For Richer or Poorer:
What Dating, Living Together, Marriage, and Divorce Have to do with Happiness and Success Today
Skip Burzumato
November 16, 2023
7:00 - 8:30pm
Skyline Middle School, Harrisonburg
Join us for a presentation by sociologist Skip Burzumato, followed by a moderated Q&A. Burzumato will first explore the latest research and trends in America as it pertains to marriage, divorce, cohabitation, family formation, etc., relying on sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Pew Research Center, The Brookings Institution, and the General Social Survey.
He will next consider what may be the greatest issue facing our society as it pertains to family: that there is a great divide along socioeconomic status and educational lines for almost every family and child outcome variable measured. Burzumato here relies on research from several important works published in recent years by Andrew Cherlin, Robert Putnam, Susan Brown, and, most recently, Melissa Kearney. The data suggest that what is most important for child wellbeing and positive outcomes is that children grow up with two parents, and that family form is secondary.