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A new minority: Married couples
Last update: October 15, 2006 – 1:24 AM
Married couples have not been a majority of households headed by adults younger than 25 since the 1970s, but among those aged 25 to 34 the proportion slipped below 50 percent for the first time within the past five years.
Among Americans aged 35 to 64, married couples still make up a majority of all households. Meanwhile, since 2000, those identifying themselves as unmarried opposite-sex couples rose by about 14 percent, male couples by 24 percent and female couples by 12 percent.
WHAT'S UP
A number of couples interviewed agreed that cohabiting was akin to taking a test drive and, given the scarcity of affordable apartments and homes, also a matter of convenience and economy. Some said that pregnancy was the only thing that would prompt them to make a legal commitment anytime soon. Others said they never intended to marry. A few of those couples said they were inspired by solidarity with gay and lesbian couples who cannot legally marry in most states.
"It's partially fueled by women in the workforce; they don't necessarily have to marry to be economically secure," said Andrew Beveridge, a demographer at Queens College of the City University of New York, who conducted the census analysis for the New York Times. "You used to get married to have sex. Now one of the major reasons to get married is to have children, and the attractiveness of having children has declined for many people because of the cost."
IMPLICATIONS
The numbers by no means suggest marriage is dead or necessarily that a tipping point has been reached. The total number of married couples is higher than ever, and most Americans eventually marry. But a growing number of adults are spending more of their lives single or living unmarried with partners, and the potential social and economic implications are profound. "It just changes the social weight of marriage in the economy, in the workforce, in sales of homes and rentals, and who manufacturers advertise to," said Stephanie Coontz, director of public education for the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonprofit research group.
SOME CONCERN
Steve Watters, director of young adults for Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, said the trend was more a reflection of delaying marriage than rejection of it. "It does show that a lot of people are experimenting with alternatives before they get there," Watters said. "The biggest concern is that those who still aspire to marriage are going to find fewer models. They're also finding they've gotten so good at being single it's hard to be at one with another person."
Pamela J. Smock, a researcher at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center, said her own research found that the desire for strong family bonds, and especially marriage, was constant.
"Even cohabiting young adults tell us that they are doing so because it would be unwise to marry without first living together in a society marked by high levels of divorce," she said.
NEW YORK TIMES
Last update: October 15, 2006 – 1:24 AM
Married couples have not been a majority of households headed by adults younger than 25 since the 1970s, but among those aged 25 to 34 the proportion slipped below 50 percent for the first time within the past five years.
Among Americans aged 35 to 64, married couples still make up a majority of all households. Meanwhile, since 2000, those identifying themselves as unmarried opposite-sex couples rose by about 14 percent, male couples by 24 percent and female couples by 12 percent.
WHAT'S UP
A number of couples interviewed agreed that cohabiting was akin to taking a test drive and, given the scarcity of affordable apartments and homes, also a matter of convenience and economy. Some said that pregnancy was the only thing that would prompt them to make a legal commitment anytime soon. Others said they never intended to marry. A few of those couples said they were inspired by solidarity with gay and lesbian couples who cannot legally marry in most states.
"It's partially fueled by women in the workforce; they don't necessarily have to marry to be economically secure," said Andrew Beveridge, a demographer at Queens College of the City University of New York, who conducted the census analysis for the New York Times. "You used to get married to have sex. Now one of the major reasons to get married is to have children, and the attractiveness of having children has declined for many people because of the cost."
IMPLICATIONS
The numbers by no means suggest marriage is dead or necessarily that a tipping point has been reached. The total number of married couples is higher than ever, and most Americans eventually marry. But a growing number of adults are spending more of their lives single or living unmarried with partners, and the potential social and economic implications are profound. "It just changes the social weight of marriage in the economy, in the workforce, in sales of homes and rentals, and who manufacturers advertise to," said Stephanie Coontz, director of public education for the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonprofit research group.
SOME CONCERN
Steve Watters, director of young adults for Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, said the trend was more a reflection of delaying marriage than rejection of it. "It does show that a lot of people are experimenting with alternatives before they get there," Watters said. "The biggest concern is that those who still aspire to marriage are going to find fewer models. They're also finding they've gotten so good at being single it's hard to be at one with another person."
Pamela J. Smock, a researcher at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center, said her own research found that the desire for strong family bonds, and especially marriage, was constant.
"Even cohabiting young adults tell us that they are doing so because it would be unwise to marry without first living together in a society marked by high levels of divorce," she said.
NEW YORK TIMES
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