Marriage and Cohabitation

Question 1

Reasons for a decline in marriage

Answer 1

• Changing role of women in society
• Changing social attitudes
• Rising divorce and insecurity of relationships
• Changes to social institutions

Question 2

Changing role of women

Answer 2

• Career aspirations of women have meant that there has been a rise in the average age at which people first marry
• Greater control over reproductive rights and increased medical technology means women can delay having children
• Financial and social independence of women mean they are more likely to look for right partner to satisfy their needs rather than a financial arrangement

Question 3

Changing social attitudes

Answer 3

• Alternatives to marriage - such as cohabitation or living apart together (LATS) relationship as a response to changing attitudes to relationships
• Giddens - idea of confluent love and Bauman’s liquid love suggest people will opt for serial monogamy over long-term relationships
• Greater reflexivity and self-improvement has led to more individualism, rather than romantic love

Question 4

Rising divorce and insecurity of relationships

Answer 4

• People delay marriage until they are certain that their partner is the right person due to fear of divorce
• Increased instability in relationships (and society) has led people to attempt to control the risks that they face in relationships
• However divorce rate is declining and the number of remarriages increasing

Question 5

Changes to social instituions

Answer 5

• Family provides less functions than in previous generations - individuals can find self-fulfilment through support networks
• Process of secularisation has led more people to see marriage as an outdated institution and less stigma attached to alternatives to marriage