Decline of the Family in America

Written on Friday, April 26, 2013 by David L. Goetsch

The last several decades have not been kind to the family in America. In fact, since the 1970s the family—historically the principal social unit in American society—has been trapped in a steady downhill spiral. Less than half of American households now contain a traditional nuclear family—father, mother, and children. More than 40 percent of children are now born into households in which no father is present, the rate of non-married cohabitation is up seven times over what it was in 1970, and half of all marriages end up in divorce. Not a pretty picture.   

.........“With each new generation over the last fifty years, the plight of the family has worsened, and the problem is getting harder to ignore. In 1960, 70% of young men showed maturity by age 30, while today, the opposite is true: 70% of young men are not ‘grown up’ by 30 years of age. Today, 70% of children will not grow up with their mothers and fathers at home, and the trend is only growing bleaker. In 20 years there will be very few young men who are grown up enough to provide for their wives and children…….The family is dying a slow and miserable death in the West. There are several institutional forces that have worked hard to dismantle the family over about the last six generations. Our colleges, universities, K-12 schools, churches, corporations, and government have marginalized the family unit because they do not see the family as integral to the socio-economic system.”….. To Read More….