#2 Benefits of Marriage and Family: In-Tact

Benefits of Family for Children and Adults

As my first blog post about the topic “Marriage and Family: In-Tact,” I thought I would begin by looking at the benefits of an intact family in comparison to that of a divorced or unmarried family. The article “Benefits of Family for Children and Adults” describes the multitude of advantages both children and adults receive as being a part of an intact family.  Some of the advantages include fewer behavioral problems, better results academically, and healthier romantic relationships in the future for children.  Although it is often thought to be beneficial for the couple involved to not to be married or to divorce for the well-being and happiness of the family members, these actions have a profound effect on all people involved.  The article speaks about the psychological effects being married can have on both the mother and the father.  The results of the studies taken show that married mothers are more inclined to create a better environment for their infants and are less likely to experience violence or abuse in their lives.  Some of the effects being married have on fathers included better psychological well-being and more time spent at home with their children, which is also beneficial for the children.  The benefits for children in an intact family are greater than those of the parents.  Some of the other advantages for children talked about in the article include better emotional health, a safer home environment, and the tendency to be more religious in adulthood.  Some connections made in the article that I found interesting were the connections between sexual activity and substance abuse in teens and their link to marriage and family.  The article describes that teens that have dinner with their family at least 5 times a week are less likely to be involved in substance abuse than teens who have dinner with their family only two nights a week.  The article also explained that teens in an intact family are less likely to be involved in sexual activity than teens that were not living with two married parents. I found this article very interesting and I believe that these are only some of the benefits for children and adults in an intact family.  The article talks more about the statistics of these benefits compared to children of unmarried or divorced parents and provide valid points for why intact marriages and families are positive for all members.