Changing Patterns of Marriage, Cohabitation, Separation, Etc

• Marriage became much less popular in the second half of the 20th century, with the number of first marriages in the UK declining in the 1970s, despite the population continuing to increase
• There have been more dramatic fluctuations in the numbers of marriages (such as during the second world war, there was a dramatic peak in 1940 and then a dramatic slump during the rest of the war)
• Most of the period since the early 1970s has experienced a steady decline in the number of marriages
• At times in the 1980s and 1990s the decline in marriages was more rapid
• Since then there has been rather more fluctuation with some years seeing more marriages (partly fed by civil partnerships and same-sex marriages and partly by changing trends, with celebrity and royal weddings)
• 2017 saw the lowest number of heterosexual weddings since records began, in the UK
• Possible explanations for the overall decline in the popularity of marriage

  • Secularisation - declining significance of religion in UK society
  • Divorce rates - dramatic increase in the number of divorces
  • Expense - average wedding in the UK costs over £27,000
  • The pure relationship - quest for the perfect relationship
• The average age that people get married has continually risen since the 1970s
• In 2014, the average age for a man getting married was 37 compared with 34.6 for women
• Possible explanations for the trend towards delaying marriage

  • Secularisation - less stigma attached to cohabitation
  • Women's careers - women expect to have careers and independent financial security
  • Living longer - later marriages are not shorter marriages
• Only 30% of weddings in the UK today are religious ceremonies
• Giddens' argument is generally used to explain why couples may be less concerned about divorce and remarriage than previous generations, rather than an explanation for not getting married in the first place
• The number of couples cohabiting, as opposed to getting married, has undoubtedly increased in the second half the 20th century
• In 2015, research showed that the vast majority of marriages (80%) were between couples who had previously cohabited
• Approximately 3% of families in the UK are cohabiting couples, so while they are more numerous than lone-parent families and have more than doubled since the mid 1990s, they are still massively outnumbered by married couples
• Divorce greatly increased after the 1969 Divorce Reform Act
• Possible reasons for the rapid increase in divorce rates

  • Legislative changes - the 1969 act made divorce much easier
  • Secularisation - less religious or social stigma attached to being a divorcee
  • Female emancipation - women are much more likely to have independent finances
  • Child support - women know men will be expected to pay maintenance
  • The pure relationship - people do not necessarily expect their marriages to last forever
• It is certainly true that changes to the law that increased the accessibility of divorce greatly increase the divorce rate
• What is less clear is whether it greatly increased the rate at which marriages broke down
• Women are having children later
• Women are having fewer children
• A higher proportion of women are choosing not to have children (approximately a quarter of women today will not have children)
• More than 40% of children are born outside marriage
• Broad social changes related to childbearing trends

  • Secularisation
  • Changing role of women in society
  • Life course
• Life course


  The social phases we progress through, throughout our lives
• Traditionally, the life course was seen as quite fixed, especially for women
• Personal life perspective


  Individuals are able to make choices about their life course: to try and plan it and make choices for it
• Many young people spend a significant time outside a traditional family-based household, either living with friends, flatmates or alone
• Despite all these trends, most people still live in apparently traditional family structures (couples with children)