Rockway Institute In the News

Family findings:
A sampling of research by
Council on Contemporary Families members

May 3, 2007

MOTHERS
* Eight of 10 young adults who grew up with a "work-committed" mother called this "the best option.'' (New York University)
* Moms today spend more time on child care -- time devoted to such activities as helping with homework or playing -- than in the so-called "Golden Era" of the 1960s nuclear family. Mothers spent 12.9 hours a week in 2000, up from 10.6 hours in 1965. (University of Maryland)
FATHERS
* Wives whose husbands do more housework are more sexually interested in their hubbies. (San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group)
* When wives work after school and in the evenings, fathers spend more time with their kids -- and the dads are rated higher by their children. (Brandeis University)
KIDS
* Two of three couples reported a drop in happiness in their marriage during the first three years of their baby's life. (Gottman Institute)
* Because of structured activities such as organized sports, kids today have less free time than they did 20 years ago. (University of Massachusetts)
* Parents think their kids want more time with them, but surveys show kids mostly want their moms and dads to be less stressed. (Families and Work Institute)
DIVORCE:
* People in distressed marriages become less depressed after divorce, but, over time, some of the relief wears off, perhaps because of the challenges of being single parents. (Framingham State College)
* About half of grown children of broken homes say their relationship with their father improved after their parents divorced. (University of Southern California)
GAYS AND LESBIANS
* Children raised by two mothers develop at least as successfully as kids parented by a mother and father. (New York University)
* Same-sex couples frequently have closer and more-egalitarian relationships than heterosexual couples. (Rockway Institute for LGBT Research)