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Family scholars and caseworkers are worried by the trend toward single parenthood and cohabitation because children living with non-biological parents or a parent and unmarried partner are at far greater risk of abuse than children living with two biological parents.
"This is the dark underbelly of cohabitation," said Brad Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia. "Cohabitation has become quite common, and most people think, 'What's the harm?' The harm is we're increasing a pattern of relationships that's not good for children."
Official child-abuse data can be sketchy because they do not always record the relationship between the victim and perpetrator. Many academic and professional studies, however, provide necessary background.
_Children living in households with unrelated adults are nearly 50 times as likely to die of inflicted injuries as children living with two biological parents, according to a study of Missouri abuse reports published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2005.
_Children living in stepfamilies or with single parents are at higher risk of physical or sexual assault than children living with two biological or adoptive parents, according to several studies co-authored by David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center.
_Girls whose parents divorce are at significantly higher risk of sexual assault, whether they live with their mother or their father, according to research by Robin Wilson, a family law professor at Washington and Lee University.
Society has lost—or given up—the capacity to judge anyone's choice to divorce and/or cohabit with an unmarried partner. Personal autonomy reigns supreme. As cohabitation continues to increase, more and more children will bear the brunt.
h/t: Family Scholars Blog
