A new report from the Center for Social Justice (CSJ) says children and society do better when parents are married. According to the 'Family Structure Still Matters' report, "even when controlling for income and education, children who grow up in unstable families suffer worse health and are more likely to be excluded join a gang and end up as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training)."
On the other hand, the report also says that there is a higher chance that married couples enjoy a healthier lifestyle and higher earning, and good family relationships. Also, they are more willing to volunteer, help out neighbors, and be more engaged in their local community.
The Center for Social Justice reported that married parents are twice as likely to stay together as cohabiting ones with over half (53%) of children in cohabiting households seeing their parent's divorce by the age of five, compared to just 15% of children in married families.
Regarding this issue, Cristina Odone, the head of the family policy unit at the CSJ, said "these differences matter because family stability has been shown to profoundly affect children's outcomes." She also called out the Government to acknowledge the distinctive benefits of marriage brings to children and society, adding "the differences between cohabitation and marriage are not negligible. The government should stop pretending they are."
