Marriage boosts prosperity, helps children: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Stable marriage can increase the
financial prosperity of couples and improves the lives of
American children, including those being raised by same-sex
couples, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The report by the Brookings Institution and Princeton
University showed that while the poor see lack of money as a
barrier to marriage, even when they have children out of
wedlock, healthy marriage actually ensures them healthier
finances in the long run.

“The decline in two-parent families since 1960 has been
closely linked with a rise in child poverty, primarily because
poverty rates are far higher in single-mother families than in
two-parent families,” according to the report.

The proportion of single-parent families doubled to 26
percent in 2003 from 12 percent in 1970, according to the
report, “The Future of Children,” a series of articles on
marriage and children.

Children already being raised by same-sex couples can also
benefit when those couples marry, the study suggested.

“First, marriage may increase children’s material
well-being through such benefits as family leave from work and
spousal health insurance eligibility,” the report said.
“Second, same-sex marriage may benefit children by increasing
the durability and stability of their parents’ relationship.”

The report comes as the Bush administration proposes some
$1.5 billion in spending over the next five years on marriage
programs and as the debate over same-sex marriage hits a fever
pitch.

The study stressed the need for educational initiatives
that could help with relationships and parenting, saying this
can help reduce divorce, domestic violence and single-parent
child rearing.

At a forum on the report, panelists urged the Bush
administration and Congress to direct more funding toward job
growth for the poor and minorities.

“Men without jobs do not form families,” said Eleanor
Holmes Norton, the Washington, D.C., delegate to the House of
Representatives.