In order to decrease out-of-wedlock births, government policies should be directed toward helping young couples stay together rather than discouraging marriage and focusing almost exclusively on the young mother and her child. Also discussed are attitudes toward marriage, father's role, stability of early marriages, children, and benefits of…

This report discusses the increasing incidence of divorce and unwed parenthood in the United States, arguing that the "divorce revolution" of the last several decades has created terrible hardships for children, generated poverty within families, and burdened the nation with unsupportable social costs. It calls for a fundamental shift in cultural…

Critics who advocate encouraging pregnant teenagers to marry are mistaken. Teen marriages are distinctly less stable than marriages that occur after age twenty. Later marriers are less likely to be on welfare and are likely to have more education and fewer children. A hasty marriage makes a bad situation worse. (BJV)

New studies demonstrate that many teen marriages are more resilient than had previously been believed; current policies promote single parenthood for teen mothers in the face of very little systemic information about young fathers and their potential for being providers, husbands, or parents. Marriage is a feasible option for many pregnant…