Zenit interviews Maggie Gallagher about her contribution to The Meaning of Marriage:
Q: You say marriage is important for children. What's the evidence?
Gallagher: A large body of social science research now affirms the importance of marriage for the common good.
For example: Marriage reduces the risk of poverty for children and communities. The majority of children whose parents don't get or stay married experience at least a year of poverty.
Fatherless households increase crime. Boys whose parents divorced or never married, for example, are two to three times more likely to end up in jail as adults.
Marriage protects children's physical and mental health. Children whose parents get and stay married are healthier and also much less likely to suffer mental illness, including depression and teen suicide.
The interview was published April 10.
