Fragile Families and the Marriage Agenda

Many people see government involvement in family policy as a response to popular concerns that the American family is in a state of crisis. One of the primary concerns with “fragile” families (one parent – usually mother) is economic: Poverty rates for single mothers are several times that of two-parent families. Economic deprivation while growing up has been linked to poor physical health, reduced intellectual ability and academic achievement. Some social sciences contend that marriage is the solution to many of the problems associated with single-parent families. Other experts believe that government programs designed to raise marriage rates may cause more problems than they solve (i.e. domestic violence, divorce, etc.). The proposed volume will explore issues related to fragile families from many different perspectives on the causes and consequences of this issue. This book is divided up into sections covering legal and theoretical perspectives, causes and consequences of offspring wellbeing, and the aspect of father’s importance to the “fragile families”.