Latest Research Reports and Articles:

• **NEW*** Taxpayer Costs of Divorce & Unwed Childbearing Report  by Benjamin Scafidi, Ph.D. Economist at Georgia College and State University and team. Includes estimates for each state. $112 billion per year nationally and $776 million for Virginia in lost tax revenue and increased social services.  Available for free download of pdf file at  www.AmericanValues.org   
• **NEW*** Why Celebrate Black Marriage Day  article by Julie Baumgardner FTF Chattanooga link here
• **NEW***  Finding a Marriage Friendly Therapist - Therapeutic Family Law Blog 08 article by James Stinson link here
• Mentoring Program May Save a Bad Marriage Before It Begins by Maggie Gallagher.  Also addresses cohabitation from a clergy perspective. link here.
• **NEW***  Dying Alone:  A new generation of Americans will face aging and loss of their divorced parents in a new - and often lonely - way. by Elizabeth Marquardt. link here
• **NEW***  Working on Your Marriage -- at Work :  Realizing That a Happy Staff Is More Productive, Employers Offer Relationship Training    THE WALL STREET JOURNAL  May 31, 2007  By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN link here
• **NEW***  Child Trends report: Men's Pregnancy Intentions and Prenatal Behaviors:  What they mean for Father's Involvement With Their Children.  Applicable conclusions and implications for public policy include: : Pregnancy programs and health care providers should involve fathers from the start; Programs should cater to the needs and interests of men as well as women; The importance of father involvement for child well- being should be stressed at all levels; Pregnancy programs should be sensitive to cultural differences in the ways fathers perceive the pregnancy and support the mother. Reminds of the Magic Moment...  
• **NEW Book*** "Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age" authored by Kay Hymowitz.  "The breakdown of marriage in the Untied States - which began about 40 years ago as divorce and out-of-wedlock birthrates soared - threatens America's future. It is turning us into a nation of separate but unequal families. It has become clear that family breakdown lies at the heart of our nation's most obstinate social problems, especially poverty and inequality. To put it more broadly, there is no way to attack these worrisome economic trends without tackling culture - the system of beliefs, values and practices that help us define and live a good life."  This is a must read if you want to understand some of the societal changes that have contributed to growing multi-generational poverty.  see the Wall Street Journal Review below
• **NEW**   THE RING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE   a book review of Marriage and Caste in America By CHARLOTTE HAYS    The Wall Street Journal    "The Marriage Gap"
• Premarital Cohabitation Effect" authored by Scott Stanley, Galena Kline Rhoades, and Howard Markman. The article will only be available for free for two months, to download go to: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/fare/55/4 

• **NEW*** "July 2007 Report on Family Structure impact in children"  The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation Paul R. Amato:  http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0707-amato.html 

• **NEW***Why Marriage Matters - Twenty-Six Conclusions from Social Sciences (second edition); a compiled Report from politically diverse, inter-disciplinary group of Family Scholars: (Link to read summary or to order)  
• **NEW**** Brookings Institution reports that increasing marriage rates and reducing divorce is the second most influential factor to reduce poverty second only to "Full Time Work"  and in front of increasing education!  Testimony of Senior Fellow: Isabel Sawhill to Ways & Means Committee April 26, 2007. Suggests funding of programs for Pre-Marital Skills Education and healthy Relationship Skills for Teens like the Relationship Smarts program part of Love U-2 Curriculum which we use at FTF for teens. Culture Counts:  "Thus, any strategy to reduce the number of single parent families should include a component aimed at changing broad cultural attitudes.  Many younger people, teens especially, have not fully absorbed the message about normative ordering of events that is critical to achieving life's goals: finish high school, or better still, get a college degree, wait until your twenties to marry, and do not have children until after you marry and at least one parent is stably employed".  Download pdf report from Brookings: http://www3.brookings.edu/views/testimony/sawhill/20070426.pdf 
• The Consequences of Marriage for African Americans; a newly released study by a team of family scholars estimates that marriage typically brings a host of important benefits to African American men, women, and children: (Link to read summary or to order)  
• Pre-marriage training makes a difference:  Research report from Premarital Education, Marital Quality, and Marital Stability: Findings From a Large, Random Household Survey 2006
• Abstinence testimony to congress May 22, 07;  Hundreds of abstinence education advocates, most of who are still in high school, gathered on Capitol Hill today to educate Congress about the widespread support for abstinence education. News release link here.
• Northside Healthy Marriage Initiative Report 2006  Research report.
• **NEW****Church attendance makes a difference:  Church attenders have 44% divorce rate as compared to 60% for non-attenders according to Research report from Bowling Green reported    April 14, 2007 By DAVID YONKE ;     T OLEDO BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
• Canadian report on how men are impacted by divorce more than women in terms of depression.... but not financially. 2007
• New Release for July 2006  The State of Our Unions: 2006 From National Marriage Project, Rutgers University. Feature Essay: Life Without Children  Comparison of marriage and family trends.  Includes  updated indices of marriage, divorce, cohabitation, loss of child centeredness, fragile families, and teen attitudes.  http://marriage.rutgers.edu 
• NEW "Love is in the Air" article on  paying attention to romantic lives of  teens (Link Here)
• CDC Dec 15, 2004 Report on Health benefits of Marriage
• The State of Our Unions: 2005 From National Marriage Project, Rutgers University. Feature Essay: Marriage & Family: What Does the Scandinavian Experience Tell Us?  Comparison of family trends & child wellbeing in the US and Sweden. Includes  updated indices of marriage, divorce, cohabitation, loss of child centeredness, fragile families, and teen attitudes. [PDF] or [HTML] 
• Government interest in Healthy Marriages: Wedded to Marriage, Invest now or Pay Later by Wade Horn, HHS.ACF. Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From National Review Article
• iMAPP Policy Brief: Can Married Parents Prevent Crime?  summary of research links between marriage and crime / gang acytivity.   link here
• New Release: November 2004!!    Ten Important Research Findings on Marriage and Choosing A Marriage Partner: Helpful Facts for Young Adults [PDF]
• Us Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Familiies (ACF) Healthy Marriage Web site (Link)
• Dawsons Vow   Article from the May 15, 2004 Government Executive Magazine on Diann Dawson, "ACF's marriage maven", her work in organizing the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative (AAHMI), and her vow --is an inspiration.
• Rutgers University Research from the National Marriage Project:  The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of Marriage in America, 2004   David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead    This year's feature essay, "The Marrying Kind," reviews the results of a national survey of young men 25 to 34, looking at the characteristics of the men who marry and those who don't. The report also includes updates of the social indicators of marriage, divorce, cohabitation, child wellbeing, and teen attitudes.         [Adobe Acrobat^tm Version]
• Surprising Economic Benefits of Marriage from Rutgers study... page 17 of above State of our Unions 2004(Link)

• PASTORS SAY LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX IN CHURCH from ABCNews.com    Oct. 17, 2006 Some Churches Are Encouraging People to Open Up About Sexuality

• Marrying Across Cultures:  love stories and seven suggestions for cross cultural couples by Missionary and Family Life Educator Larry Ballard

  Family Facts from a variety of research Fellows: http://familyfacts.org/ 

  MARITAL WISDOM: 60 years of wisdom in couple's advice; Home News Tribune 03/21/07

  by DR. ALAN M. SINGER

   

   

• Drop in Black Marriage Hurting families  Article By BENIN DAKAR Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/11/05
• Within My Reach (PREP for individuals)  a relationship skills program developed by PREP especially targeting low income individuals. go to www.withinmyreach.com/ or  www.PREPinc.com for additional information.
• Building Strong Families Project and Research from HHS ACF http://www.BuildingStrongFamilies.info
• RESEARCH REVEALS DIVORCE AS TOP THREAT TO FAMILIES; The Christian Post Nov 10, 2004 Partick Duong; The most prominent threats to families in Protestant communities are divorce, negative influences from the media, and materialism.
• LOVE U2  By Julie Baumgardner September 2005;  A positive, asset building relationship program to help teens become wiser about relationships, smarter about sex, more skilled in communications and more informed about marriage and families.
• MEN WHO TIE THE KNOT MAKE A LOT MORE MONEY THAN SINGLE ONES -- BUT WHY?.  July 29, 2004 By Hal R. Varian,  New York Times.   http://www.GovExec.com/features/0504-15/0504-15newsanalysis3.htm
• Till Ministry Us Do Part? From Leadership Journal  The breaking and healing of a pastor's marriage. by Matt and Julie Woodleyhttp://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/002/21.86.html
• Realistic Expectations and Relationship Skills help engaged couples  by By Jane E. Allen,  LA Times Staff Writer reporting on study by James McNulty, Ohio State, Mansfield

• Blacks Begin Discussing the "M" Word   Ethics & Religion  Column by Mike McManus May 27

• Marriage Protection Week proclaimed by President Go Here To read the full Press Release

• Martin Luther's Dream: Crippled by Non-Marriage by Michael J McManus. A challenging Aug 27 Column concerning the impact of reduced numbers of couples marrying in the African American Community and the need for bold leadership. 

• Chattanooga says "We Do" .  Strategic giving and an innovative nonprofit group reverse a city's high rates of divorce, out-of-wedlock births, and absentee fathers from Philanthropy Roundtable March-April magazine Cover article about First Things First by Karin Glendinning.

•  You Can Work It Out... Staying Married could be the happiest Solution (link); By Nanci Kulig of Prevention Magazine. Getting Happy without calling it quits.  Before you file for divorce, consider some surprising news from the University of Chicago: In studies of 700 miserable, ready-to-split spouses, researchers found that two-thirds of those who stayed married were happy 5 years later.

• How Effective Are Premarital Prevention Programs?    A recent study by Carroll and Doherty (2003) evaluated the effectiveness of premarital prevention programs and produced some promising results. Results revealed that the average person who participated in a premarital prevention program was significantly better off afterward than 79% of people who did not participate.  The findings suggest that premarital prevention programs are generally effective in producing immediate and short-term gains in interpersonal skills and overall relationship quality and that these improvements are significantly better than nonintervention couples in these areas.

• The Marriage Problem   Spring 2003. A special briefing paper by David Blankenhorn, president of the New York-based Institute for American Values. Excerpts from the memo, which was distributed to key players in the marriage movement when they recently met to discuss how to proceed in strengthening marriage as an essential institution in the U.S.  The complete piece can be linkeed from here.

•   State of Our Unions 2003 from Rutgers University National Marriage Project.  Featuring Essay: Marriage & Children: Coming together again?.. Looks at the decline of child centeredness in American Society.  Includes Annually updated indices of marriage, divorce, cohabitation, loss of child centeedness, fragile families, and teen attitudes. http://marriage.rutgers.edu/publicat.htm

• "Welfare & Marriage" . Article from Washington times by Cheryl Wetzstein stating that Federal funding in 2003 is virtually assured.

• Strengthening Healthy Marriages a Compendium of Approaches from  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families By Bill Coffin  (link for article)  a government report on popular programs, many of which MBA of Richmond provides.

• Clergy/Mentor Training; Endorsement of MBA program  by The Rev. Thomas W. Simmons IV (link for article)

•   Hope Needed, How Marriage Therapists Make or Break Marriages by Scott Haltzman,, MD

• Many Couples Giving Up Sex in the months before Wedding  By DAVID YOUNT (link for article)

• St. Giles Presbyterian Church: A Marriage Saver Congregation by Bob Ruthazer (link for article).

• Richmond Marriage Mentors Program, a Pastors Testimony by The Rev. Tom Simmons, All Saints Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA. Marriage Mentors are effective, save pastor's time, means of evangelism, and a great program for connecting young families into your church!

•   Celebrating Marriage by Daryl Nerl of Morning Call - Allentown, PA

•  Surviving and Affair by Karen S. Peterson, USA Today  (link for article).

• Marriage Education and Public Policy in Richmond by Bob Ruthazer (link for article).

• Community Based Premarital Prevention: Clergy and Lay Leaders on the Front Lines by Markman & Stanley from Journal on Family Relations, 2001, 50,67-76 (link for article).

•  Does Divorce Make People Happy?  Findings from a Study of Unhappy Marriages(link); By Linda J. Waite, Don Browning, William J. Doherty, Maggie Gallagher, Ye Luo, and Scott M. Stanley.
  Call it the "divorce assumption." Most people assume that a person stuck in a bad marriage has two choices: stay married and miserable or get a divorce and become happier. But now come the findings from the first scholarly study ever to test that assumption, and these findings challenge conventional wisdom. Conducted by a team of leading family scholars headed by University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, the study found no evidence that unhappily married adults who divorced were typically any happier than unhappily married people who stayed married. Divorce is not likely to make you happier... according to this study!

• Marriage 911: by Julie Baumgardner: Where to go for help and how to find a counselor that will help.

• Infidelity Reaches Beyond Having Sex;  ...Emotional Intimacy, Virtual Affairs take hold in the Workplace.by Karen S. Peterson  USA Today Jan 9, 2003 Cautions about Workplace friendships and advice from Dr Shirley Glass.(link for article).

• Step Families: Tomorrows Nuclear Family by  Dr David Swift

• Why Marriage Mentors are a key element to effective Marriage Ministry: by Bob Ruthazer CFLE

• Smalley Intensives to save marriages by Jim Brown and others; a look at intensive retreats as strategy to save marriages.

• "Marriage, Health, and the Professions: If Marriage is Good For You, What does this Mean For Law, Medicine, Ministry, Therapy, and Business?" Edited by John Wall, Don Browning, William Doherty, and Stephen Post. This book takes off from the groundbreaking research done by University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, which was reported in the widely read and discussed "The Case for Marriage" (2000).  This research presented evidence indicating that married men and women on average have better health, enjoy more satisfying sex, and accumulate more wealth.

• Marriage Education and Government Policy: Helping Couples Who Choose Marriage Achieve Success bv Scott M. Stanley, Howard J. Markman, University of Denver, Natalie H. Jenkins; PREP 

• "Elephant in the Room: New Day Dawning? In the struggle over the family, foundations made the difference. By David Pompenoe. from March/April  Philanthropy Magazine.

• State of our Unions 2001 Study at Rutgers University

• Should we live together:  What Young Adults Need to Know about Cohabitation before Marriage; A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research from National Marriage Project at Rutgers University

• Avoid the typical pitfalls of marriage by Ann Douglas, Chicago Tribune Jan 02, 2002. The Cultural Trends that gave us enlightenment and freedom now give us cohabitation and divorce... how do we restore culture? 

• The Missing Piece in Marriage Ministry: A link to great PDF file on the missing Piece to the Puzzle: "Equipping" must be added to "Education", "Counseling" , and "Mentoring"  See our Resources section for other great equipping programs.

• Marriage Just a piece of paper?  goes beyond conservative-liberal polarities in addressing timely marriage issues head-on. Skillfully weaving together scores of revealing interviews — with adults and children, with well-known professionals and ordinary citizens — the book poignantly captures the varied lives and voices, hopes and heartbreaks, and successes and failures that make up the reality of marriage in American society today.

• About Christian PREP and Richmond Workshops 

• Why PREP or CPREP works for prevention of marital problems. Research and bibliography on Marriage skills education link.

• The Fatherhood Movement and Marriage by
  Nisa Islam Muhammad Staff Writer, Final Call Newspaper June 6, 2002

• Blackaby on Marriage in the Church by Henry Blackaby from "Experiencing God Together" by Henry Blackaby.

• Reports and studies of Divorce and impact from Divorce Reform:   http://familylaw.typepad.com/stats/

Annoucements

• PREPARE/ENRICH    Relationship Inventory training for Clergy or Counselors (link for info)   Learn how to use this widely used tool for marriage preparation or enrichment. 
• FOCCUS/REFOCCUS:  Marriage Inventory Training for  Clergy & Mentors FOCCUS/REFOCCUS Relationship Inventory.   More information and training dates. 
• Marriage and the Black Community: Real Life Stories of Welfare Reform Success Click to view 1 hour address.
  Featuring: Robert L. Woodson, President, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise.  Hosted by: Michael Franc, Vice President, Government Relations, The Heritage Foundation.
• *NEW*** Hooking up,, Hanging out and Hoping for Mr Right -- College Women on Dating & Mating Today.  from the Independent Women's Forum.   An 18-month study of the attitudes and values of today’s college women regarding sexuality, dating, courtship, and marriage.
• AN INTERVIEW WITH Rev. GEORGE YOUNG @ The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government June, 2004