Insights & Analysis
Evidence-based commentary examining where America’s stated values collide with political behavior, public policy, culture, and everyday life.
Eight lenses for understanding moral strain
Browse the latest reporting below or use these themes to understand how each story fits the Index.
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Social Media’s Quiet War on Youth Mental Health and Moral Formation
📱 Culture & Media ← Back to All Articles Something happened to American teenagers around 2012. Rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-harm began…
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When the Protectors Become the Predators
A teacher in Cumberland, Rhode Island has been arrested and fired after allegedly assaulting three special-needs students inside a classroom meant to protect and…
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America’s Alcohol Problem: The Addiction We Normalized
🏥 Public Health ← Back to All Articles Alcohol kills more than 175,000 Americans every year — more than fentanyl, more than car crashes,…
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The Decline of Charitable Giving: When Americans Stop Helping Each Other
🏛 Civic Life ← Back to All Articles In 2025, just 76% of Americans reported donating to a religious organization or charitable cause in…
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18.6 Million Children Without Both Parents: The Single-Parent Crisis Nobody Names
💑 Marriage & Family ← Back to All Articles In 2025, approximately 18.6 million American children live in single-parent households — 15.3 million with…
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America’s Mental Health Crisis: The Collapse of a Generation’s Wellbeing
🏥 Public Health ← Back to All Articles Rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among American teenagers have roughly doubled since 2012 — the…
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The Dehumanization of Political Opponents in Modern Leadership
🏛️ Institutions The Dehumanization of Political Opponents: How Public Discourse Became a War The Moral Decay Index · February 26, 2026 · 5 min…
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America’s Literacy Crisis: When a Nation Stops Being Able to Read
🏛 Civic Life ← Back to All Articles Fifty-four percent of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. More than 130 million Americans are…
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Young Adult Suicide: The Invisible Epidemic Destroying a Generation
🏥 Public Health ← Back to All Articles Approximately 2.6 million American teenagers had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. 700,000 attempted…
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Youth Disengagement: The Generation That Dropped Out of Society
🏛 Civic Life ← Back to All Articles NEET: Not in Education, Employment, or Training. In 2024, 12% of Americans aged 16 to 24…
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107,000 Dead: The Overdose Crisis No One Is Stopping
🏥 Public Health ← Back to All Articles 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in a single recent year. That number exceeds total American…
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Child Abuse and Neglect: America’s Failure to Protect Its Most Vulnerable
🔒 Crime & Safety ← Back to All Articles At least 1 in 7 American children experienced abuse or neglect in the past year.…