MarrMarriageiage

Family Sociology

MarriageMarriageWith all the possibilities and popularity

of cohabitation, why do people get married?

Requires a long-term public commitmentFulfills social norms, such as expectation

of parents, friends, relativesMarried couples get legal rights and

privileges reserved for spouses

MarriageMarriage

With all the possibilities and popularity of cohabitation, why do people get married?

Allows for emotional investment with reduced risk of abandonment

Increases the probability that children raised by two parents

Marriage is a social institution that confers legality on a relationship

MarriageMarriageWith all the possibilities and popularity of cohabitation,

why do people get married?Traditionally marriage has been an integral part of a

sequence of the life course and a key event in the life course.

Marriage used to be connected to such things such as:◦ Leaving parental home ◦ Position in the labor market◦ A regular sex life ◦ Parenthood

Marriage has fewer effects on these things, so it becomes more acceptable not to marry/ marry/ or divorce

MarriageMarriage

Age of marriage has increased considerably

This related to several other changes:1) Rise in cohabitation.2) Technological advances in contraceptives 3) Increases in educational attainment, esp. for

women4) Increased female labor force participation

Generation Y is postponing Generation Y is postponing MarriageMarriageA new study by the Pew Research

Center is discussed in an article in the Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0213/Modern-romance-Gen-Y-is-late-to-the-wedding-but-wants-marriage

Note that Andrew Cherlin, whose research we have read, is quoted and how journalism blends anecdotal stories with real research.

Changing Marital Changing Marital ExpectationsExpectations

According to Julian Sanchez in your According to Julian Sanchez in your book:book:Stephanie Coontz argues that one

women, one man idea of marriage is a new one.

She argues LOVE partnered with marriage was an 18th century invention

See assignment on marriage: what were some of the other types of marriages in ancient times?

Marriage MarketMarriage MarketSociologists often study marriage in terms

of the marriage market◦Thinking is similar to the employment market

There are 3 components to this “marriage market”

Supply – who is availablePreferences – preferred characteristicsResources – individual characteristics that are

attractive to others

Marriage MarketMarriage Market

The concept of the marriage market is that unmarried individuals search for spouses with an acceptable set of desired characteristics

What are some of these desired characteristics?1. Propinquity (Proximity)2. Religion3. Education4. Class5. Race

Marriage MarketMarriage MarketProximity – where ones lives.Proximity is important as you actually have to

come into contact with someone to meet them and start dating – A study in 1958 showed that people most like to marry lived within 2-3 miles of each other.

Proximity still makes sense because neighborhoods are usually stratified by class, ethnicity, and race.

The importance of proximity is weakening, especially with advances in communication like the internet, but still has some effect (according to more recent studies).

Recent Polls on how/where people Recent Polls on how/where people met their spousesmet their spouses The Harris Interactive/eHarmony study was conducted

through a nationwide online survey using a representative sample of 7,135 Americans aged 20-54 who were married between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007.

4.8% of all new marriages in the United States, resulted from eHarmony

Another new dataset is called: How Couples Meet and Stay Together (HCMST) survey

18 percent of the surveyed married or committed couples met at work, just 14 percent met in school or college

Source: http://download.eharmony.com/pdf/Harris-09-Executive-Summary.pdf

How Couples MeetHow Couples Meet

Source:Meeting Online: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary Rosenfeld, 2010. PAA presentation.

Marriage MarketMarriage MarketEducation: women are becoming more

educated so the old pattern of men marrying a wife with less education is no longer the norm.

But similar education is preferred, particularly because more education often means more earning potential, and this is now preferred by both men & women

Educational attainment may also reflect social class.

Education and MarriageEducation and Marriage In a reversal of long

term marital patterns:college-educated

young adults are MORE likely than young adults without a college degree to have married by age 30

Today college-educated are as likely to marry as the non-college educated

The college-marriage gap has closed

Marriage MarketMarriage MarketClass: most people marry within their social

class (measured by their occupation or their parents’ occupation).

Many people seek to marry up – this is called hypergamy

Hypergamy is defined as: marrying up in social status.

Women more likely to marry up, men down.

Marriage MarketMarriage MarketRace: most marry within their racial group In the past -- laws against inter-racial marriage

(miscegenation) Still on the books in some southern states until

the Supreme Court overturned them in 1967Sociologists expect that inter-racial marriage

will become more common 

SummarySummaryCohabitation seems to be another

family form – but it has not replaced marriage

According to Cherlin – marriage today is a paradox, that as people enter marriage, they are more likely to judge it by a single standard – personal fulfillment - which is difficult when you are an individual in a couple.

People are more likely to marry those who are similar to them in religion, race, class, educational attainment, and attractiveness