Trend to live together, not marry, puts women & kids at risk
A woman living with her boyfriend is twice as likely to become the victim of domestic violence as a married woman.
Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."
Researchers who study family structures worry about the growing trend of couples choosing to live together outside of marriage while raising children. Divorce and out-of-wedlock birth rates leveled off years ago, but families in which parents cohabit are on a steady climb. More than 40% of all live-in households in 2000 included a child under 18, up from 21% in 1987, according to the latest U.S. Census figures.
While an unmarried mom and dad living together might look like the married couple down the block, unions lacking formal long-term commitments have been found more likely to create problems for women & kids. Sociologists cite evidence that children raised by live-in parents have a greater likelihood of emotional troubles and poor school performance. A major reason is that unmarried couples are more likely to break up.
Today, adults demand the right to choose their living arrangements and expect social tolerance of their choices. But when the choices have a negative impact on dependents in their care, the government and other institutions have sound reasons to promote marriage as a social good.
The White House stressed the point by marking Marriage Protection Week. Though easy to deride as more a rebuttal to calls for gay civil unions than a defense of marriage, the effort at least highlights a problem that gets too little attention.
The negative effects of cohabitation documented by numerous studies include:
Single parents. Three out of four children born to unmarried couples see them split up before age 16, according to the National Marriage Project, a research group based at Rutgers University.
The impact of growing up with a single parent is well documented by research:
- Children are more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of school, become sexually active and exhibit anxiety.
- Dysfunctional behavior. Live-in households tend to be less stable. A cohabiting partner is three times as likely to suffer depression as a married person and twice as likely to exhibit aggressive behavior.
Some states are experimenting with ways to spread pro-marriage messages. Oklahoma and Florida, for example, are offering discounts on marriage licenses if couples take classes designed to build skills needed to make their unions work. At the same time, churches and other groups are offering workshops on building relationship skills.
The White House, for its part, has included a $300 million annual pro-marriage plank in a welfare bill before Congress. Some of the money would pay for counseling that encourages unwed mothers to marry and gives them skills needed to stay married.
Some critics of these policies say lifestyle decisions are none of the government's business. Still, when the welfare of women & children is at risk, reminding adults that their lifestyle decisions do matter is a worthwhile effort.
For more on the dangers of shacking up and living in sin go here:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/dr/laura042500.asp
http://www.wcr.ab.ca/columns/charlesmoore/2001/charlesmoore070901.shtml
posted by Evangelist @ 5:03 AM
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