"The first piece of bad news is that marriage is becoming more and more selective, with the well-heeled and the religious still marrying, and the poor and working-class and the more secular-minded steering clear of marriage in larger numbers. Consequently, more and more children are being born outside of wedlock. Approximately 40 per cent of American children are now born outside of marriage. The future facing these children born out of wedlock is often bleak. Because most of their parents will not stay together, a clear majority of these boys and girls will grow up without the benefit of being raised in the same home with both of their parents. They will face higher risks of depression, delinquency, dropping out of high school, and the other problems associated with being reared apart from one parent, usually their father."
(From "The New Divorce Divide" by W. Bradford Wilcox in Mercator, September 17)
