The State of the Family

The health of the family unit is trending in the wrong direction, and blended families are even worse off. 

Marriage (the pinnacle of human relationship) 
- 50% of marriages end in divorce 
- 75% of divorcees remarry (60% of those marriages end in divorce - the percentage increases with more marriages) 

Marriage has been diluted and it is affecting all levels of relationship:
- Friendships: underestimating the power of influence 
- Dating: Tends to be driven by sex, status and satisfaction
- Authority Figures: lack of respect due to broken promises, identifying imperfection in others, and self-preservation 

X vs. Y(upside down) 
The X represents two people intersecting/landing on the same page, and trajectory, based on past and previous experiences, lands them on opposing destinations

The upside down Y represents two people intersecting/landing on the same page, but despite trajectory based on past and previous experiences, they choose to identify purpose, exercise urgency, and intentionality within their relationship. This allows for growing together opposed to growing apart. 

Children 
- 25% of youth from divorced families end up with serious social and/or emotional issues (this applies to 10% of people with parents that remained married). 
- 70% of children of divorce say that divorce is an acceptable alternative to an unhappy relationships (40% of youth with parents that remained married agree).

Cohabitation
- Definition: one or both individuals in a relationship have children from a previous relationship and they're living together outside the confines of marriage
- 46% of children, by the time they turn 16, will have experienced their mother cohabitating
- 50% of kids that are subject to a cohabitating relationship will experience separation at the age of 9 (20% of youth with married parents will experience divorce/separation by the age of 9) 

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/

http://www.stepfamily.org/stepfamily-statistics.html