Divorce Statistics and Studies Blog

Family structure matters to black boys' economic welfare, per findings of Chetty study cited as saying the opposite

For Black Boys, Family Structure Still Matters

MARCH 22, 2018 by W. Bradford Wilcox  at Institute for Family Studies

Long-term economic effects of divorce, aging, cohabitation on families & society

Family Trees Are Turning Into Family Beanstalks:

Professor Linda Waite assesses the changing family structures in America

Slate.com

Divorce hurts rich kids too, in education, finances, and their own relationships

Even For Rich Kids, Marriage Matters

By W. Bradford Wilcox

December 19, 2013 - Institute of Family Studies

"The bottom line here is that money is not separable from marriage when it comes to family life."

Worldwide study: Two-parent family helps educational achievement greatly

Family structure: it’s an education in itself

Andrea Mrozek | Thursday, 24 January 2013 on mercator.net

Regnerus Gay-Parenting Study: Really a Broken-Hetero-Family Study

The Regnerus Gay-Parenting Study: More Red Flags

By Walter Olson  07/17/2012 

And for more on its methods and the reaction to it, see:

"Revenge of the Sociologists: The perils of politically incorrect academic research". Weekly Standard JUL 30, 2012, VOL. 17, NO. 43 • BY ANDREW FERGUSON

 

How marriage improves kids' lives, education, behavior, extracurriculars, and fortunes

This New York Times article, passed on by my New York divorce lawyer friend Chaim Steinberger, reports and beautifully illustrates the conclusions of recent studies from Child Trends and Brookings on how stable marriage helps children by improving their families' economic welfare, the amount of time adults devote to them, their educational and extracurricular opportunities, and behavioral and health outcomes. Its tone is evenhanded and dispassionate, yet its information and insight is passion-stirring -- in a much more constructive way than a lot of that "mommy wars" and "culture wars" stuff that people so often write about marriage, work, and single parenthood.

"Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’" By JASON DePARLE, New York Times July 14, 2012

 

Divorce hurts kids' math, social skills long-term, but not reading

Children of Divorce Struggle More With Math and Social Skills — TIME Healthland.

Via Randy Kessler and Steve Worrall.

"According to new research published Thursday in the American Sociological Review. children whose parents divorce perform worse in math and have poorer social skills, and they struggle more with anxiety, loneliness, sadness, and poor self-esteem than their peers whose parents are not divorced. They are also more likely to have trouble making friends and maintaining those friendships, expressing emotions positively, and getting along with other kids who are different from them."

The study, also reported in USA Today, tracked children from kindergarten through 5th grade and focused on those whose parents divorced between 1st and 3rd grade. The USA Today story points out that problems did not show up in school before the divorce process began -- it was not the bad marriage, but the divorce itself and perhaps post-divorce developments, that correlated with the problems.

Additional info on effects and correlates of divorce

To get complete information and citations, you should also review the Divorce Statistics Collection’s page on your topic:
Correlations with Other Factors: Age | Alcoholic parents | Children of Divorce Getting Divorced
| Cohabitation | Current Events| Gender of Children | Laws |   Marriage education programs | Occupation | Poverty | Race | Region | Religion |  Smoking | Unrealistic Expectations 
Effects on Society: Domestic Violence | Social-Economic-Taxpayer Costs | Effects on Black Community
Effects on Divorced People: Domestic Violence | Economic | Happiness | Physical and Mental Health
Effects on Children: Generally | Child Abuse | Poverty | Crime | Crime | Physical Health | Mental Health/Behavioral | Social Skills/Adjustment | Suicide | Teen & single parenthood | Exposure to family conflict | Stepfamilies | African American Children
Other:  Summary of Our Findings So Far| Causes of individual divorces