Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? New Research Review Looks at the Effect of Family Formation on Child Well-Being

5/13/2003

From: John Hutchins of the Center for Law and Social Policy 202-906-8013 or jhutchins@clasp.org

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- Research largely supports the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by two married, biological parents who have a low-conflict relationship, according to a new research review from the Center for Law and Social Policy. Such research has been cited as justification for recent public policy initiatives to promote and strengthen marriages. However, the new review finds that discussions of this research are too often oversimplified, which leads to exaggeration by proponents of marriage promotion initiatives and to skepticism from critics.

The new, eight-page CLASP policy brief, Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? What Research Says About the Effects of Family Structure on Child Well-Being by Mary Parke, provides a summary of the latest research in an effort to answer these questions:

-- How has family structure changed in the past several decades? -- Are children better off if they're raised by their married, biological parents? -- How do child outcomes vary among different family types? -- What really makes the difference for children-income or family structure? -- Does marriage itself make a difference, or is it the kind of people who marry and stay married? -- Does the quality of the relationship matter more than marital status? -- What is the relationship between marriage and poverty?

"Both family income and family structure matter to the well-being of children," said Mary Parke, CLASP Policy Analyst and author of the review. "Reduced income accounts for up to half of the increased risk for children not living with their married, biological parents. The rest is due to family disruption, including loss of contact with a non-custodial parent."

This review is also the first to bring together the research on how children fare in divorced, widowed, never-married, and cohabiting parents, married step-families, and same-sex couple families-highlighting important subtleties among different family types.

------ To read the new CLASP policy brief, Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? What Research Says About the Effects of Family Structure on Child Well-Being, visit: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1052841451.72/Marriage_Brief3. pdf.