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  • Marriage offers couples more than social and emotional security. It is also a critical source of financial stability during good times and bad times. Tweet This
  • Single-parent families are almost twice as likely to be suffering from food insecurity, relying on food stamps, and unable to cover emergency expenses, vs. married parent families. Tweet This
  • Marriage reduces the odds that a household will go through costly family transitions, encourages greater support from family networks, and builds habits of financial prudence. Tweet This

The coronavirus pandemic has exacted a devastating toll on men, women, and children across the United States. But some Americans are weathering the COVID-19 financial storm better than others. Our research suggests that married men and women have proven to be much more resilient in the face of this storm than their single peers.

On the social and emotional front, we have already highlighted evidence that marriage is buffering many Americans from feelings of loneliness amid stay-at-home orders. We found, for instance, that singles were nearly twice as likely as married adults to say they felt lonely every day or nearly every day during the previous week.

But marriage offers couples more than social and emotional security. It is also a critical source of financial stability during good times and bad times. Marriage puts families at a financial advantage by providing them with two potential sources of income. Moreover, research shows that marriage reduces the odds that a household will go through costly family transitions, encourages greater support from family networks, and builds habits of financial prudence, all of which shore up additional security against financial hardship when the tides of fortune turn.

Continue reading at National Review . . .