In recent decades, there has been a widening gap between higher rates of marital instability for economically disadvantaged couples and lower rates for nondisadvantaged couples. In addition, out-of-wedlock birth rates have risen, while evidence…

The increasing recognition of the importance of marriage for the social and economic well-being of children has led to demonstrations aimed at strengthening and stimulating healthy marriages. The next step is to ensure that factors closely linked…

The Brookings Institution authored this report on the economic mobility of families based on Census Bureau data. Authors matched family income from the 1960s to the income of their children in the late 1990s to early 2000s. While median family…

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania conducted this study on the recent trends on marriage stability in the United States. While recent data offers conflicting evidence, authors review data, and conclude that marital stability has…

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation funded this report, which synthesizes and evaluates the literature on adolescent romantic relationships, with emphasis on how these relationships are precursors of adult marriages. The goal of the…

The RAND Corporation authored this report on the effects of work-conditioned welfare programs on marriage or child well-being. By using a theoretical framework and past research in this area, authors find that welfare programs can increase family…

This research brief from Child Trends offers an overview of a growing body of research on men’s pregnancy intentions. New research suggests that men’s pregnancy intentions and prenatal behaviors may have implications for fathers’ later…

From the Journal of Contemporary Social Services, this newsletter includes a variety of relevant topics for low-income families. The feature topic of this issue is fathering and fatherhood, and authors also include articles on an upcoming…

The Urban Institute conducted this evaluation of the Partners of Fragile Families (PFF) project. The PFF demonstration was funded from 2000 to 2003 by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and the Ford Foundation in nine states across…

The number of children born to unmarried parents has been steadily increasing. In 2005, 37 percent of children were born to unmarried parents. Responding to these trends, the Federal government implemented the Healthy Marriage Initiative. This…