December 13, 2023
Stronger Families, Safer Streets
The debate about how best to respond to urban crime—a debate that has become more important in light of recent increases in violent crime and homicide in many cities across America—has tended to focus on two perspectives. The first prioritizes tackling the “social structural factors” (unemployment, economic inequality, poverty, etc.) that are thought to be…
December 11, 2023
How to make smartphones and apps safer for kids
“These are first-of-their-kind bills in the United States,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in March at the signing of SB152, which required social media companies operating in Utah to age-verify users and obtain explicit parental consent for users under the age of 18 to open an account. “That’s huge that Utah is leading out in this…
December 5, 2023
The Ninth Annual American Family Survey: Perceptions and Realities of Issues Families Face Today
When it comes to the most important challenges families face today, the public has ideas about how the economy, family structure, health, and other issues rank—but these perceptions don’t always match what the public reports as the biggest issues for their own families. The ninth annual American Family Survey delves into the experiences of American…
December 1, 2023
Red States Can Lead the Way on Marriage and Fatherhood
“If we care about our children, if we care about the vibrancy of our communities, we have no choice but to have the conversation” about absent fatherhood, said Chris Sprowls, who served as a prosecutor in Florida before going on to become speaker of the state house in 2020. In his work on cases involving gangs…
November 27, 2023
For kids, marriage still matters
The science could not be clearer: On average, the children of married parents are more likely to experience happier, healthier and more successful lives. Brookings Institution scholar Melissa Kearney powerfully underscores this truth in her new book “The Two-Parent Privilege,” writing, “The decline in the share of U.S. children living in a two-parent family over…
November 17, 2023
Male Malaise Is Not Just About ‘the Culture’
You are familiar with the litany of ills blighting our society: declining rates of work and marriage; rising rates of obesity and loneliness; soaring deaths of despair. All of these trends reflect the falling fortunesof the American male, a malaise magnified when we look at boys and men in poor and working-class communities. When the male malaise…
October 27, 2023
What liberals don’t understand about men and marriage
There’s no question the bond between fatherhood and marriage is weaker today than it was 60 years ago. Whereas almost 80% of children were raised in an intact, married home with their father in the early 1960s, today only about 51% have that privilege. In the face of what seems like a fraying father-marriage bond, some left-leaning men’s advocates…
October 2, 2023
Growing Up in Intact Families Matters More Than Ever
Stable, two-parent families have always mattered for kids. But today, we have new evidence that they may matter more than ever. A new study from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) indicates that an intact family is increasingly tied to the educational, financial, and social welfare of children. Meanwhile, family instability appears to harm kids more than…
September 27, 2023
The Good and Bad News About Boys and Men in Utah
For all that Utah is doing well, a concerning trend has surfaced amongst boys and men in the state.
September 21, 2023
The Two-Parent Advantage
“Isn’t divorce less of a big deal for kids these days?” A colleague’s wife asked me this question as we hiked down Parkman Mountain last summer, while taking a break from an academic conference. She asked the question after she learned that I studied American families. “After all,” she added, “we’re more accepting now of…