GEE, LIVING LIKE BEASTS RATHER THAN HUMANS SEEMED LIKE SUCH A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME...:

Marriage still the best way to play happy, healthy families, says study (Polly Curtis, October 5, 2007, The Guardian)

Children whose parents live together but are not married get worse results at school, leave education earlier and have a higher risk of developing a serious illness, according to an analysis of six years of government data on family life.

The figures show that a third of today's teenagers are destined to cohabit rather than marry, compared with one in 10 of their grandparents. The number of cohabiting couples has increased by 65% in a decade, with a more gradual rise in the number of single-parent families. By 2014, married couples could account for less than half of British families.

The analysis, published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, says marriage is associated with better health, particularly for men. [...]

Children are also more likely to develop long-term illnesses if they live in non-traditional family groups. Teenagers whose parents are married and those who live with just their mother are more likely to stay in education past the age of 17 than those of cohabiting parents.

Of children who live with their married parents, 69% of boys and 78% of girls were still in education at the age of 17, compared with 59% of boys and 69% of girls who live with their mother - both higher than the proportion for cohabiting parents.