Research by the Marriage Foundation has found that almost half of teenagers should not living with each of their biological parents by the point they reach the age of 14.
The foundation said that 45 per cent percent of teenagers weren’t living with each their parents, representing the best percentage since records began, although additionally they noted that their figure was nearly double that reached by government statistics.
One of the explanations for such a high discrepancy between the Marriage Foundation and Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures is that the ONS only looks at one-parent families. Hence a single parent entering a latest relationship wouldn’t longer be counted by the ONS, while the MF would still count this latest arrangement as children not living with each biological parents.
The research noted that the high rate was driven not by divorce, but by a failure to get married in the primary place.
According to the Marriage Foundation, married families account for 85 per cent of intact parents and only 30 per cent of family breakdowns.
Put simply, if an adolescent lives with each their biological parents, then their parents are almost certainly married and in the event that they live with just one or neither of their biological parents, it is probably going their parents never married.
The research indicated that couples who don’t marry are nearly twice as more likely to break up in the long run, irrespective of their social status or background.
It was noted that family breakdown is such a serious issue, that many other negative societal effects stem from it. Poverty, poor education results, poor mental health are only a few of the ill-effects downstream from family breakdown.
Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation’s Research Director and the writer of the study commented, “The level of family breakdown within the UK is at epidemic proportions and is about to worsen with all of the knock-on effects on those affected and in societal costs.”
Benson added that while most individuals do want to marry sooner or later of their life, weddings are perceived as being too expensive, making it a luxury for the wealthy. This combined with a advantages system that disincentivises marriage signifies that for lots of those on lower incomes, marriage is effectively discouraged.
“We want reliable love by which we are able to trust, so we might be free to be ourselves without fear the one we love will stop loving us. If we’ve reliable love, we are able to have a row or a tiff, get up within the morning, and know our relationship continues to be intact. We don’t even doubt it,” said Benson.
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