Explain and assess the view that the status of marriage is in decline in modern industrial societies (25m)

Question 1

introduction

Answer 1

Marriage can be defined as the legal or formal union between a man and a woman to become partners in
a relationship. It is often seen as a happy and fulfilling experience and the ticket to building a family.
However in the recent years, there has been a noticeable decline in marriage and the factors which
contribute to this phenomenon has been the subject of debate among many sociologists.

Question 2

FOR;

Marriage is in decline

Answer 2

There has been an observable decline in the number of marriages in contemporary societies. For
instance, according to ONS, marriage rate has seen a decline of 19% from 1991 to 2006. This decline
has been attributed to two socio-behavioral shift: namely individuals choosing to delay or not marry at all,
and many would rather choose cohabitation as an alternative form to marriage.

Question 3

cohabitation

Answer 3

Regarding cohabitation, in 2015 alone, 17% of all families in Britain were primarily made up of cohabiting
families (ONS). Furthermore, a change in attitude can be seen regarding cohabitation where 71% of
individuals in 1989 believed that one had to get married in order to have children as opposed to 51% of
individuals in 2002. This could suggest that cohabitation has achieved a more positive outlook in recent
years and hence contribute to the decline in status of marriage.

Question 4

increase in divorce rates

Answer 4

Furthermore, the increase in divorce rate of 56% in 2005 has also led to the rising number of lone-parent
families. *According to ONS, the number of lone parent families increase from 1.6 million in 1996 to 1.9
million in 2005 to 2 million in 2015. There are other factors which could contribute to the emergence of
lone-parenthood which include women becoming more financially dependent as in modern societies,
there are more job opportunities for women to uptake and their welfare is covered by the state.
Furthermore, the introduction of reproductive technology such as test tube babies and surrogacy allows
women to have children without going through the process of getting married. Hence this further shows
the decline in status of marriage in recent years.

Question 5

CRITICISM ;

divorce rates may be misleading

Answer 5

*However, it should be noted that divorce rates may be misleading due to two reasons: The first being
that after the introduction of the Divorce Reform Act 1969, Britain saw an uprise of divorcees and this
could only show that rather than sudden emergence of marital breakdown, these divorce rates were
simply reflection of how accessible it was to file for a divorce as shown in some countries with varying
divorce rates which could also be due to varying levels of stigma attached to the term ‘divorcee’.
Furthermore, divorce rates do not show the full picture of marital breakdown because they have failed to
include rates of empty-shell marriages and separation.

Question 6

domestic violence in marriage

Answer 6

Furthermore, a possible factor to why individuals choose not to marry might be due to the prevalence of
domestic violence especially among female partners. It was found that 650000 cases of domestic abuse
is reported in Britain yearly with a report being filed by a woman every minute (Stanko, 2000). This shows
that the decline of status in marriage could be due to fear of being abused in a marriage and not knowing
if it is possible to be free of said toxic relationships.

Question 7

cohabitation is temporary

Answer 7

Furthermore, 60% of first-time cohabitations turn into marriages according to ONS. This could imply that
rather than cohabitation being seen as an alternative choice to marriage, it really is just a precursor to
marriage instead. Moreover, individuals may choose to delay marriage but they still do marry eventually.
According to ONS, the mean age to marry among men increased from 24 in 1970 to 33 in 2005 and
among women, 22 in 1920 to 31 in 2005. This again shows that the status of marriage is not in decline
but rather people are keeping it on hold due to individual preferences and circumstances.

Question 8

FOR ;

changing in the roles of women

Answer 8

• around 3/4 of divorces petitions are initiated by women, around 7/10 of all divorces are granted to women. this shows how women are more unhappy in marriages than men.
• this may be due to the influence of feminism, women have high expectations of marriages and are disappointing with the reality of a married life
• employment of women has increased as they don’t have to depend on their husbands for financial support
• there are welfare state benefits to help divorced women
• it is easier for women to escape unhappy marriages

Question 9

AGAINST ;

increasing rates of marriage

Answer 9

Although there has been evidence which supports the idea of declining status of marriage, there is
evidence which suggests otherwise. For instance, the increasing rate of marriages. According to ONS, 2
out 5 marriages include one or both parent remarrying which suggests that people still value marriage as
they are looking for happiness in their new partners. Parsons believe that women do not marry for
economic reasons but really for the prospect of love and compatibility. Hence, the high divorce rates are
simply a reflection of marriages which have failed to reach their standards. Furthermore, Fletcher argues
that the high divorce rates is an indication of higher standard of marriage rather than lower, pointing out

that this higher standard is reflected in the number of people choosing to remarry. Hence, the status of
marriage remains high in modern societies due to the value people still place on it.