Divorce And Unmarried And Single Parenting

The actual reason for the decline in marriage rates is not because ‘women don't want to get married’ (a bitter anthem recited in retaliation to men's rejection of marriage.) but due to "The Marriage Strike." According to an article in “O” magazine author, Ann Marsh notes, "A 'marriage strike' is the social phenomena

In Andrew J. Cherlin’s essay “American Marriage In Transition”, he discusses how marriage in America is evolving from the universal marriage. Cherlin’s definition of the universal marriage in his essay is the man is the breadwinner of the household and the woman is the homemaker. In the 20th century according to Cherlin, the meaning of marriage has been altered such as the changing division of labor, childbearing outside of marriage, cohabitation, gay marriage and the result of long- term cultural and material trends (1154). During the first transition of marriage, Cherlin discusses how in America, Europe, and Canada the only socially accepted way to have sexual relations with a person and to have children is to be married (1154). The second change in marriage occurred in 2000, where the median age of marriage in the United States for men is 27 and women is 25 (1155). Many young adults stayed single during this time and focused on their education and starting their careers. During the second change, the role of law increasingly changed, especially in the role of law in divorce (1155). It is proven in today’s research marriage has a different definition than what it did back in the 1950’s. Today marriage can be defined as getting married to the same gender or getting remarried to someone who already has kids. The roles in a marriage are evolving to be a little more flexible and negotiable. However, women still do a lot of the basic household chores and taking care of the

In “For better, for worse: Marriage means something different now,” Stephanie Coontz reveals the worldwide changes in people’s attitudes and behaviors towards marriage. According to Coontz, education and the social norms are the reasons why marriage has become nonessential. Being single and going through a divorce are more acceptable now. The motivations of marriage have turned from economic dependence into personal willingness. In fact, Coontz’s words make me wonder the true meaning of marriage. Even though the meaning has changed over times, I believed that I still hope to get married.

In the article “What if Marriage is Bad for Us?” Laurie Essig and Lynn Owens summarize the things that

We question the relation between premarital cohabitation and divorce. From looking at literature regarding this question I hypothesize that time and social change determines cohabitation and divorce.

According to the authors, “marriage gap” is the existing disparity in marriages based on education, race, and gender. They argue that “marriage gaps” in the United States are widening. The statistics presented indicate that college-graduates are likely to marry among themselves and they portray a rising trend in interracial marriages, save for the Black Americans who are less likely to marry across race lines. However, the statistics indicate a “gender gap,” in that, “three-quarters of the black-white marriages involve a black man, rather than a black woman.” Sixty percent of college educated black women in the age bracket of 25 to 35 are likely not to get married as compared to 38 percent of college-educated white women. Moreover, 58 percent of college educated black women are more likely to be married to less educated white men. In correlation with “assortative mating”, it implies that college-educated white women are more likely to be espoused to men with college education. This further implies the reinforcement of household income. College educated single women do not enjoy the multiplication effect in incomes resulting from “assortative mating”. Therefore, “marriage gaps” raises income inequality. Single mothers, and individuals with non-college education will have low household income unlike educated partners who have opted to marry each other, whether across races or within the racial

In over half a century, marriage has transformed from being a social requirement to simply being an option in today’s society. What has caused this change? Many institutions in our society have changed drastically along with marriage. Although these institutions have not caused marriage to be optional, they do strongly correlate with the decreased value. The economy, education, religion, and government have all altered since the 1950s. When any institution encounters a change, all other institutions are affected. Family is a major institution in society, and I believe that marriage is an important aspect of this institution. Cohabitation, religion, women in the work world and divorce have all effected the way marriage is viewed today.

They surveyed 115 cohabitators from working lower and middle classes. The article describes how the economy effects marital decision making, it also shows how these people perceive financial issues as important to marriage. Also, that people think that marriage will change their lives, people think marriage should only occurs once finically set. The investigation and methods they use to complete this article was in-depth. They use racially and ethnically diverse people of both genders. Manning, Smock and Porter take in different aspects like education, personal income, and employment statuses. Findings show that income varies significantly by race/ethnicity and gender. The survey is adequate for gathering

Carbone and Cahn set the mood by noting that marriage in America has been decreasing over the years: 51 percent of Americans are married, a 21 percent decrease since 1960. Upon closer analyzation, they found that this trend varied by economic status: the upper class reported unaffected rates of marriage, the middle-class saw a gradual decline in

The article "American Marriage in Transition" was written by Andrew J. Cherlin. Cherlin is a sociologist who studied at Johns Hopkins University, he is a published author, and this article originally appeared in The Journal of Marriage and Family. The author claims that there are two transitions in the meaning of marriage from the traditional institutional meaning. The first is a companionate marriage and that is more focused on the relationship. The final definition he describes a more individual relationship where people focus on personal satisfaction more than in previous marriage definitions. Then he claims people are often more invested in their individualism rather than getting satisfaction from playing the traditional marriage. The

Glenn and Shelton’s Journal offer an insight on how divorces in different regions of the United States are. The journal has statistical data from the United States census bureau along with vital information on the backgrounds of the Southern communities in the South; Glenn and Shelton take a look at the risks of divorce, religious background, and socioeconomic background. The journal helps by providing the patterns of divorce in nine Census regions in the years of 1965, 1970, and 1979. The authors look at religions specifically Catholic and Judaism stating these religions had less divorce rates which helps me dig deeper into what religion has to do with divorce.

A survey of 14000 adults states in ‘A Guide to Family Issues: The Marriage Advantage’ that marriage was a pertinent factor contributing to happiness and satisfaction with forty percent of the married individuals being happy as opposed to 25 percent of either single or cohabiting individuals. The same study shows that ninety eight percent of never married respondents wished to marry and out of those 88% believed that it should be a lifelong commitment. Even though, divorce rates are rising numerous researches show that young people aspire to have a lasting marriage.

A family is a group of two or even more individuals who live together and who are related either by marriage, birth, or adoption, According to the US census bureau. However, the Bureau does not recognize all the family members like the aunts, nieces or nephews, grandparents, and uncles. The American family is not like it used to be. Modern marriage offers something of a mystery for sociologists' .various benefits of marriage have been studied, for example, better finances, better heath, as well as a chance for children to be brought up in a stable environment. Marriage is an attractive proposition that many people have marched and protested, so that has allowed people to access it. However, the marriage rates have declined. This paper examines how family has changed over the past 50 years.

Nowadays, divorce rates are very high, but people still get married. David Popenoe and Barbara Whitehead state, “Marriage trends in recent decades indicate that Americans have become less likely to marry, and the most recent data show that the marriage rates in the United States continues to decline” (Popenoe and Whitehead 16). Now why could this be? Society as a whole has changed the landscape of what truly is happiness. Selfish, self-centered men and women would rather run into to arms of their mistress or lover instead of trying to figure out their problems. Worldly desires creep in and cause people to make unconscious decisions. Andrew J. Cherlin states that, “In a larger sense, the changing division of labor, cohabitation, and gay marriage are the result of long-term

Social conservatives blame divorce, cohabitation, illegitimacy, and the demise of the traditional family for society's ills, from poverty, crime, and juvenile delinquency to the moral decay and destruction of the American way of life. In the 1970s, marriage was at its lowest but by the late 1990s there was a reappearance of marriage, seen in the leveling off of the divorce rate. Although the claims for the value of marriage by conservatives and gay-rights proponents "were from two ends of the spectrum, they came together — at least at the rhetorical level — for what marriage...accomplishes and how crucial it is as a social institution." (Gallagher, 2002)