The Marriage Strengthening Research & Dissemination Center (MAST) recently released a new research brief, “Trends in Relationship Formation and Stability in the United States: Dating, Cohabitation, Marriage, and Divorce.” Co-authored by CCF expert Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, the brief is the first in a series aiming to provide an overview of the current state of […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Marriage & Divorce / Singles & DatingCouples Conflict, Separation & Divorce
Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce
Challenges Facing Cohabiting Couples Differ from those of Married Couples in this Crisis

Challenges Facing Cohabiting Couples Differ from those of Married Couples in this Crisis A briefing paper prepared by Amanda Miller, University of Indianapolis, and Sharon Sassler, Cornell University, for the Council on Contemporary Families. Much has been written about the challenges couples face as they adjust to “shelter in place” policies triggered by the coronavirus. […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Division of Labor in Families / Domestic Violence & Child Abuse / Economic Inequality / Marriage & Divorce / Public Policy / Trauma and DisasterCCF’s Stephanie Coontz for The New York Times: What Can Different-Sex Couples Learn From Same-Sex Couples?

Five years after marriage equality, CCF Director of Research and Public Education Stephanie Coontz asks: What can different-sex couples learn from same-sex couples? Featuring research by CCF experts Joanna Pepin, Dan Carlson, Virginia Rutter, Amanda Miller, Deb Umberson, Kristi Williams, Sharon Sassler and many more, Coontz highlights the role of gender expectations in shaping marital dynamics […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Division of Labor in Families / Family Caregiving (for Adults, Children, and Disabilities) / Gender & Sexuality / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / LGBTQ Partnering & Families / Parenthood: Motherhood/FatherhoodNational Spouses Day Is This Sunday…. Feeling Any Pressure?

National Spouses Day Is This Sunday…. Feeling Any Pressure? A Fact Sheet on Prospects for Marriage in Contemporary America Prepared for the Council on Contemporary Families by Daniel L. Carlson, University of Utah, and Stephanie Coontz, The Evergreen State College — January 26 is National Spouses Day, and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Singles & DatingCohabitating Couples With Lower Education Levels Marry Less. Is This Because They Do Not Want To?

A Research Brief Prepared for the University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center Research Brief Series Kelly Raley Introduction Today, nearly two-thirds of first marriages are preceded by cohabitation, but even as living together has increasingly become part of the marriage process, fewer cohabitating couples get married and an increasing proportion break up within […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Economic Inequality / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family LifeJosh Coleman and Barbara Risman weigh-in on the nation’s obsession with other peoples’ romances

In his New York Times opinion piece, Americans Put Too Much Weight in Romantic Love, CCF Board member Josh Colemen comments on the nation’s obsession with romantic relationships – reflecting on examples from the Clinton presidency and referencing fellow CCF-er Barbara Risman along the way.
Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Gender & SexualityHost of CCF members dissect divorce in Hopes&Fears

CCF Director Jennifer Glass and Board member Stephanie Coontz join CCF members Ariel Kuperberg and Constance Ahrons in commenting on divorce for Hopes & Fears’s Is Divorce Really That Bad? .
Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & DivorceWhat Happens When Couples Marry after the First Baby?

What Happens When Couples Marry after the First Baby? A briefing paper prepared for the Council on Contemporary Families by Kelly Musick, Cornell University and Katherine Michelmore, University of Michigan September 16, 2015 One of the consistent findings of sociological research in recent decades has been that couples who had a child before getting […]
Topics of Expertise: Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Couples Conflict, Separation & DivorceThe Tricky Business of Sorting Out Sexual Assault: An Introduction to The CCF Symposium On Intimate Partner Violence

THE TRICKY BUSINESS OF SORTING OUT SEXUAL ASSAULT: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CCF SYMPOSIUM ON INTIMATE VIOLENCE by Stephanie Coontz , Director of Research and Public Education, Council on Contemporary Families, and Faculty Member in History, The Evergreen State College; coontzs@msn.com April 20, 2015 Violent crime has been falling Many people do not realize that violent […]
Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Gender & Sexuality / Sexual Abuse & MisconductMarriage, Divorce, and Remarriage Matter to Americans (and Data Matters, Too)

American families are diversifying in ways that are more complicated than ever, creating distinct patterns in different parts of the country and subgroups of the population. That’s why policy-makers and community leaders need detailed, locally-specific census data about family formation, marriage trends, divorce, and widowhood. This information is essential in order to accurately assess everything from population growth patterns to the special educational and social needs of different neighborhoods. Yet the Census Bureau has announced plans to cut from the American Community Survey several questions that provide such crucial information to researchers, planners, journalists, and the general public.
Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & DivorceEXPERTS
Willa Cather Professor & Chair of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Curators' Professor Emerita of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Missouri
Professor, Community & Behavioral Health Promotion, School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Associate Professor, Department of Family Science & Human Development, Montclair State University
Psychologist & Marriage and Family Therapist
PhD Professor and Co-Chair of the College of Environmental Science, University of Missouri
Clinical Director, Perelman School of Medicine, Dept of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
Assistant Professor of Communication and Department Coordinator, Minot State University
Assistant Professor, Illinois State University
Professor, Department of Sociology & Population Studies Center, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Director of Sedona Counselling Centre of Montreal, Psychotherapist, Author, Divorce Recovery Expert
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical School; Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, Boston Medical Center; American Family Therapy Academy; Boston Center for Culturally Affirming Practices
Professor of Family & Consumer Studies and Adjunct Professor of Sociology, University of Utah