83 Percent of Black Teens Live in Broken Families by 17th Birthday, Report Finds
Only 17 percent of black teenagers reach age 17 in a family with both their biological parents married, compared to 54 percent for white teenagers, according to two new reports released by Family Research Council's Marriage and Religion Research Institute.
The overall percentage of American teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 who have grown up with both biological parents always married, or the Index of Belonging, has seen a decline of 17 percent since 1950, says MARRI, which has released two reports, "State of the Black Family" and "Fifth Index of Belonging and Rejection."
This marks a 21 percent decrease in family belongingness for black teenagers since 1950, and a 13 percent decrease for white teenagers, according to the institute, which also says that among both black and white adolescents, the likelihood of facing rejection increases with each year of age.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"The American family is in a crisis. Our nation's children, especially our black children, are being robbed of their married biological parents," the institute says.
Family structure has a profound impact on the lives of children, according to the report on belonging and rejection. "Seventeen-year-old adolescents on the brink of adulthood are particularly vulnerable as they are forming habits and making decisions that will last a lifetime."
The more sexual partners a young woman has, the more likely her marriage will break up in the first five years, warns the report on the black family. "Even one sexual partner other than her husband puts the odds of breakup near 40 percent, while two such partners put it at 50 percent … If the black family is to be restored and if poor black men are to regain their manhood, then their parents need to be chaste."
Marriage continues to produce as many benefits as ever, FRC's Dr. Pat Fagan, Director and Senior Fellow at MARRI, maintains in a statement.
"(O)nly within marriage will the sexual act produce a stable society. During the last century, many worked to change this by severing sexual intercourse and the begetting of children from marriage. This social experiment has failed and nowhere is it more visible than in the black family and particularly in the plight of many young black men…," he says.
During the last century, efforts have been made to change this by severing sexual intercourse and the begetting of children from marriage, Fagan adds. "This social experiment has failed and nowhere is it more visible than in the black family and particularly in the plight of many young black men without the prospect of a good job, a stable marriage and a family they can call their own."
FRC's Bishop E.W. Jackson stresses that the church needs to refocus its efforts. "Only God, prayer and a good church led by a good pastor can lead people toward chastity, life-long marriage and a stable family. The black church must lead in this area."
