Marriage and Welfare Reform: The Overwhelming Evidence that Marriage Education Works
This article looks at the effects of the 1996 welfare reform law to strengthen and increase the number of two-parent families in the United States.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Heritage Foundation • October 25, 2002

Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability
This paper argues that religion serves to preserve marriage and sound moral judgement while discouraging social ills such as crime, divorce, cohabitation, suicide, out-of-wedlock births, and drug abuse.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Heritage Foundation • January 25, 1996

Marriage and Welfare Reform: The Overwhelming Evidence That Marriage Education Works
This research brief summarizes the results of 29 peer-reviewed social science journal articles which show that marriage education in the United States has had a positive impact on the nation's marital unions.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC • October 25, 2002

The State of Our Unions 2004: The Social Health of Marriage in America
This annual report from the National Marriage Project provides information on marriage, divorce, unmarried cohabitation and attitudes towards marriage in 2004.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The National Marriage Project • June 2004

Ten Important Research Findings on Marriage and Choosing a Marriage Partner: Helpful Facts for Young Adults
This article provides a list of ten helpful research facts young adults should know about marriage as they choose a partner.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The National Marriage Project • November 2004

The State of Our Unions 2005: The Social Health of Marriage in America
This report provides information on marriage, divorce, unmarried cohabitation, and family attitudes in America during 2005.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The National Marriage Project • July 2005

Encouraging Marriage and Discouraging Divorce
This paper describes initiatives, both government-based and private/religious, aimed at reducing divorce and encouraging strong marriages.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Heritage Foundation • March 26, 2001

The State of Our Unions 2007: The Social Health of Marriage in America
This essay examines how the institution of marriage has lost some of its meaning in American family life today.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The National Marriage Project • July 2007

Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions
In this study, the authors utilize data from the National Survey of Families and Households to suggest that low sexual frequency is associated with significantly higher rates of union dissolution in cohabitating relationships than in marital unions.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• School of Family and Social Dynamics and Center for Population Dynamics, Arizona State University • 2007

WHY CONGRESS SHOULD IGNORE RADICAL FEMINIST OPPOSITION TO MARRIAGE
This article provides a historical review of feminism, as well as relevant research on marriage and family, ...
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Heritage Foundation • June 16, 2003

Learning, Family Formation and Dissolution
This paper investigates the effect that educational attainment has on people's decisions about marriage and childbearing, as well as on their risk of experiencing a divorce.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning • June 01, 2002

When Two Become One: The Unique Nature and Benefits of Marriage (Second Edition)
This publication looks at marriage from a biblical perspective and discusses the changes in Canadian marriage policy.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada • 2006

Making Marriage Matter
This lecture highlights the efforts of Frank Keating (the Governor of Oklahoma) to strengthen families and strengthen marriage in Oklahoma.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The Heritage Foundation • September 27, 2000

Growing Evidence for a “Divorce Divide”? Education and Marital Dissolution Rates in the U.S. since the 1970s.
This paper examines divorce trends across racial and educational groups in the United States.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Russell Sage Foundation • c. 2002

The New Chronology of Union Formation: Strategies for Measuring Changing Pathways
This paper examines changing patterns of dating, courtship and union formation in the United States and discusses factors that contribute to these changes.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services • November 2003

Married and Poor: Basic Characteristics of Economically Disadvantaged Couples in the U.S.
Using existing research and surveys, this paper presents statistics relating to the formation, duration, quality, and characteristics of marriage among low-income couples in the United States.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• MDRC • July 2004

The Long-Term Effects of the Minnesota Family Investment Program on Marriage and Divorce Among Two-Parent Families
This report examines the long term effects of a welfare-to-work reform program in Minnesota on the marriage and divorce outcomes of two-parent families who participated in the reform initiative.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• MDRC • October 2003

Instability in Fragile Families: The Role of Race-Ethnicity, Economics, and Relationship Quality
This study compares the prevalence of separation among married and cohabiting parents of young children, with attention paid to racial and economic differences in relationship stability.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Research on Child Wellbeing • August 14-17, 2004

Cohabitors’ Prerequisites for Marriage: Individual, Relationship, and Sociocultural Influences
This paper examines subjective relational dynamics in a cohabitation arrangement.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • 2004

Relationship Quality Dynamics of Cohabiting Unions
This paper examines the stability, duration and quality of cohabiting relationships and it evaluates whether the presence of children or the experience of a prior union affect the duration of such relationships.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • 2000

Children and the Stability of Cohabiting Couples
This paper seeks to determine whether or not having children increases the stability of cohabiting couples' relationships.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • 2000

Does Marriage Improve a Cohabiting Relationship?
This paper explores the impact of marriage on cohabiting relationships and finds that, overall, marriage is beneficial for cohabiting couples.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • 2001

Marriage In Canada
This poll asked 1310 married individuals extensive questions about their interactions with their spouse and satisfaction with their marriage.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Ipsos-Reid • March 01, 2003

Broken Hearts, Tainted Love: Canadians And Their Relationships
This poll asked a number of questions regarding Canadians' experiences with and attitudes toward romantic relationships, with a focus on infidelity.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Ipsos-Reid • February 01, 2002

Broken Hearts, Tainted Love: Canadians AndTheir Relationships (2nd Annual)
This second annual survey again asks how many people had been cheated on, and how many thought they would cheat.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Ipsos-Reid • February 01, 2003

Home Wreckers And Who’s Fault Is It?
This poll asked Canadians about their attitudes toward marital infidelity, including which gender was assumed to be to blame, and whether the respondent felt that attitudes have changed in the past 20 years.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Ipsos-Reid • February 01, 2003

Union Type and Adult Self-Esteem
This paper demonstrates that cohabitors have significantly lower levels of self-esteem than married individuals.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • 2002

The Significance of Nonmarital Cohabitation: Marital Status and Mental Health Benefits among Middle-Aged and Older Adults
This paper examines the psychological well-being of older adults who are either married or cohabiting.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • November 19-22, 2003

Transitions to Caregiving, Marital Disagreement, and Psychological Well-Being
This paper discusses the psychological effects of being a caregiver and how the individual's adjustment to caregiving affects marital discord.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Demography and Ecology • 2003

Positive Expectations in the Early Years of Marriage: Should Couples Expect the Best or Brace for the Worst?
This paper examines the role that expectations play in contributing to couples' reports of marital quality and satisfaction.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• American Psychological Association • 2004

A Statewide Study of Premarital Risk Variables: Implications for Educators and Therapists
This paper analyzes a number of variables among premarital couples for the purpose of assisting in the formation of a premarital assessment instrument.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Family Institute • February 28, 2003

Marital Status Stability, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Life Course Perspective
This paper examines the effect of marital status continuity and change on an individual's physical health and well-being, and finds that these effects vary considerably according to an individual's gender and age.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Population Research Center • 2001

Long-Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
This paper looks at the impact of child sexual abuse on adulthood sexuality, intimacy, stability of future relationships, self-esteem, alcohol abuse, mental health, and socio-economic status.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Australian Institute of Family Studies • Autumn 1996

Religious Observance: Marriage and Family
This article argues that religion has a significant influence on an individual's attitudes on sex, marriage, and family.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Statistics Canada • Autumn 1998

Cohabitation, Marriage and Union Stability: Preliminary Findings from NSFH2
This paper examines popular attitudes towards sex, relationships, and non-marital childbearing, as well as trends in cohabitation and the stability of cohabiting versus married relationships.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison • May 1995

Job Turnover, Wage Rates, and Marital Stability: How Are They Related?
This paper examines the relationship between marital instability, earnings, and job stability among young men.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Institute for the Study of Labor • January 2005

Economic Pressure in Rural Families: Couple Interactions that Reduce Risk for Emotional Distress and Marital Instability
This research aims to discover potential strategies for reducing the adverse consequences of economic hardship on marriage.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program • August 1995

Socio-demographic Predictors of Divorce
This paper examines divorce trends in developed countries and seeks to determine whether or not there are socio-demographic characteristics that elevate an individual's risk of divorce.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Lord Chancellor's Department • 1999

What Policy Developments Would Be Most Likely to Secure an Improvement in Marital Quality
This paper discusses the extent to which government policy may be able to promote marital stability in Britain.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Lord Chancellor's Department • 1999

Marriage or Partnering? Effects of Cohabitation and Family Structure Changes on Early Adolescent Well-Being
This paper investigates the effects of marriage, cohabitation and relationship stability on adolescents' cognitive, social, and emotional well-being.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• National Poverty Center • September 2003

Men Without Sawmills: Masculinity, Rural Poverty, and Family Stability
This paper examines the effects of job loss and unemployment on men's feelings of masculinity in rural settings, and the effect that this has on their ability to maintain functional family relationships.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Rural Poverty Research Center • May 2005

The Effects of Partnership Instability on Parenting and Young Children’s Health and Behavior
Using data from the Fragile Families Survey, this paper documents the number of romantic relationships unmarried mothers experience by the time their child is three years old.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Research on Child Wellbeing • October 2004

Cohabitation: A Snapshot
This paper examines patterns of cohabitation in the United States, the characteristics of cohabiters, the quality and length of their relationships, and the relationship between cohabitation, marriage, and divorce.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Law and Social Policy • May 1998

Cross-Cultural Marriages
This paper examines the prevalence, characteristics and outcomes of marriages in the Netherlands in which at least one of the partners was born outside of the Netherlands.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Statistics Netherlands, Department of Population • December 1999

Dissolutions of Unions in Europe: A Comparative Overview
This paper provides an overview of patterns and trends in marital survival and dissolution in various countries in Western and Eastern Europe.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research • February 7, 2003

Proposed Reforms of Marital Institutions
This paper makes several proposals about reforming marriage and the family.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• The University of Chicago • May 2000

Does Divorce Risk Depend on Spouses' Relative Income? A Register-Based Study of First Marriages in Sweden in
This study finds strong evidence that high female income in a marriage is positively associated with greater risk of divorce in Sweden, despite egalitarian gender ideals and very high rates of female employment.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research • February 2004

Marriage in Russia: A Reconstruction
This study examines marriage rates and individuals' marital histories in Russia over the course of the twentieth century.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research • February 26, 2004

Economic Circumstances and Union Dissolution of Couples in the 1990s in the Netherlands
This paper examines the role of personal income and socioeconomic status on the breakdown of recently formed marital and non-martial unions in the Netherlands.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Statistics Netherlands • 16 March 2004

Divorce Risk for Foreigners in the Netherlands
This paper measures divorce risk by duration of marriage and country of origin in the Netherlands.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Statistics Netherlands, Division of Social and Spatial Statistics • June 19, 2003

The Demographics of Same-Sex "Marriages" in Norway and Sweden
This paper provides an overview of the demographic characteristics of couples in same-sex marriages in Sweden and Norway, including age, sex, experience of prior opposite-sex marriage, biological parenthood, and educational attainment.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research • June 2004

The Relative Stability of Cohabiting and Marital Unions for Children
This paper demonstrates that, regardless of ethnicity, children in cohabiting unions experience greater instability than children born into married families.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Center for Family and Demographic Research • January 01, 2002

Toward the Prevention of Marital and Family Stress
This paper provides a brief overview of the author’s work on the prevention of marital and family distress, including a new study designed to test the extent to which the results of a divorce prevention program can be disseminated.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• CMHS/ Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program • June 01, 2003

Why Marriages Last: A Discussion of the Literature
This paper discusses the existing literature on the factors that contribute to creating a lasting marriage.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Australian Institute of Family Studies • July 01, 2002

A Closer Look at Changes in Children’s Living Arrangements in Low-Income Families
This paper examines changes in the living arrangements of American children between 1999 and 2001, and discusses the stability of various family structures and their impact on child well-being.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
• Johns Hopkins University • February 20, 2000

Cohabiting Parents' Experience of Relationships and Separation
This paper studies the cohabiting relationship, why people choose to cohabit, cohabiters' views on marriage, and the legal and parenting challenges cohabiting couples face after separation.
• Category: Marriage > Relational Stability
•