Critical Report
Assessing the Impact of Community Marriage Policies on County Divorce
Rates
Paul James Birch, Stan E. Weed, and Joseph Olsen
Community marriage initiatives (CMIs) are designed to strengthen
marriage and increase marital stability by addressing relevant laws,
policies, and cultural factors. We examined a specific CMI designed to
lower divorce rates by establishing a shared public commitment among
clergy to strengthen marriage. A mixed-effects general linear model was
used to determine whether changes in divorce rates over time were
different before than after in 122 sites. Results indicate that divorce
rates declined more rapidly following adoption, and this decline was
larger than that observed in comparison counties. This difference in
declines translates into a 2% difference annually in favor of CMI
counties. Implications for measuring the effectiveness of CMIs are
addressed.
Researchers, therapists, policymakers, and clergy have studied and
discussed marriage and divorce for decades, resulting in a general
consensus around two basic themes. First, divorce increases the
likelihood of negative medical, legal, financial, social, physical, and
mental health consequences for both parents and their children (Doherty
et al., 2002; Stanley 2001). Although there are examples where divorced
individuals are better off than when they were married, married couples
and their children, on average, do better on nearly every front than
those who are divorced (Doherty et al.; Waite & Gallagher, 2000).
Second, communities and societies have lower crime and poverty levels
when the proportion of intact families is higher (Doherty et al.).
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