, earning, spending, saving, and sharing money are integral dimensions of contemporary married life. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/great_recession.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/great_recession.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST New research indicates that conflict over money matters predicts divorce better than other types of disagreement. Compared with disagreements over other topics, financial disagreements last longer, are more salient to couples, and generate more negative conflict tactics, such as yelling or hitting, especially among husbands. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/bank_on_it.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/bank_on_it.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST Will the economic downturn strengthen or weaken marriage? Both marriage and divorce rates tend to fall when the economy heads south and then rise when good times return. However, the changing meaning and role of marriage in modern society has weakened this economy-family relationship in recent decades. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/marriage_and_the_recession.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/marriage_and_the_recession.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST Recent research in evolutionary psychology, sociology, and finance suggests that many couples may be organizing their financial management in a way that does not maximize their economic well-being. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/smart_money.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/smart_money.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST The Great Recession's silver lining of increasing gender flexibility and equality is more likely to apply to better educated and younger Americans than to less educated older Americans. That is, young adults with a college education have the best chance of adapting to the recession's gender revolution. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/feminist_friendly_recession.php http://stateofourunions.org/2009/feminist_friendly_recession.php Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST