Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? What Research Says About the Effects of Family Structure on Child Well-Being

Publication Date: May 2003

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Mary Parke

Research Area: Social conditions

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This brief, the third in a series on Couples and Marriage Research and Policy, summarizes research on the effects of family structure on child well-being, discusses some of the complexities of the research, and identifies issues that remain to be explored. It concludes that research largely supports the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by two married, biological parents who have a low-conflict relationship. However, this new review also finds that discussions of this research are too often oversimplified, which leads to exaggeration by proponents of marriage promotion initiatives and to skepticism from critics.

An annotated brief is a supplementary file.