Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1.  Day 7 Virtual Event Friday, February 13, 7:00 PM CT

Living for Something Greater (Friday, Feb 13)

https://link.marriageweek.org/NMWGreater






2. U.S. bishops to adopt national marriage initiative

EWTN Logo






3. Get Married Young








4. Why Are We So Pornsick? 


OR

Evaluation of outcome measures for assessing problematic pornography use: A COSMIN systematic review of measurement properties

Feng Jin a 1, Wenwen Zhang b 1, Pengshuo Wang c, Beáta Bőthe d e, Ziqi Wang f



5. 5 Simple Ways to Argue Less as a Couple: Fight Less, Love More

Michele Weiner-Davis








6. Love Is a Menu, Not Five Languages

Lasting relationships need variety, responsiveness, and nourishment, not just fluency in a single love language.
By Emily Impett






7. The 2026 NARME Workshop Schedule

https://www.narme.org/workshops-2026




8. Research Brief: Developmental Relationships in Schools

Search Institute

https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/research-brief-developmental-relationships-in-schools




9.  Why Parenthood Strains Relationships: Investigating the Mechanisms Behind Declining Relationship Satisfaction 

Matthias Pollmann-Schult, Faculty I: School of Arts and Humanities, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany


https://ffcws.princeton.edu/publications/introducing-future-families-third-generation-ffg3-study






11. 5 practical ways to strengthen marriage beyond Valentine’s Day

by Avery Sloane & Jared Turner, KUTV


https://kutv.com/news/arc-salt-lake/5-practical-ways-to-strengthen-marriage-beyond-valentines-day





12. [HTML] Chapter Three. A (Wo) man with a Plan? Understanding Life Course Plans among Single Young Adults

M Bracke, D Van Gasse, D Mortelmans - Current Perspectives on Contemporary …, 2026





13. Even during sex, college students don’t put down their cell phones





14. Mom of Toddler Wins Olympic Gold Medal—What She Does Next Stuns Viewers

Maria Azzurra Volpe

https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mom-toddler-wins-olympic-gold-medal-stuns-viewers-11489253




Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. 15 Valentine’s Day Date Ideas for Couples

WinShape Marriage





2. Our 2026 theme is "Together With Purpose."

Register for this year's live broadcasts!





3. We're living through the great detachment

David Brooks, The New York Times






4. Teens favor “best friend” AI chatbots, raising new safety questions for EdTech


https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/teens-favor-best-friend-ai-chatbots-raising-new-safety-questions-for-edtech




5. New Healthy and Ready to Learn Data Dashboard Shows 3-Year-Olds’ Development

https://www.childtrends.org/publications/healthy-ready-learn-national-state-data-3-year-old-development




6. [PDF] Differently Educated US Couples and Their Work‐Family Arrangements, 1968–2023
L Pessin, F Querin - Journal of Marriage and Family, 2026
… Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and multinomial logistic
regression models, we find that the relationship between educational pairings and
work- family arrangements have evolved significantly, with distinct patterns for







7. [HTML] Longitudinal associations between service member problematic anger and marital dysfunction in US military couples: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Program

TN Ray, MP Forsstrom, R Joneydi, CA LeardMann… - Journal of Affective …, 2026 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915326000132
Problematic anger is prevalent among service members and is associated with numerous dysfunctional outcomes. Research is needed to determine whether a service member's problematic anger has a unique, long-term impact on marital …





8. Valentine’s special: URI Couple & Family Therapy Clinic offers free relationship check-ups for student couples


https://www.uri.edu/news/2026/02/valentines-special-uri-couple-family-therapy-clinic-offers-free-relationship-check-ups-for-student-couples-2/







































9. Federal funding go to towards InvolvedDad






10. Utah bills aim to strengthen families by eliminating marriage penalties
 
Dan Evans

https://www.fox13now.com/good-day-utah/utah-bills-aim-to-strengthen-families-by-eliminating-marriage-penalties




11. Patriots’ Drake Maye Gives Heartfelt Answer On Marriage Helping Career




12. A lot of evangelical marriage advice is wrong. Here’s the evidence

 Sheila Wray Gregoire



Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. New Report Estimates $154 Billion in Annual Taxpayer Costs Linked to Father Absence








2. Romantic Couples Study

AU

https://www.american.edu/cas/psychology/interpersonal/participation.cfm#couples




3. https://www.marriageweek.org/




4. Choosing Love Daily: The Commitment Behind Raising a Child with Autism


https://decidetocommit.com/choosing-love-daily-the-commitment-behind-raising-a-child-with-autism/




5. Census Bureau Releases Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for States, Counties and School Districts

OR

New Data Show Fewer Women Gave Birth While Unmarried in the Past Decade







6. National Alliance for Relationship and Marriage Education (NARME) Summit, July 8-11, 2026

https://www.narme.org/summit-2026






7. Estonia warned it may have just 5 years to reverse population collapse






8. Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood

The State and Tribal Technical Assistance and Resources (STAR)

https://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/hmrf






9. Director of The New Wineskins Project





10. Affording a family: The two-income shift







Thanks
Bill



Candidates for IFS Friday Five






2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Pregnancy Centers

Braun, Sarah K.; Falk, Gene

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12302?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22crsProductBillCitation%3A%5C%22119HR6945%5C%22%22%7D&s=1&r=1




3. Greater Good Parenting Talks: Parents Have Feelings, Too

When: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 10:30 am PT/1:30 pm ET
Where: Zoom, Free-Space Limited






4. Nearly Half of Hispanic Children Live in Families With Low Incomes





5. WEBINAR REPLAY: Profound Ideas on the Nature of Commitment

https://dibbleinstitute.org/event/webinar-profound-ideas-on-the-nature-of-commitment/





6. Demographic Winter: France Sees More Deaths Than Births for First Time Since WW2

Kurt Zindulka


https://ifamnews.com/en/hungary-expands-pro-family-support-programs


OR

Lowest ever marriage and birth rates show Ireland is on the wrong course says new Iona paper



OR

China sees rebound in marriages as policy support shows impact






7. Why the Divorce Rate for Older Couples Continues to Rise





9. Heritage Foundation says declining marriage rates pose a threat to society

A Martínez






10. 7 Conversations - “Building a Foundation of Purpose”

 https://www.marriageweek.org/broadcasts





11. UofL social work professor focuses on importance of fatherhood

Holly Hinson

https://www.uoflnews.com/post/uofltoday/uofl-social-work-professor-focuses-on-importance-of-fatherhood/





Thanks
Bill

Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. Clear, Accessible Education Research Can Help Parents Make Informed Decisions





2. 

Why Kids Don't Listen & How to Shift the Dynamic


Hunter Clarke-Fields





3. Evidence-Based Strategies for Enhancing Well-Being
        Yael Dror,Psy.D





4. Recent Developments in the Economics of Fertility in High-Income Countries


Speaker: Melissa Kearney (University of Notre Dame)

 
View Webcast https://www.aeaweb.org/webcasts/2026/developments-in-fertility-in-high-income-countries




5. RFA Opportunity: The ProFathering15™ Expansion Project


NFI

https://www.fatherhood.org/ddsf-rfa




6. https://www.marriageweek.org/marriage-week-toolkit



7. Priced Out of Marriage: Housing Prices and Declining Marriage Rates Worldwide (2009–2018)

Jeremy Ko a, Chun Kai Leung b, Hoi Sze Tang c, Mohammad Ridwan d, Xiaoxian Chen e, Chunlan Guo c

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050607726000012




8. I can't access this

Marital Fertility Decline in Italy

JJ Sánchez-Barricarte, R Pace - Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 2025
… in Italy specifically includes a detailed set of tables of fertility and marriage by
cohort and period. Education has been thought to play an important role in fertility
rates. In particular, the role of women’s education appears to have been even more …





9. [PDF] Family Background, College Education, and Marriageability
J Cho - 2026
… that the relationships between education, marriage, and gender may not be as
simple as they might seem; hence, these relationships and … I hypothesize that the
influence of college education on marriage will be significantly reduced after …




10. Opinion: The classroom is vital, but don’t forget Utah’s families when addressing the literacy crisis

Paul Schvaneveldt



Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. What I’ll tell my daughter about the joys and challenges of getting married

Elise Ureneck






2. The Power of Shared Happiness

Tomiko Yoneda, Theresa Pauly, Nathan Lewis, Ken Madden, and Claudia M. Haase





3. The Fortress of Truth 2025 look back compilation for C4M 1 of 2








4. Power, Sexism, and Aggression in Intimate Relationships

Nickola C. Overall, Matthew D. Hammond b, Emily J. Cross c

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X25002684




5. How Do We Help Youth Flourish, Not Just Achieve?

with Robert Pondiscio

https://www.aei.org/events/how-do-we-help-youth-flourish-not-just-achieve/




6. Child Maltreatment in the United States Declined From 2020-2023

Rebecca Vivrette

https://www.childtrends.org/publications/child-maltreatment-united-states




7. Divorce rate rises for couples over 65: What do Catholic experts suggest?

Tyler Arnold

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268793/gray-divorce-rates-rise





8. Longitudinal Associations Between Screen Time and Children’s Language, Early Educational Skills, and Peer Social Functioning

Megan Gath, L. John Horwood, Gail Gillon, Brigid McNeill, Lianne J. Woodward

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-64115-001.html?_gl=1*1bnzc3u*_gcl_au*MTc2MDkxMzM3Ni4xNzY3ODg2MTk4*_ga*MTY2OTA3OTc3Ni4xNzY2NjI2NjY1*_ga_SZXLGDJGNB*czE3Njc4ODYyMDAkbzEkZzEkdDE3Njc4ODY1MDAkajQyJGwwJGgw





9. Birth Rates Continue to Decline: These Explanations Are Seen by the Expert






10. Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years






11. Young South Koreans warming to marriage again, survey shows


https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/methodology/methodology_workshop/marriage



Thanks
Bill




Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. Championing Fatherhood's Top Ten Blogs Posts of 2025!







2. Free Classes for Couples





3. [PDF] A Multi-Method Initial Effectiveness Pilot Study of an Electronic Relationship Education Program with Couple Coaching for the National Guard

PA Lepley, SE Griffes, AJ Blow, HJ Markman, The Military Psychologist, Volume 40, Issue 3, Fall 2025





4.  Verbal Abuse as a Form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Exploring Academic Performance, Mental Health, Loneliness, Relationship Quality, and Social Support Among Female and Male University Students 

Kathryn A. Collier1, Ken Fowler, and Stacey Wareham-Fowler1






5. How Do Couple Relationship Interventions Improve Individual Well‐Being? The Role of Relationship Confidence
Noah B Larsen 1,✉, Allen W Barton 1 Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2025






6. [PDF] Evaluating the Effectiveness of Relationship Education for Latino Adolescents

JJ Turner, E Şahin, K Bradford, BJ Higginbotham - Journal of Human Sciences and Extension …, 2025





7. [PDF] The relationship between sedentary lifestyle and marital stability among US adults

Y Wang, J Dai, Y Yan, T Wang - African Journal of Reproductive Health, 2025






8. Family policy hope for ’26 has a lot to do with money — and how you could have more

Lois M. Collins

https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/12/29/experts-best-family-friendly-policies-lawmakers-should-pass/




9. Old Dominion is working with the Navy to help sailors and their families struggling with mental health issues

WHRO | By Steve Walsh



https://utdailybeacon.com/97334/news/ut-to-conduct-in-depth-study-of-local-families/




11. As Disney invests billions OpenAI responds with "adult mode"

Jason Weisberger

https://boingboing.net/2025/12/16/as-disney-invests-billions-openai-responds-with-adult-mode.html




12. To restore hope for families in poverty, let states lead on welfare reform

The Hill, By Angela Rachidi | Nic Dunn





13. 28 ways to improve your marriage or relationship in 2026

Bill



Candidates for IFS Friday Five #592 (the real stories amongst the “noise”!)

1. How Estranged Parents and Adult Children Can Heal

Joshua Coleman







2. Profound Ideas on the Nature of Commitment


Presenters: Dr. Scott Stanley, Research Professor- University of Denver, Founder of PREP, Inc.


When: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 @ 1:00 pm Pacific/4:00 pm Eastern






3. 

7 broadcasts this year, focusing on building that foundation of

purpose




4. Toward a new theory of couple functioning: a short overview of “Love and Rejection Messages Theory” (LRMT)
Marius Marici 1







5. Joint Savoring in Romantic Relationships: Correlates and Protective Effects

Contemporary Family Therapy, 2025

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10591-025-09769-5




6. [PDF] Romantic Recession

DA Cox, KE Hammond - 2025
A Project of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

… Married men and women are less concerned than single men and women about
how women will fare under a second Trump presidency. Roughly four in 10 (41 percent)
married women and 35 percent of married … of relationship status, age, race or …





7. Stress May Be Killing Your Love Life

Lisa A. Neff and Marci E. J. Gleason








8. Romantic Stress May Be A Hidden Risk Factor For Heart Disease

By StudyFinds Analysis

•

Reviewed by John Anderer

Research led by Heather E. Tulloch, MSc, PhD, CPsych (University of Ottawa Heart Institute)


https://studyfinds.org/romantic-partnerships-affect-heart-health/





9. How to Balance Emotional Labor and Mental Load in a Marriage: Holiday Edition







10. Neil Diamond's wife Katie discusses their marriage: 'We're best friends.'

The couple is preparing to celebrate their 14th anniversary.

ByMason Leib
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/neil-diamonds-wife-katie-discusses-marriage-best-friends/story?id=128394716


(Pat and I saw him do Hot August Night live at the Greek Theatre in LA in Aug 1972 and again 40 years later)



Thanks
Bill



Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. Is Love Zero-Sum? How Kids and Adults Think About Social Resources

Fan Yang






2. Lost Boys: Boyhood

The Centre for Social Justice






3. Literacy, reason, and childhood matter—and we’re losing all three

Mark Milke, The Hub







4. Notre Dame launches research initiative focused on strengthening American families

By Mike Murrell







5. The Thompson

Recognizing Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families


https://www.marriageweek.org/free-resources






7. UCF Relationship Education Program to Support First Responder Couples, Parents

Danielle Hendrix






9. After 83 Years of Marriage This Black Couple Holds The Record, But We May Never See a Stat Like That Again

Angela Johnson

https://www.theroot.com/after-83-years-of-marriage-this-black-couple-holds-the-2000078611





10. HR must listen to parents' specific needs

Karl Bennett is chair of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA UK)








11. How to talk about adoption: Embracing multiple perspectives to support a child’s emotional well-being

By Sonia Ranieri, Laura Ferrari, Rosa Rosnati, Michela Zambelli, Semira Tagliabue, and David Brodzinsky





12. Our Favorite Books to Read Out Loud With Children

Sofia Cuddeback


(Full Disclosure: I sleep with a Retired Reading Specialist)




Thanks
Bill



Candidates for IFS Friday Five

1. Request for Articles - Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study: 25th Anniversary




2. Johns Hopkins University is recruiting first-time expectant dads and moms to the text4FATHER research study—a supportive, text-based program for new parents.



3. Lingering Benefits of Sex: Exploring the “Afterglow”

livia W. Breedin, Andrea L. Meltzer, and James K. McNulty







4. 

Reunion After Deployment: Describing Findings From a Study of Military Couples Funded by the U.s. Department of Defense 


Leanne K Knobloch, PhD, 
Lynne M Knobloch-Fedders, PhD, 
Jeremy B. Yorgason, PhD







5. Explaining the negative association between overparenting and parent-child relationship satisfaction: communication and attachment perspectives

Jian Jiao, Chris Segrin & Jingyu Wang





7. Why Is It Important to Read to Your Child?

by Hannah Sheldon-Dean






8. Church weddings slump to record low as young couples shun marriage

, Social and Religious Affairs Editor. , Senior Data Journalist











10. Secretary Kennedy Swears in Alex J. Adams as Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families


or 

A Welcome Message from the Assistant Secretary


https://acf.gov/a-home-for-every-child






11. 10 Things I Learned From Writing a Book on Motherhood

by Nadya Williams





12. Amid historic lows, marriage and family offer ‘hope and a future’ to next generation







13. A Solution to the Housing Affordability Problem: Marriage

By Howard Husock