Up to 55 percent of American teenagers live in broken homes, a Family Research Council (FRC) study found.

The report examined the number of teenagers that have been raised in an intact family, which the FRC defines as a household in which both birth mother and biological father have been married to each other since before or around the time of a child’s birth.

Using United States Census Bureau data from 2008, the study revealed that 62 percent of Asian-Americans live in two-parent households, compared to 54 percent of whites, 41 percent of multiracial background, 40 percent of Hispanics, 24 percent of American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and 17 percent of African-Americans.

“Increased rates of divorce and childbearing outside of marriage have turned growing up in a stable, two-parent family into an exception, rather than the rule, for young Americans,” the report found.

Regionally, southern states recorded the highest percentage of broken homes—59 percent.

The study’s author, Dr. Patrick Fagan, concluded that a decrease in strong families has negative consequences for a country.

“The decrease of strong families in the United States has major implications for the nation, and by extension, the rest of the world,” he said. “A nation is only as strong as its citizens, and a lack of strong families weakens human, social, and moral capital, which in turn directly affects the financial (and thus indirectly the military and foreign policy strength) of the United States. A great nation depends on great families, but weak families will build a weak nation.”