Slippery Hitching Posts: Upheaval in an Institution Based on Stability

[Félix]

To read Andrew J. Cherlin’s provocative and intriguing new book about marriage is to think that America’s relationships are in chaos.

"Instead of spending money to promote marriage, we should use it to encourage security for our children, he says. Divorce and breakup can affect children badly. But parents shouldn’t rush into another relationship just to provide a stable home. In one study by Mr. Cherlin and a colleague, the two found that every time a partner entered or left a household, the odds of an adolescent stealing, skipping school or getting drunk increased by 12 percent, though he points out that the majority of adolescents with broken homes don’t exhibit delinquent behavior."

Andrew J. Cherlin

[RandomAnthony]

Interesting. I want to think about this more before I comment, sir.

[Sarah]

We've had two familicides in Maryland in the last week or so, both of which appear to have been prompted by the economy. In both cases, the father killed his whole family and then himself. In one, reports are now saying that the family was horribly in debt, and in the other, that the father had just been named in a suit related to somebody's missing investments.