Are Government‐Supported Healthy Marriage Initiatives Affecting Family Demographics? A State‐Level Analysis

Abstract

This study assesses whether government‐supported Healthy Marriage Initiatives (HMIs)—educational programs to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages and relationships—have had a measurable impact on population‐level family outcomes. We compiled data on funding for these initiatives between 2000 and 2010 and aggregated these data to the state level for each year. We employed pooled time‐series regression with fixed state and year effects to estimate the effects of funding on population‐level outcomes taken from the American Community Survey. Cumulative per capita funding for HMIs between 2005 and 2010 was positively associated with small changes in the percentage of married adults in the population and children living with two parents, and it was negatively associated with the percentage of children living with one parent, nonmarital births, and children living in poverty. These results were diminished, however, when an influential outlier—Washington, DC—was removed from the analysis. Interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed.

The longitudinal and bidirectional association between parenting stress and couples' relationship quality

“…Regarding implications for policy, this study can be particularly useful. For example, recent public policy has emphasized building and improving relationship quality among parents (Hawkins, Amato, & Kinghorn, ). The findings in the current study demonstrate that improving couples relationship skills to promote positive relationship quality may be valuable in reducing stress in the parenting role.…”

Father Absence and Adolescent Depression and Delinquency: A Comparison of Siblings Approach

“…Because nearly one half of all children in the United States will live apart from their father at some point (U.S. Census Bureau, ; Ventura, ), these links, if causal, have serious implications. Indeed, the rise in nonresident fatherhood has garnered substantial political attention, including the now billion‐dollar Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood initiatives (Hawkins, Amato, & Kinghorn, ). Although policies like these assume father absence from the home causes suboptimal outcomes in adolescence, much of the research examining the association between nonresident fatherhood and adolescent outcomes compares adolescents from different families, leaving open the possibility that unmeasured family and child characteristics that covary with nonresident fatherhood and adolescent well‐being may drive the associations.…”

Finer Distinctions: Variability in Satisfied Older Couples’ Problem‐Solving Behaviors

“…Unfortunately, for couples who are unable to resolve their conflict either on their own or with the help of others, marital distress often arises (Karney & Bradbury, ). In light of the potential damage conflict can do, not only to the marriage, but to the well‐being of those both within the marriage and the family (Fincham & Beach, ; Kiecolt‐Glaser & Newton, ), it is not surprising that millions of dollars in government funds have been spent trying to understand the nature of marital conflict and its antecedents and consequences (Hawkins, Amato, & Kinghorn, ). To enhance the efficacy of these efforts, it is important to not only study those who fail to resolve marital conflict, but also couples who appear to handle conflict better and make it functional within their marriage (Gottman & Krokoff, ; Weiss & Heyman, ).…”