A major study of family life for ‘millennial children’ in Britain has discovered a massive increase in marital breakdown in a single generation.
Seeking to replicate a study conducted from 1969, the Centre for Longitudinal Studies and the Institute of Education launched the Millennium Cohort Study based on around 13,000 children born in Britain between September 2000 and January 2002, tracking their lives and family settings for 11 years.
According to the results of the study, while 61% of children overall were still living with both parents at the age of 11 (83% of the 61% were with married parents), some 33% had experienced an upheaval in their family, such as a marital break-up (14% had witnessed two or more changes). Over 26% of the children were living in a lone-parent setting, while 12% lived in a ‘blended’ family of parent and step-parent.
When compared to the 1969 study, the results show that family life for millennial children is demonstrably less stable. In that earlier research, it was found that 90% of 11-year-olds were living in a home with married parents, just 6% were in a lone-parent home and 3% lived in a ‘blended’ family setting.
The report authors point out that while children involved in the study reported a high degree of happiness in their lives, the figures reveal negative impacts of family instability for them.
For example, the study reveals that some 25% of 11-year-olds in lone parent and step-parent settings and 35% living apart from both parents had behavioural problems, compared to just over 10% in homes headed by both natural parents. Conversely, while 14% of children living with both parents existed in poverty, the figure surged to 32% for ‘blended’ families and 53% in a lone parent setting.
Reacting to the Millennium Cohort Study, Harry Benson of the Marriage Foundation said Britain’s politicians should pay close attention to its findings.
“Politicians can no longer safely ignore what these big national studies are telling us – that children whose parents don’t stay together face much higher risks to their well-being…if we are not encouraging parents to get married we are increasing those risks.”
