Family Fact File - Center for Missional Research

Report reveals thoughts of Students and Parents on the Importance of After School Activities

57% of students surveyed participate in some kind of after school program everyday, almost everyday
Students participate in activities such as:
- 66% sports
- 62% clubs
- 60% volunteer work
46% of students report that when kids their age get into trouble it is because they are bored and how to much time on their hands

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Date: 6/14/2004

Abstinence programs reduce teen pregnancy at least 40%

Programs like True Love Waits, which challenge young people to abstain from sexual activity until marriage, dramatically reduce the rate of out-of-wedlock births, according to a new study released by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

"Some 1.35 million children are born out of wedlock annually, representing roughly one-third of all births in the United States"
Young women who take a virginity pledge are at least 40 percent less likely to have a child out of wedlock and 12 times more likely to be virgins when they marry, compared to young women who do not make such a pledge, the study revealed.
"Children raised by single parents are seven times more likely to live in poverty than are children raised in intact homes, and they are much more likely to be dependent on welfare programs and to suffer from a wide range of other social maladies."
When the findings were adjusted for differences in race, income, family structure, religiosity and other background conditions, the rate of out-of- wedlock births dropped 50 percent -- 29 percent of young women who had not made an abstinence pledge had a child out of wedlock, contrasted with only about 14 percent of young women who had made a pledge.
"Young people who make deliberate public pledges to remain virgins are likely to substantially delay the initiation of sexual activity, have fewer sexual partners and are more likely to marry"
An earlier set of findings from the project, released in 2001, concluded that teens who make abstinence pledges delay having sex a year and a half longer on average than those who do not pledge abstinence.

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Date: 5/20/2004

Survey of Americans and Their Financial Behaviors

In fact, media reports indicate that middle-income people, captivated by powerfully affecting advertising messages and images, now routinely spend money on products and services previously considered affordable only for the wealthy. "I think a lot of middle-income Americans are living their dreams," one participant said during the think tank. "They're driving vehicles that they can't afford and living in houses that they can't afford. They have all the trappings. They're focused on today and what makes them happy today."

Unfortunately, evidence of poor financial decision making is all too prevalent.

Total consumer debt topped $2 trillion for the first time in 2003; the average American household carries debt equivalent to nearly 18 percent of disposable income—twice the percentage of 10 years ago—and the borrowing continues to increase; in fiscal 2004, total bankruptcies (business and non-business) exceeded 1.63 million, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which handles federal bankruptcy filings; non-business filings accounted for the vast majority—1.59 million—of the cases.

Meanwhile, many Americans seem oblivious to the potentially disastrous consequences of their financial course.

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Date: 5/13/2004

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