Just 51% Of US Adults Married Today, Compared To 72% Fifty Years Ago
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Article Date: 14 Dec 2011 - 7:00 PST
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opinions'Just 51% Of US Adults Married Today, Compared To 72% Fifty Years Ago'
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The proportion of American adults who are married today is the lowest ever, according to a new report published by Pew Research. Not only is marriage becoming progressively avoided, the authors added, but also people are waiting longer to tie the traditional knot. The average age for getting married is now 26.5 for females and 28.7 for males.
The researchers - D'Vera Cohn, Jeffrey Passel and Wendy Wang - who gathered data from the US Census, explained that if trends continue along their recent pattern, it will be very few years before the percentage of married adults is lower than single ones.
The institution of marriage is gradually giving way to:
- Cohabitation
- Single-person households
- One-parent families (single parenthood)
- Young adults continuing to stay with their parents for longer (partly due to the current economic crisis)
In just one year (2009 to 2010) the total number of weddings in America dropped by 5%. The authors said they did not look into the reasons for this, which may or may not be linked to the current economic climate.
The decline of marriage is not limited to the USA
Most other developed nations have also seen marriage declining. The long-term decline does not seem to be associated with any business or economic cycle. The percentage of adults who are married has been falling at about the same rate every year, regardless of whether there were periods of economic boom or bust.In America, the steepest drops in marriage rates have been seen among younger adults - only 20% of Americans aged from 18 to 29 are married today; in 1960 the figure was nearly triple (59%). The average adult who gets married today, does so six years later than his/her counterparts of fifty years ago.
Today, 72% of adults have been married once or more ("ever-married"), compared to 85% fifty years ago.
What are current attitudes towards marriage?
Almost 40% of adults in the USA today say marriage is becoming an archaic institution, the authors found. However, they also report that in 2010, approximately 61% of adults who have never been married would like to be one day.
The decline in marriage has been slower among those with college degrees compared to less educated people. Part of the reason for people getting married at an older age today can be attributed to a much higher percentage of adults now going to college, and subsequently putting off such commitments until they have completed their academic qualifications.
Although divorce has been a contributory factor to the drop in the proportion of married adults today, this was more the case earlier on. Divorce rates have remained pretty stable over the last twenty years, while marriage continued to decline.
Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
D’Vera Cohn, Jeffrey Passel and Wendy Wang
Pew Research Center | 1615 L Street, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036
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26 May. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239189.php>
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239189.php.
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Visitor Opinions (latest shown first)
Total 25 opinions, latest 20 shown. For all opinions, click through to the full thread.Decline in Marriage same as Increase Obesity, etc., the Secular Trend
posted by James Michael Howard on 15 Dec 2011 at 9:33 amThe decline of marriage is following, and is also caused by, the "secular trend."
Copyright 2011, James Michael Howard, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A.
I suggest the decline of marriage / increase in divorce is caused by a rise in testosterone within the population with time. Increased testosterone reduces impulse control, etc., and may be higher in lower socioeconomic levels in which reduced marriage / divorce exhibit a higher incidence. This explains why less marriage occurs in less educated people. Increased testosterone may be the main basis of inclusion within the lower socioeconomic levels. This is part of the "secular trend," the increase in size and earlier puberty in children. I have included my explanation of the secular trend if you, et al., are interested.
The following explanation of the secular trend is from http://www.anthropogeny.com .
"A syndrome, the 'Secular Trend,' is occurring in America and other countries, the cause of which is often attributed to one part or another of the syndrome, itself, and more often attributed to the environment or life style. I suggest a single cause may be involved that is biological and evidence of ongoing evolution. The cause may be increased exposure to maternal testosterone within the population with time. This increase in testosterone produces a decline in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) because testosterone interfere with steroid sulfatase. If the precursor of DHEA, DHEAS, is not converted to DHEA, DHEA availability is reduced. It is the reduction in DHEA that is the basis of these problems. High DHEAS is often found with high testosterone. A consequence of this is reduced availability of DHEA (just above) and an earlier decline in the production of DHEA during the life span. This produces increased morbidity during life as well as earlier mortality.
It is my hypothesis that the 'secular trend,' the increase in size and earlier puberty occurring in children, is caused by an increase in the percentage of individuals of higher testosterone. More specifically, I suggest this is due to an increase in the percentage of mothers of higher testosterone with time within the population. This exposes more fetuses to increased maternal testosterone with time within the population. This causes permanent effects in the fetus which persist throughout the life span. I suggest this is the cause of the parallel increases in morbidity occurring within the population, such as increased infection rates, obesity, cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, etc., including prematurity, small for gestational age, etc., including less obvious gross effects which later contribute to 'failing schools' and other adverse behavioral outcomes in children. This includes the new (August,2011) finding of Dr. Kyung Hee Kim of The College of William and Mary that 'creativity' is also declining in children. This could also explain the increase in negative pregnancy outcomes, re: the increase in the increasing 'newborn death rate' in the United States.
I have come to the conclusion that the 'increase in testosterone' may partially be due to a reduction in 'sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)' as a number of phenomena explained by the secular trend may be based on changes
in SHBG. A decrease in SHBG increases free testosterone levels. Low SHBG
has been found in obese children who do not produce excessive testosterone.
A number of negative phenomena which may be caused by increased testosterone are found with low SHBG and a number of positive effects of reduced SHBG exist.
It is my hypothesis that human evolution is driven by increases in testosterone ('Androgens in Human Evolution,' Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 2001; 94: 345-362). This was directly supported by research in 2003; see the chart of testosterone levels in humans and related great apes, upper left at http://www.anthropogeny.com . I suggest that periodically testosterone increases excessively and the exposure to excessive maternal testosterone causes negative and evolutionarily consequential changes to the human population. We may be experiencing this effect at this time.
I suggest this increase in testosterone in the population peaks earlier with time. This earlier peak may produce an earlier decrease in the population with aging. A number of studies reported in the medical literature have identified low testosterone as a cause of currently increasing disorders.
Therefore, the secular trend may be causing increased morbidity and mortality as a result of excessive testosterone and low testosterone within the population. Therefore, earlier reductions in testosterone and DHEA could be occurring simultaneously, therefore, reducing the total positive effects of these two major androgens. This could be the explanation of the severe increase in morbidity that is occurring. Evolution is increasing earlier reproductive capacity at the expense of post-reproductive years.
The curve of the peak of our androgens is being 'skewed to the left.'
As I have said before, I think women of higher testosterone drive the secular trend / human evolution. I suggest these women produce the highest percentage of premature infants. It has been reported that 'preterm boys'
exhibit increased testosterone and the effects of increased testosterone compared to 'full term boys' (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010, 'Increased Activity of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis in Infancy Results in Increased Androgen Action in Premature Boys.,' Kuiri-Hanninen, et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan;96(1):98-105). What this means is that the population is increasing in women of higher testosterone and this group of women may also be increasing the percentage of men of higher testosterone simultaneously. This could explain why this 'secular trend' can increase so rapidly. This mechanism could expand the percentage of these individuals within a population rapidly and drive human evolution."
Cohabitation
posted by Brian McInnis on 15 Dec 2011 at 1:52 amCohabitation is a primary component OF marriage! It is COMMON KNOWLEDGE married people dwell together!
RE: Maria
posted by Shawn on 14 Dec 2011 at 11:24 amMaria - marriage primarily benefits women. This chaos going on since the 60s/70s is not good for women or children, but too many women have co-signed on this madness.
a global problem
posted by khaya phungwayo on 14 Dec 2011 at 10:45 amEven in South Africa we're facing the same issue. A variety of factors contribute
1.Socio- economy:economic crunches and recessions make it harder for one to advance financially.
there's just so much cheating in society,individuals can't help but shy away from marriage.And society promotes relationship but not faithfulness. we human are design to adapt,of which in this case is to abstain from marriage.
2.Culture: in SA men have to pay the traditional lobola for the fiance before the actual marriage of which increases the financial load on we guys and some do get discourage because of this.
3.Unemployment hike: need I say more.....???
The Result of 50 Years of Feminism
posted by Jim on 14 Dec 2011 at 9:50 amWhy are we surprised? Feminists have been working hard to destroy marriage, which they view as an "instrument of the patriarchy."
Women, under the guidance of feminism, have torn up the social contract that used to exist between the sexes. They decided they wanted to reinvent the relationship between men and women in a way that would benefit women and disadvantage men.
The problem is: If women tore up the contract, they really can't expect men to live by the terms either. Men are walking away from their traditional obligations and responsibilities, just like women have already done.
Men are not trying to change the system back to something more reasonable. Instead, they are beginning to vote with their feet. Good luck with all that, ladies.
Conspiracy theories
posted by 15 years so far on 14 Dec 2011 at 9:16 amMaria, my wife (of 15 years) proposed to ME - (very flattering), smartest thing I've ever said in my life was "I do." The "battle of the sexes" has been over since the 80s, everyone was losing and everyone decided to call it off. Unfortunately "the word" didn't get out, so some people are still fighting the battle. Marriage as a "conspiracy" isn't real, there are definite benefits for all involved. It isn't perfect, but it is by far the least worst arrangement for two people who love each other.
God loves sports
posted by Billgm on 14 Dec 2011 at 9:02 amIt's obvious that God is more interested in sports than marriage. Just look at the stats!
Marriage decline in America
posted by Ashok on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:56 amAnswer is "Opportinity" in every step of life.Take it the way you wish.
Paternity Testing
posted by Sean on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:50 amActually it is paternity testing. Women used to get married so that the children they had (even by other men) would be taken care of by her husband. Men in the past could deny a child as his if he was not married to the woman and they called these kids bastards. Now thanks to paternity testing, women know 100% who the fathers of their children are via DNA– the courts will force support – women no longer need marriage. So don’t blame men!
Biblical
posted by Sarah on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:43 amMarriage can be a beautiful thing if you are with the right person. My fiancé and I have both been married before (to the wrong people) and both regret those marriages all together. We are planning our lives now and can't change the past. Marriage is not a guarantee that everything will be okay In your relationship but for us it's a binding love that makes us happy!! :-) being single is perfectly fine too! But waking up next to the person you love is the best feeling on earth!!!!
Marriage differences today and Fifty Years Ago
posted by david on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:24 am"The great foe of Socialism, of the communistic idea of society, is the family." The New York Times Dec-1-1911
No Marital Contract Equals No Commitment
posted by BIG AL on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:18 amDee says: "Thus, we must hope for the best, do what we can to make it in this economic crisis and hope for the best, so that one day we will be able to have our dream wedding."
Paraphrased version: "whine...whine...whine...If we can't buy the best then we don't want it at all....whine...whine...whine"
The best way to show your commitment to someone is to enter into a contract/covenant with them. "Economic crisis" be damned! No contract = No commitment....Quit whining and go to the JP. The superficial stuff can wait.
Obsolete
posted by pinbalwyz on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:10 amScrew that! Aren't men now obsolete given the state of genetic engineering and cloning? Still, they're fun to have around for their large claw and taking out the garbage.
It's in the detail
posted by Kevin Macomber on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:10 amThe problem in this type of detail is that they always fail to include what the driving factors are. While there are no doubt cultural changes, I can't help but think there is an underlying agenda here. This issue is due in part to a number of forces: a breakdown in all moral values across the board; a 'dumbing' down of America (shown in the statistics above); women prioritizing their careers over traditional family choices; and more people divorcing. What it does show is young people are learning from these mistakes/choices and have altered their behavior.
Blame the Law and the Woman
posted by Reality on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:08 amWant to know why NONE of my guy friends or myself will NEVER be married?
The law chews up and spits out men when the marriage ends and the man ends up with payments for houses, cars, and kids that he never gets to see.
Nobody could give me a good reason to even get married in the first place. If you are with a good woman, and the criteria are there that you would marry her, why marry? The man loses 100% of the time in court. Keeps the ball in your court and live together and not marry.
"Pro Woman" groups have contributed to this and these 2 things together are what every guy I ever talk to says why they'll never marry.
Is He A Yankees Fan?
posted by pinbalwyz on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:08 amSo God will 'strike back' for all the depravity, indulgence, & sin? Does that mean He's a Yankees fan?
marriage rights demolished by court
posted by anonymous on 14 Dec 2011 at 8:04 amPestered for a decade on divorce issues this gentleman decided to burn himself on the steps of the court house with gasoline. Here is his last statement. Courts did not apparently help his situation. Only the spouses have the knowledge to fix their problems, wash the divorce courts into the sea because I think they make things worse.
marriage is an invented institution, by men, to control everything
posted by Maria Edmonds on 14 Dec 2011 at 7:59 amMarriage is an institution invented by men, to control women. As women become more financially independent, it becomes obsolete.
How Unfortunate
posted by Big AL on 14 Dec 2011 at 7:47 amFornicators!
It is against the will of God
posted by Paul Olivier on 14 Dec 2011 at 7:45 amGod in all his kindness will eventually strike back at all this depravity, indulgence and sin. It is only a question of time!!
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