Family with two parents better for all, study claims

The traditional two-parent family is much better for children and for society than the single-parent family, a new study has found.

The report, published today by the independent think-tank Civitas, says that children from one-parent families are 50 per cent more likely to suffer health problems, 25 per cent more likely to commit offences and five times as likely to suffer abuse. They are also more likely to play truant, take drugs or drink alcohol, the survey says.

The study, written by Rebecca O'Neill, will fuel a heated debate inside the Conservative Party over its policy on marriage. Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, wants to restore tax incentives for marriage after the abolition of the married couples' allowance under Labour. He has been influenced by previous US studies about lone parents.

But Tory modernisers are worried that adopting a strongly pro-marriage stance may be a "turn off" for younger voters, many of whom choose to live together rather than marry.