3 Studies That Show Why Family Matters

A stable family structure predicts health, wealth and educational benefits. (Deseret News)

A 2024 study published in JAMA Psychiatry: Death rates from deaths of despair (drug overdoses, alcohol-related deaths, suicides) are significantly higher for unmarried individuals, regardless of education level.

• Researchers found marriage provides a strong buffer against deaths of despair, even when other risk factors like education are present.

• For instance, less-educated married people have similar outcomes to higher-educated unmarried individuals.

• The decline of marriage has been especially catastrophic for poorly educated white men, worsening their death rates from despair.

A 2020 meta-analysis of 30 studies and more than 1 million students: The achievement gap, which refers to differences in academic performance between African American and Latino students and white students, completely disappears for black and Latino students who are people of faith and come from two biological parent families.

• This finding holds true even after adjusting for socioeconomic status.

A 2014 Institute for Family Studies report: Men raised in intact families and married as adults earn $17,000 more annually in personal income and $42,000 more in family income by their mid-40s compared to those raised in non-intact families and unmarried.

A 2017 study published in Epidemiol Community Health: At age 60, life expectancy increases by 2 years for men and 1.5 years for women if they have at least one child.

• The mortality gap grows with age, with parents experiencing lower death risks as they grow older compared to childless individuals.

• The longevity benefit persists even when adjusting for factors like age, education, race and socioeconomic status.