Latino Briefs Digest

This monthly digest is written primarily for the staff of UC Cooperative Extension. It is produced by the staff of ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) based on news reported by mainstream news media and reputable research institutions. Inclusion in the digest does not imply endorsement, nor does SBMS assume responsibility for the veracity of the information. We invite our readers to refer to the source to read more of each particular brief; we'll try to always include a link.

A study by the Pew Research Center on marriage happiness touched on America’s high rate of out-of-wedlock births and cohabitation outside marriage. According to the study, 71 percent of Americans say the growth in births to unwed mothers is a “big problem.” Republicans and older people were more likely to give conservative answers than Democrats and younger adults. But the patterns in regard to race and ethnicity were more complex. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to bear children out of wedlock. Yet, according to the survey, these minority groups are more inclined than whites to place a high value on the importance of children to a successful marriage. The survey found that more than 80 percent of while adults have been married, compared with about 70 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of blacks. The survey revealed another important finding. The percentage of Americans who consider children “very important” to a successful marriage dropped since 1990, and more now cite the sharing of household chores as most important.
Source: Pew Research Center, "As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact," July 1, 2007, http://pewresearch.org/pubs/526/marriage-parenthood