IssuesCreating a Future of Progress, Growth, and Stability

The Value of Marriage

Why should you care about who people marry? Because society is built on and shaped by marriages. Marriage improves the safety and goodwill in our communities. It protects our children. And it sustains the diversity of the sexes.

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82%

reduction in chance of living in poverty for children raised in married-family rather than single-parent households

Happier

On average, married individuals are happier than unmarried persons. Marriage protects against normal declines in happiness during adulthood.

Compared with those who are not married, married individuals eat better, take better care of themselves, and live a more stable, secure and scheduled lifestyle. Focus on the Family

72%

of America’s adolescent murderers are children from fatherless homes.

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6x

Children in married households are 6x less likely to commit suicide than children with divorced parents.

85%

of America’s youth with behavioral disorders are children from fatherless homes.

83+%

of Americans agree that having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives, but less than half of unmarried adults express a desire to be married.

More Likely

Children with married biological parents are more likely to enroll in and to graduate from college than children from one-parent families, including those with stepfamilies.

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