Brian Duff interviewed by Bangor Daily News on the increase in births to single mothers

Brian Duff, Ph.D., UNE associate professor of political science, was interviewed for a May 7, 2012 Bangor Daily News story on the increase in births to single mothers in Maine.

The number of marriages in Maine is down 10 percent over a decade, married births down 21 percent and births to unwed mothers up 21 percent, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Data, Research and Vital Statistics office.

Duff told the newspaper: "There’s no doubt this trend is going to make it very, very hard for a lot of Maine families to get by without some social support. We can offer that social support to toddlers who need good pre-K or we can offer the social support to teenagers who get in trouble with the law; it is probably cheaper if you give it to the toddlers.”

He also noted that studies show that in single and cohabitating households, measures of physical and mental health, future incarceration rates and the likelihood of graduating from college are poorer than in married households.

Duff, who has spent the past year as the Coastal Studies Scholar at Bowdoin College during a sabbatical, is the author of The Parent as Citizen: A Democratic Dilemma. He has also published research on feminist theory, voting, and the politics of race and ethnicity.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.