Births to unwed moms rising; Northern Europe beats U.S.

Thursday 14th May, 05:35 AM JST

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8 Comments

Den Den at 08:08 AM JST - 14th May

So what? What is important about these statistics is whether society has adjusted to the differences(childcare, labour laws, etc).
Maria at 08:08 AM JST - 14th May

"unwed moms". How puritanical. Why not: "Single moms" or "common-law couples"?
Noliving at 09:41 AM JST - 14th May

Den Den, its a big deal because it shows a trend in the society about the values of family, the family unit has a huge impact on how society operates. It is well known that children that are born to families of a single parent are more prone to violence, crime, low academic success for example. So it is a big deal.
sabiwabi at 01:52 PM JST - 14th May

Probably the most important statement in the article is: "In northern Europe, men and women more often live together in unmarried, long-term, stable relationships".

So the situation is probably still worst in the US, where "unmarried mothers are more likely to be on their own and—traditionally—they are more likely to be poor and uneducated".
jonnyboy at 02:32 PM JST - 14th May

It is well known that children that are born to families of a single parent are more prone to violence, crime, low academic success for example. So it is a big deal.

correlation is not direct evidence of cause and effect. single parent families are more likely to be poor, and live in poor neighbourhoods. in order to prove a link between single-parent families and crime it would be necessary to compare rates of delinquency between single-parent and nuclear families living in comparable income brackets
jonnyboy at 02:33 PM JST - 14th May

"In northern Europe, men and women more often live together in unmarried, long-term, stable relationships".

and i support it. at the end of the day marriage is just a big ceremony and a piece of legal paper that just boils down to exactly the same thing
skipthesong at 05:42 PM JST - 14th May

Still, I don't think its a cause for a celebration, as some here are trying to make it out to be. I for one am very happy that I had two parents until I was 13. Bill Cosby did a study once. He said that 80% of those in jail in the US are born to single mothers.