Report
Marriage and the Family in the United States: Resources for Society (2012)
Marriage and the Family in the United States: Resources for Society, A review of research on the benefits generated from families rooted in marriage prepared by Theresa Notare, PhD, Assistant Director, Natural Family Planning Program and H. Richard McCord, EdD, Former Executive Director, Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC, 2012
"Research on marriage and the family in the United States demonstrates that many individual and social benefits are rooted in the permanent union of one man with one woman.
Despite the evidence of the benefits of marriage, currently in the United States more couples are choosing not to marry and, at the same time, are accepting of a variety of non-marital and alternative sexual relationships (including homosexual relationships).
What follows, therefore, is an overview of the social science research on the benefits of marriage along with some mention of the adverse outcomes generated by the non-married family.
The review is organized into three subject areas treating marriage and the family: (1) psycho- logical development and emotional well-being; (2) physical health; and (3) economic benefits. Please note, both primary sources and secondary sources are used in this review. The secondary sources chosen are authored by leading experts on marriage and the family. Finally, many of the following studies combine two or more of these subjects in their investigations."