There is a “growing scientific consensus” that the family structure based on marriage is best for both children and parents.

In a piece penned for the US-based National Review, W. Brad Wilcox, a sociologist at the University of Virginia pointed to a host of studies, including three recent research projects, which clearly demonstrated that, “despite persistent efforts to claim otherwise”, individuals young and old benefit from “strong and stable married families”.

Wilcox himself is co-author of one of the more recent studies, ‘Strong Families, Prosperous States: Do Healthy Families Affect the Wealth of States?’ It found that states with higher marriage numbers had less child poverty, higher family incomes and greater overall economic growth, while violent crime was demonstrably lower in those states with high number of married families.