A new study suggests policies aimed at promoting marriage are misinformed as the marital status of parents has less of an impact on the lives of children than other factors.

Children do not fare any worse in life if their parents are unmarried — their outcomes are much more influenced by their mother’s educational and employment background.

One-parent families have been unfairly “scapegoated” by society, according to a new report into the impact of family structure on child development.