http://gengwg.blogspot.com/发信人: lczlcz (lcz), 信区: USANews
标 题: 美国家庭: 一个快要绝种和消失的东西
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Tue Jun 16 14:24:37 2015, 美东)
Published on CNS News (http://www.cnsnews.com)
The American Family: An Endangered and Disappearing Species
It is quite common to hear persons bemoaning the state of the family and of
families in America. Is that just hype and rhetoric? Are American families
really “disintegrating” today? Sadly, a lot of evidence seems to indicate
that traditional American families are an endangered and disappearing
species.
Several statistical indicia suggest that traditional families (husband and
wife with children) and family life are disappearing in the United States.
One major factor in the disintegration of families in America is the
movement of young adults away from marriage. Nonmarital cohabitation and
temporary “hooking up” have to some extent replaced marriage in some
segments of the young adult population.
Citing a Pew Research Center report, The Deseret News notes [1] that the U.S
. marriage rate (percentage of persons married at age 18-32) has steadily
dropped by generation from 65 percent of the Silent Generation (1960) to 48
percent of the Baby Boomer Generation (1980) to 36 percent of the Gen X
Generation (1997), to just 26 percent of the Millennial Generation (2013).
The decline in marriage rates in the USA has been steady and profound.
Currently fewer than half as many (only 40% as many) of young Americans 18-
32 have married than young Americans of the same age cohort just three
generations earlier (in the “Silent” generation).
Moreover, the marriage rate is “expected to drop even further next year.”
A Pew Research Center report [2] notes that:
“After decades of declining marriage rates and changes in family
structure, the share of American adults who have never been married is at an
historic high. In 2012, one-in-five adults ages 25 and older (about 42
million people) had never been married, [3] according to a new Pew Research
Center analysis of census data. In 1960, only about one-in-ten adults (9%)
in that age range had never been married.”
The percentage of American men and women ages 25 and older who have never
been married has steadily risen from 1970, when it was under 10 percent for
both men and women, to 23 percent of men and 17 percent of women, at present
. The share of never-married has more than doubled in about four decades.
Marriage has been devalued and lost credibility in recent years. That Pew
survey [2] found that nearly as many American adults (46%) said that Society
is just as well off if people have other priorities than marriage and
children as do not make marriage and having children a priority, as said (50
%) that Society is better off if marriage and children are given priority.
Many different factors have combined to influence the decline of marriage
among young adults. “Adults are marrying later in life, and the shares of
adults cohabiting and raising children outside of marriage have increased
significantly. The median age at first marriage is now 27 for women and 29
for men, up from 20 for women and 23 for men in 1960 [4].” Likewise, the
widespread and immature misuse and abuse of no-fault divorce has weakened
the current generation of young adults’ faith in marriage.
There are significant age-differences in the disintegration of marriage.
Nearly the same percentage of couples who are under age 25 are living in
unmarried partner households as are married couples, says U.S. Census Bureau
data. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and
Economic Supplement, 2010 [5]. By contrast, the percentage of couples aged
35 and older who are living together in unmarried partner households is well
below ten percent (10%), comprising between one-tenth and one-twentieth (or
less) of the total couples in the four over-35-years-old decade-cohorts.
As couples get older, they value marriage more.
The Pew Research Center [6] also shows that the pool of unmarried men age 25
-34 who have jobs has fallen steadily from 1960 (139 million) to 2012 (only
91 million). That may impact the number of marriages; women may have fewer
responsible men to consider as marriage partners. That clearly influences
the rate and number of marriages as another report shows that 78% of all
women report that a prospective partner having “a steady job” would be “
’very important’ to them in choosing a spouse or partner.”
Likewise, the education gap between never-married men and women age 25 and
over has widened, again leaving women with fewer responsible men to consider
as marriage partners.
The Pew Research Center shows that the percentage of unmarried women with a
high school degree or less in 2012 was only 37 percent, while for men it was
47 percent. A higher percentage of single women than single men have
obtained some college education (30%-vs-28%), a bachelor’s degree (21%-vs-
18%), and a post-graduate degree (11%-vs-7%). For these women today there
are fewer equally qualified potential husbands.
As a result of easy no-fault divorce and its consequences, the percentage of
never-married adults has dramatically increased. The Pew Reseach Center
predicts that one in four young adults Americans today may never marry.
The growth of same-sex marriage is further evidence of the marriage crisis
in the U.S. today. Same-sex marriage is legal in thirty-seven (37) of the
fifty U.S. states. In two-thirds of the American states where same-sex
marriage is now permitted, the legalization of same-sex marriage did not
occur by any legitimate democratic or legislative process, but by the order
of federal courts.
By contrast, voters voted to prohibit same-sex marriage by constitutional
amendments in 31 U.S. states. The federal courts have overturned many of
those.
The U.S. is out of step with most of the nations of the world regarding same
-sex marriage. Currently, only seventeen nations (out of 193 sovereign
nations) allow same-sex marriage – less than nine percent (only 8.8%) of
the sovereign nations on earth. Within the next two years three other
nations are likely to permit same-sex marriage (Ireland, Finland, and
Slovenia).
By contrast, at least 47 nations (nearly one-quarter of all nations) have
adopted constitutional language that appears to bar same-sex marriage. For
example: Article 24, Constitution of Japan: “Marriage shall be based only
on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through
mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife … .”
Likewise, Article 110, Constitution of Latvia: “The State shall protect and
support marriage—a union between a man and a woman … .”
The issue of same-sex marriage is still open in most nations. On April 28,
2015, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in four
consolidated cases involving challenges to the marriage laws of those states
which do not allow same-sex couples to marry. Chief Justice John Roberts
boiled the argument [7] down to the fundamental issue: “You’re not seeking
to join the institution,” he said. “You’re seeking to change what the
institution is.” The Court is likely to announce what may be a
revolutionary decision about same-sex marriage this month.
Another major manifestation of the disintegration of families in America is
the explosion of nonmarital childbearing and child-rearing. Those children
are disadvantaged in very profound and long-lasting ways. For example,
according to the recent Brooklyn Declaration (21 May 2015): Children in
father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor. In 2011,
12 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty,
compared to 44 percent of children in mother-only families.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, “Fatherless
children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse.”
There is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with
their mother and father. Children of single-parent homes are more than
twice as likely to commit suicide. Among children in grades 7-12 who have
lived with at least one biological parent, those who experienced the divorce
, separation, or a nonunion birth reported lower grade point averages than
those who have always lived with both biological parents. 71 percent of
high school dropouts are fatherless; fatherless children have more trouble
academically, scoring poorly on tests of reading, mathematics, and thinking
skills; children from father-absent homes are more likely to be truant from
school, more likely to be excluded from school, more likely to leave school
at age 16, and less likely to attain academic and professional
qualifications in adulthood.
So, sadly, the family and families in America are disintegrating. As
judicial orders are decreed and legal policy changes are enacted that re-
shape the American family, we should ask how those rulings and new policies
will impact the disintegration of the family in America.
Lynn D. Wardle is the Bruce C. Hafen Professor of Law at Brigham Young
University. He is author or editor of numerous books and law review
articles mostly about family, biomedical ethics and conflict of laws policy
issues. His publications present only his personal (not institutional) views.
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/lynn-wardle/american-family-endangered-and-disappearing-species
标 题: 美国家庭: 一个快要绝种和消失的东西
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Tue Jun 16 14:24:37 2015, 美东)
Published on CNS News (http://www.cnsnews.com)
The American Family: An Endangered and Disappearing Species
It is quite common to hear persons bemoaning the state of the family and of
families in America. Is that just hype and rhetoric? Are American families
really “disintegrating” today? Sadly, a lot of evidence seems to indicate
that traditional American families are an endangered and disappearing
species.
Several statistical indicia suggest that traditional families (husband and
wife with children) and family life are disappearing in the United States.
One major factor in the disintegration of families in America is the
movement of young adults away from marriage. Nonmarital cohabitation and
temporary “hooking up” have to some extent replaced marriage in some
segments of the young adult population.
Citing a Pew Research Center report, The Deseret News notes [1] that the U.S
. marriage rate (percentage of persons married at age 18-32) has steadily
dropped by generation from 65 percent of the Silent Generation (1960) to 48
percent of the Baby Boomer Generation (1980) to 36 percent of the Gen X
Generation (1997), to just 26 percent of the Millennial Generation (2013).
The decline in marriage rates in the USA has been steady and profound.
Currently fewer than half as many (only 40% as many) of young Americans 18-
32 have married than young Americans of the same age cohort just three
generations earlier (in the “Silent” generation).
Moreover, the marriage rate is “expected to drop even further next year.”
A Pew Research Center report [2] notes that:
“After decades of declining marriage rates and changes in family
structure, the share of American adults who have never been married is at an
historic high. In 2012, one-in-five adults ages 25 and older (about 42
million people) had never been married, [3] according to a new Pew Research
Center analysis of census data. In 1960, only about one-in-ten adults (9%)
in that age range had never been married.”
The percentage of American men and women ages 25 and older who have never
been married has steadily risen from 1970, when it was under 10 percent for
both men and women, to 23 percent of men and 17 percent of women, at present
. The share of never-married has more than doubled in about four decades.
Marriage has been devalued and lost credibility in recent years. That Pew
survey [2] found that nearly as many American adults (46%) said that Society
is just as well off if people have other priorities than marriage and
children as do not make marriage and having children a priority, as said (50
%) that Society is better off if marriage and children are given priority.
Many different factors have combined to influence the decline of marriage
among young adults. “Adults are marrying later in life, and the shares of
adults cohabiting and raising children outside of marriage have increased
significantly. The median age at first marriage is now 27 for women and 29
for men, up from 20 for women and 23 for men in 1960 [4].” Likewise, the
widespread and immature misuse and abuse of no-fault divorce has weakened
the current generation of young adults’ faith in marriage.
There are significant age-differences in the disintegration of marriage.
Nearly the same percentage of couples who are under age 25 are living in
unmarried partner households as are married couples, says U.S. Census Bureau
data. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and
Economic Supplement, 2010 [5]. By contrast, the percentage of couples aged
35 and older who are living together in unmarried partner households is well
below ten percent (10%), comprising between one-tenth and one-twentieth (or
less) of the total couples in the four over-35-years-old decade-cohorts.
As couples get older, they value marriage more.
The Pew Research Center [6] also shows that the pool of unmarried men age 25
-34 who have jobs has fallen steadily from 1960 (139 million) to 2012 (only
91 million). That may impact the number of marriages; women may have fewer
responsible men to consider as marriage partners. That clearly influences
the rate and number of marriages as another report shows that 78% of all
women report that a prospective partner having “a steady job” would be “
’very important’ to them in choosing a spouse or partner.”
Likewise, the education gap between never-married men and women age 25 and
over has widened, again leaving women with fewer responsible men to consider
as marriage partners.
The Pew Research Center shows that the percentage of unmarried women with a
high school degree or less in 2012 was only 37 percent, while for men it was
47 percent. A higher percentage of single women than single men have
obtained some college education (30%-vs-28%), a bachelor’s degree (21%-vs-
18%), and a post-graduate degree (11%-vs-7%). For these women today there
are fewer equally qualified potential husbands.
As a result of easy no-fault divorce and its consequences, the percentage of
never-married adults has dramatically increased. The Pew Reseach Center
predicts that one in four young adults Americans today may never marry.
The growth of same-sex marriage is further evidence of the marriage crisis
in the U.S. today. Same-sex marriage is legal in thirty-seven (37) of the
fifty U.S. states. In two-thirds of the American states where same-sex
marriage is now permitted, the legalization of same-sex marriage did not
occur by any legitimate democratic or legislative process, but by the order
of federal courts.
By contrast, voters voted to prohibit same-sex marriage by constitutional
amendments in 31 U.S. states. The federal courts have overturned many of
those.
The U.S. is out of step with most of the nations of the world regarding same
-sex marriage. Currently, only seventeen nations (out of 193 sovereign
nations) allow same-sex marriage – less than nine percent (only 8.8%) of
the sovereign nations on earth. Within the next two years three other
nations are likely to permit same-sex marriage (Ireland, Finland, and
Slovenia).
By contrast, at least 47 nations (nearly one-quarter of all nations) have
adopted constitutional language that appears to bar same-sex marriage. For
example: Article 24, Constitution of Japan: “Marriage shall be based only
on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through
mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife … .”
Likewise, Article 110, Constitution of Latvia: “The State shall protect and
support marriage—a union between a man and a woman … .”
The issue of same-sex marriage is still open in most nations. On April 28,
2015, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in four
consolidated cases involving challenges to the marriage laws of those states
which do not allow same-sex couples to marry. Chief Justice John Roberts
boiled the argument [7] down to the fundamental issue: “You’re not seeking
to join the institution,” he said. “You’re seeking to change what the
institution is.” The Court is likely to announce what may be a
revolutionary decision about same-sex marriage this month.
Another major manifestation of the disintegration of families in America is
the explosion of nonmarital childbearing and child-rearing. Those children
are disadvantaged in very profound and long-lasting ways. For example,
according to the recent Brooklyn Declaration (21 May 2015): Children in
father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor. In 2011,
12 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty,
compared to 44 percent of children in mother-only families.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, “Fatherless
children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse.”
There is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with
their mother and father. Children of single-parent homes are more than
twice as likely to commit suicide. Among children in grades 7-12 who have
lived with at least one biological parent, those who experienced the divorce
, separation, or a nonunion birth reported lower grade point averages than
those who have always lived with both biological parents. 71 percent of
high school dropouts are fatherless; fatherless children have more trouble
academically, scoring poorly on tests of reading, mathematics, and thinking
skills; children from father-absent homes are more likely to be truant from
school, more likely to be excluded from school, more likely to leave school
at age 16, and less likely to attain academic and professional
qualifications in adulthood.
So, sadly, the family and families in America are disintegrating. As
judicial orders are decreed and legal policy changes are enacted that re-
shape the American family, we should ask how those rulings and new policies
will impact the disintegration of the family in America.
Lynn D. Wardle is the Bruce C. Hafen Professor of Law at Brigham Young
University. He is author or editor of numerous books and law review
articles mostly about family, biomedical ethics and conflict of laws policy
issues. His publications present only his personal (not institutional) views.
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/lynn-wardle/american-family-endangered-and-disappearing-species
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