Marriage

  • 9 in 10 high school seniors say that having a good marriage and family life is “quite” or “extremely” important to them.
  • This statistic has remained consistent since the 1970’s.
  • A&M programs seek to help teens to pursue their hope for healthy future marriage.
  • The American media culture regularly portrays sex outside of marriage as normative and thus provides confusing messages to America’s youth.
  • In 2014, Marriage rates hit an all time recorded low falling below 50% for the first time in recorded U.S. history.
  • Non-marital birth rates are at an all time recorded high of 41%.
  • Soon most American children will be born outside of marriage.
  • Marriage has significant benefits for couples such as:
    • Physical Benefits
      • Less alcoholism
      • Less suicide
      • Less illness
    • Emotional Benefits
      • Less mental illness
      • Less stress
      • Less loneliness
    • Sexual Benefits
      • Greater intimacy
      • Greater satisfaction
      • Greater frequency
    • Financial Benefits
      • Higher incomes
      • Greater security
      • More likely to save
  • America’s youth need clear, unambiguous messaging on the benefits of marriage and family for themselves and for their children.