Marriage & Cohabitation

• STATISTICS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE

  1.People are delaying marriage.

  2.Around 1 in 3 marriages that do take place are remarriages for one or both partners.
• 3 REASONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE:

  CHANGING ATTITUDES TO MARRIAGE:

  Less pressure to marry & more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want.

  CHANGES IN POSITION OF WOMEN:

  Better education & career prospects= women less economically dependent on men=greater freedom not to marry.

  FEAR OF DIVORCE:

  With rising divorce rate, some may be put off marrying because they see the increased likelihood of marriage ending in divorce.
• COHABITATION= A couple who live together & are involved in an emotional and/or sexually intimate relationship.
• 3 REASONS FOR RISE IN COHABITATION:

  1. Decline in stigma attached to sex outside marriage.
  2. Increased career opportunities for women= less need in financial security of marriage= freer to opt for cohabitation.
  3. Secularisation= young people with no religion are more likely to cohabit than those with.
• SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWS ON COHABITATION

  CHESTER= just part of the process of getting married.

  75% of cohabitating couples say they expect to marry eachother.

  BENJIN= disagrees= it is a conscious decision to not marry, as often a cohabitating relationship is more equal than a married one.
• REASONS FOR INCREASES IN ONE PERSON HOUSEHOLDS:

  • Divorce= children more likely to live with mother= father more likely to leave the family home.
  • Growing number opting for 'creative singlehood'= the deliberate choice to live alone.
  • Too few partners available in their age group. Mainly older widows.
• Living apart together= couples who live apart but still have a relationship