The percentage of American’s that find marriage to be important, has been on the decline for several decades. More and more of us have never been married, and the total numbers reflect that as of 2012, one in five adults over the age of 25% have never been married (Wang, Parker, 2014). By contrast, in 1960, that number was only 10% (Wang, Parker). Economist have studied these trends for many years, and have attempted to assign cause to various societal factors. Depending on the political leanings of the economist, the decline in marriage rates is explained by either an economic cause (left leaning), or a policy issue (right leaning.) But there are other social structures that play a contributing factor such as culture, and education level
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Two contributing social structures to consider when reviewing marriage patterns are cultural trends, and education. In the last 50 years, there have been a number of cultural trends that have impacted the number of couples marrying. The authors Wilcox, Wolfinger, and Stokes identified five of these trends in their 2015 paper. They note that the rise in expressive individualism, changes in mores and customs, the second wave of feminism which increased female labor force participation, and the number of children raised in non-intact families, have led to a decline in the acceptance of marriage (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C. 2015).
The role that any one of these factors plays in the decline of marriage is hard to calculate, but it is clear that they are important. For example, as more women entered the workforce, they delayed marriage and starting a family. Women where free to pursue careers, and did not require a marriage to be deemed successful. Also, as the number of children raised outside of married homes increased, it is more likely that those children would choose to not be married themselves. This becomes somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as they emulate their …show more content…
The level of education can play an important role in many ways. The higher the education level provides for increased problem solving skills, greater income, and better habits (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C. 2015). Those that are college educated have the ability to make better choices professionally, and with their families, and have the means to recover from any bad decisions that they make. Those personal strengths can assist in forming lasting relationships as well. Conversely, those without a college degree, or from homes where their parents do not have them, are less likely to avoid the negative behaviors that can make it difficult to establish stable relationships.
The impact of education level is evident in surveys of adult behavior. In one survey, adults 18-60 were asked a number of questions and their answers broken out by education level. For example, 71% of those with less than high school education claimed that “single moms do just fine”, while only 56% that were college graduates said the same (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C.
Two contributing social structures to consider when reviewing marriage patterns are cultural trends, and education. In the last 50 years, there have been a number of cultural trends that have impacted the number of couples marrying. The authors Wilcox, Wolfinger, and Stokes identified five of these trends in their 2015 paper. They note that the rise in expressive individualism, changes in mores and customs, the second wave of feminism which increased female labor force participation, and the number of children raised in non-intact families, have led to a decline in the acceptance of marriage (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C. 2015).
The role that any one of these factors plays in the decline of marriage is hard to calculate, but it is clear that they are important. For example, as more women entered the workforce, they delayed marriage and starting a family. Women where free to pursue careers, and did not require a marriage to be deemed successful. Also, as the number of children raised outside of married homes increased, it is more likely that those children would choose to not be married themselves. This becomes somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as they emulate their …show more content…
The level of education can play an important role in many ways. The higher the education level provides for increased problem solving skills, greater income, and better habits (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C. 2015). Those that are college educated have the ability to make better choices professionally, and with their families, and have the means to recover from any bad decisions that they make. Those personal strengths can assist in forming lasting relationships as well. Conversely, those without a college degree, or from homes where their parents do not have them, are less likely to avoid the negative behaviors that can make it difficult to establish stable relationships.
The impact of education level is evident in surveys of adult behavior. In one survey, adults 18-60 were asked a number of questions and their answers broken out by education level. For example, 71% of those with less than high school education claimed that “single moms do just fine”, while only 56% that were college graduates said the same (Wilcox, W., Wolfinger, N., & Stokes, C.