Family Disintegration

What defines the success of a family? Is it if the children are well behaved? If the children obtain successful careers? Mental health for children and parents? Mom and dad staying married?

There are many factors that could define the success of an outcome.

Is there one style of family that is more likely to be successful in all aspects of life?

Yes, actually.

Nowadays we are witnessing the disintegration of the family. What constitutes a family is now changing rapidly. As American demographics shift, the all-American nuclear family is becoming the minority.

Gay couples, immigrant and bi-racial families have experienced great pushback when it comes to their “family” being defined. These are modern, 21st century issues we face and definitely a sign of the times.

Data from the Curve, a publication produced by NBC Universal Integrated Media, presented blended quantitative research from the most recent U.S. Census data and qualitative research to ask questions about today’s “modern” family culture. The results on what today’s American family look like were stunning.

Here’s how the modern family is changing according to the study:

• The traditional “nuclear family” is diminishing – only 21% of American families are made up of a working dad, stay at home mother and children. This has shifted from 44% only 53 years ago.
• Stay at home dads are rapidly increasing. In 1970 1 in 100 stay at home parents was a dad, now it’s 1 in 7.
• Nearly 40% of births last year were to unmarried women, and yet teen pregnancies are declining, showing an increased trend of women having children outside of marriage.
• 50% of parents with children from a previous marriage, are starting a new blended family with their current partner/spouse.
• Generation Y was faster to grow up (the Curve Report links this to an increased access to technology) and yet they no longer see leaving your parents’ home as a symbol of adulthood.
• Families with several generations (including grandparents) surged from 26 to 49 million.
• New laws allowing gay men and women to marry have expanded our view on what is legally recognized as “family.”
• Time Magazine reports that more couples are deciding no to have children (“child free”) – nearly 1 in 5 women are exiting their childbearing years without children, double the rate from the 1970s.

These statistics are very telling. When given this data it’s easier to see why we as a society are increasing in depression, anxiety, addiction and unhealthy coping. It’s a bold statement to say these days but the family with a mother and a father who honor their covenants with complete fidelity truly is the healthiest option for all.

There is a wonderful website that you can visit right here which goes in depth with the consequences of what kind of family someone comes from.