Marriage and Relationship Trends

In many ways, the state of marriage today is different from when our grandparents were getting married. Social and cultural shifts have changed the way we look at marriage today. What follows are some general trends in marriage in the United States as well as some information specific to the 29 counties served by Operation Us.

Fewer Marriages

• According to the 2000 Census Data, married households decreased in 26 of the 29 counties covered by the grant.

• The percentage of Americans over 18 currently married decreased from 72% in 1970, to 62% in 1990 to 59% in 2002.

High Divorce Rates

• 2000 Census indicated that 51% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 in Missouri will live in a single-parent home at some point in their childhood.

• Divorce rates increased in all 29 counties covered by the grant.

• The number of single-parent households increased in 28 of the 29 counties covered by the grant.

• Divorce costs the nation about $33.3 billion per year (1).

• In Missouri, the estimated cost of divorce was $699,401,000 (1).

• 80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes (2).

Increased Unmarried Births

• In 2003, 34.6% of all births were to unmarried women. This statistic represented a six-fold increase since 1960 (5.3%) and a nearly two-fold increase since 1980 (18.4%) (3)

• It is estimated that out-of-wedlock births cost taxpayers $7 billion dollars per year (4).

Increased Cohabitation

• Non-family households increased in 28 of the 29 counties covered by the grant.

• Cohabitation now precedes more than half of all first marriages.

High Incidence of Domestic Violence

• 31% of women report physical abuse by a spouse or partner at some point in their lives (5).

• In 1998, about 1,033,660 violent crimes were committed against intimate partners (5).

• Although the rate of intimate partner violence against women dropped during the 1990’s, intimate partner violence still constituted 22% of all violence against women (5).

References

1. David Schramm (2003). "What could divorce be costing your state?"
2. Jean Beth Eshtain (July 1993). "Family matters: The plight of America's children." The Christian Century, p. 14-21.
3. National Vital Statistics, 2005
4. Isabel V. Sawhill (2001). What Can Be Done to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Out-of-Wedlock Births? Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
5. From The Healthy Marriage Initiative – Administration for Children and Families Achievements and Accomplishment , Trend Data. (2005) pg. 1, table 1. (PDF)