Research by the Marriage Foundation has found that nearly half of teenagers are not living with both of their biological parents by the time they reach the age of 14.
The foundation said that 45 per cent percent of teenagers were not living with both their parents, representing the highest percentage since records began, although they also noted that their figure was nearly double that reached by government statistics.
One of the reasons for such a high discrepancy between the Marriage Foundation and Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures is that the ONS only looks at one-parent families. Hence a single parent entering a new relationship would not longer be counted by the ONS, while the MF would still count this new arrangement as children not living with both biological parents.
The research noted that the high rate was driven not by divorce, but by a failure to get married in the first place.
According to the Marriage Foundation, married families account for 85 per cent of intact parents and only 30 per cent of family breakdowns.
Put simply, if a teenager lives with both their biological parents, then their parents are most likely married and if they live with only one or neither of their biological parents, it is likely their parents never married.
The research indicated that couples who do not marry are nearly twice as likely to break up in the future, no matter their social status or background.
It was noted that family breakdown is such a serious issue, that many other negative societal effects stem from it. Poverty, poor education results, poor mental health are just some of the ill-effects downstream from family breakdown.
Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation’s Research Director and the author of the study commented, “The level of family breakdown in the UK is at epidemic proportions and is set to get worse with all the knock-on effects on those affected and in societal costs.”
Benson added that while most people do wish to marry at some point in their life, weddings are perceived as being too expensive, making it a luxury for the rich. This combined with a benefits system that disincentivises marriage means that for many of those on lower incomes, marriage is effectively discouraged.
“We want reliable love in which we can trust, so we can be free to be ourselves without fear the one we love will stop loving us. If we have reliable love, we can have a row or a tiff, wake up in the morning, and know our relationship is still intact. We don’t even doubt it," said Benson.
