Marriage, cohabitation and divorce Flashcards
Define marriage
Legal union of two people through religous or civil ceremony
Trends in marriage
Marriage rates are declining:
Half of these marriages are actually re-marriages.
Most marriages are through a civil ceremony, rather than religious.
People are getting married at a later age
Trends in civil partnerships
Civil partnerships are increasing
The numbers of men and women’s civil partnerships are almost identical.
Trends in cohabitation
Cohabitation is increasing:
There are around 2 million cohabiting couples, that is more than 1 in 10 of all couples in Britain.
11% of all children in Britain are brought up by their unmarried, cohabiting parents.
However, 60% of cohabitations turn into marriage. So, cohabitation is a prelude to marriage, not necessarily an alternative. It is therefore often referred to as practice marriage.
Most cohabiting couples are in their mid to late 20s.
Reasons for the trends in marriage and cohabitation
Women’s economic independence Increase in divorce Increase in secularisation Changing social attitudes and decline in stigma Higher expectations of marriage Contraception
Decrease in first marriage
[explaining the reasons for the trends in marriage and cohabitation]
- weddings are very expensive.
- fear of divorce
- increase in secularisation (no pressure to get married)
- changes in social attitudes (no more ‘shotgun’ weddings)
- Feminism
- changes in the position of women.
Increase in remarriage
[explaining the reasons for the trends in marriage and cohabitation]
Mass media promotes of romantic love
- protestants church allows re-marriages
- changing social attitudes (serial monogamy is acceptable)
- increase in secularisation (can get married anywhere)
Marriage at a later age
[explanation]
Weddings are expensive
increase in secularisation - no more pressure to get married at a young age
Changes in social attitudes - no more stigma attached to being unmarried
Influence of feminism - opportunities for women in education and work
Increase in cohabitaiton
[explanation for the reasons for the trends in marriage and cohabitation]
Increase in secularisation - cohabitation no longer seen as ‘living in sin’
Weeks: changing social attitudes - pre-marital sex and cohabitation is acceptable
Chester - It’s a prelude, not an alternative to marriage.
Berlin: it is a conscious attempt to create a more equal relationship
Increase in ‘singlehood’ – people living alone
Increase in divorce leaves people living alone.
As people are marrying at a later age, they may live alone in the period between university and marriage or cohabitation.
Increasing numbers of people are choosing to live alone. Stein – creative singlehood.
Increased life expectancy
Duncan & Phillips – living apart together – increasingly people live along, but are in relationships.
Types of marital breakdown
EMPTY-SHELL MARRIAGE - the couple no longer love each other and there is no intimacy - remain married & living together
SEPARATION - couple agree to live apart and lead separate lives, remain legally married
DIVORCE - legal ending of a marriage
(civil partnerships end in dissolutions)
Trends in divorce
The divorce rates increased then doubled between 1969 and 1972 - (result of legal change)
Continued to rise sharply until 2000, Since then has started to fall - (result of falling marriage rates as there are now fewer married couples so less people who can get a divorce)
People tend to get divorced in their 40s and the average length of marriage is 8-10 years.
Trends in disolution of civil partnerships
Civil partnerships have been steadily increasing since 2006.
3% of men’s and 6% of women’s civil partnerships end in dissolution.
Reasons for divorce
Legal changes since 1969.
The influence of the Feminist movement.
Increasing employment opportunities for women and Welfare provision.
Changing social attitudes.
Increase in secularisation.
Pressure of working lives on relationships.
Rising expectations of marriage.
Increased life expectancy.
The growth of the privatised nuclear family.
Who gets divorced?
Teenage married couples – marriage may test the maturity of the couple. They may have overly romantic views of marriage and may be unable to cope with the responsibility of a long term relationship and its constraints.
Working class couples – are more likely to face financial problems which can lead to arguments and eventual marital breakdown.
Childless couples – may feel less obliged to stay together in comparison to couples with children who may stay together for the children’s sake.
Couples of different social or ethnic background – the couple may have opposing expectations of conjugal roles, they may face opposition from families and wider society.
Couples with four or more children – increased financial burden which can lead to arguments, also the couple may not have any time to spend together so can drift apart.
Couples married for 20+ years – couples may stay together for the sake of the children and divorce once the children have grown up. Increasing life expectancy.
A previous divorce – more familiar with the process of divorce so have nothing to fear. Also, people whose parents got divorced are more likely to divorce as they have fewer skills in maintaining a relationship since when they were growing up, they didn’t have positive role models.
Couple who got married after only a short acquaintance – the couple may not know each other well enough, their relationship is more likely to be based on overly romanticised ideas, family disapproval.
