Why is the US marriage rate falling sharply?

[SassyLady]

I've heard high stress occupations, cops, firefighters, lawyers and doctors, have higher divorce rates and certain medical specialties are higher than others-- I wonder what the divorce rate is for divorce attorneys compared to other legal specialties?

Interestingly, I remember reading somewhere that marriages where the wife makes more money than the husband have higher rates of divorce too.

How about divorce rate among military during times of war vs. peace?

[DragonStryk72]

I don't know, the problem with just looking at a bare statistics is that it doesn't really take into account outside factors. Our economy has been in the crapper for several years now, and that's certainly going to effect the marriage rate. I don't think that marriage is going away insomuch as its changing. It used to be that getting married was just expected, and divorce was a rarity. There's some good in the holding off, such as people being in far better financial shape or waiting to meet the right person, along with those who shouldn't get married staying single, but on the other hand, you have people who have a very incorrect view of what marriage is.

[Shadow]

I've heard high stress occupations, cops, firefighters, lawyers and doctors, have higher divorce rates and certain medical specialties are higher than others-- I wonder what the divorce rate is for divorce attorneys compared to other legal specialties?

Interestingly, I remember reading somewhere that marriages where the wife makes more money than the husband have higher rates of divorce too.

I read an article awhile back that pretty much said the same...high stress fields. Another thing they listed was any jobs that offers comfort, night time hours or temptations (such as women,gambling,alcohol).

Some professions included:

Dancers
MassageTherapists
Casinos/Gaming
Bars/nightclubs
Hotels

I also remember a lack of financial security being very high on the list of reasons people divorce.

[katarina welsch]

The Pew Centre research, which suggests marriage is falling out of favour far less quickly among college graduates than less educated groups, would appear to bear this argument out.
Nearly two-thirds of American adults with college degrees (64%) are married, compared with just 47% among those with a high school education. That is in sharp contrast to 1960, when the most educated and the least educated were about equally likely to be married.

"There has been a realisation among college-educated Americans that marriage is actually a pretty good idea, even if they don't like to talk about it in public," argues Bradford Wilcox.

"On things like abortion, on hot-button global social issues, Americans who are college educated are more liberal.

"But when it comes to thinking about how they are going to govern their own lives, their own family lives, our sense from the data is that they are more marriage-minded, they are more conventional about family life."

is concerned that marriage is "withering" among middle and lower income groups, with potentially disastrous effects on American society and the economy.

"I think we are moving more towards a classically Latin model, where the powerful and the privileged have strong, stable families and access to decent income and decent assets. And everyone who is not in that upper third is worse and worse off."

The traditional nuclear family is still held up as an ideal in American politics and society, certainly more so than in many other Western democracies such as the UK.

Mr Wilcox argues that it has been the key to America's prosperity over the years.

He believes the decline in marriage is largely down to a sharp fall in the earning power and job prospects of non-college educated American men, many of whom now lack the means to get married, leaving their offspring "doubly disadvantaged" - lacking both assets and a stable home.

But perhaps it is a little premature to write the obituary for the American marriage just yet.

The sharp 5% decline in the number of new marriages in the US between 2009 and 2010, revealed by the Pew research, may simply be down to short-term economic factors.

With the cost of the average wedding running at about $20,000 (£12,946) many couples are opting for a longer engagement to give them more time to save up, according to Kyle Brown, of the American Bridal Association, which represents America's multi-billion dollar wedding industry.

But, he adds, his members have noticed "an increase in the beginning process of wedding planning, on items such as gowns, in the past three months".

"I would expect to see an uptick in the number of weddings in 2012 and 2013," he says. "It is purely down to economics."

[Jess]

The Pew Centre research, which suggests marriage is falling out of favour far less quickly among college graduates than less educated groups, would appear to bear this argument out.
Nearly two-thirds of American adults with college degrees (64%) are married, compared with just 47% among those with a high school education. That is in sharp contrast to 1960, when the most educated and the least educated were about equally likely to be married.

"There has been a realisation among college-educated Americans that marriage is actually a pretty good idea, even if they don't like to talk about it in public," argues Bradford Wilcox.

"On things like abortion, on hot-button global social issues, Americans who are college educated are more liberal.

"But when it comes to thinking about how they are going to govern their own lives, their own family lives, our sense from the data is that they are more marriage-minded, they are more conventional about family life."

is concerned that marriage is "withering" among middle and lower income groups, with potentially disastrous effects on American society and the economy.

"I think we are moving more towards a classically Latin model, where the powerful and the privileged have strong, stable families and access to decent income and decent assets. And everyone who is not in that upper third is worse and worse off."

The traditional nuclear family is still held up as an ideal in American politics and society, certainly more so than in many other Western democracies such as the UK.

Mr Wilcox argues that it has been the key to America's prosperity over the years.

He believes the decline in marriage is largely down to a sharp fall in the earning power and job prospects of non-college educated American men, many of whom now lack the means to get married, leaving their offspring "doubly disadvantaged" - lacking both assets and a stable home.

But perhaps it is a little premature to write the obituary for the American marriage just yet.

The sharp 5% decline in the number of new marriages in the US between 2009 and 2010, revealed by the Pew research, may simply be down to short-term economic factors.

With the cost of the average wedding running at about $20,000 (£12,946) many couples are opting for a longer engagement to give them more time to save up, according to Kyle Brown, of the American Bridal Association, which represents America's multi-billion dollar wedding industry.

But, he adds, his members have noticed "an increase in the beginning process of wedding planning, on items such as gowns, in the past three months".

"I would expect to see an uptick in the number of weddings in 2012 and 2013," he says. "It is purely down to economics."

For real?!?!?

That's ridiculous.

Maybe that's why the marriages fail - they start out broke, he's peeved that they spent $20K on "the day" and they could have done something constructive with it.

[Thunderknuckles]

The problem with marriage in the U.S. is that is viewed as a financial contract by government.
Considering what others have posted let's toss in the cost of a divorce as well as consider that married people earn roughly 10%-20% more than unmarried people.

So your financial investment opportunity in marriage breaks down as such:
You have a 50% chance of getting about a 15% return. If the investment goes south, you lose half of everything you own, will be responsible for additional payments if children are involved for about another decade, and will be responsible for additional monthly sums to your "investment partner" till you die (depending on which state you live in).

This is why God made vaginas. It is the only thing in the universe with the power to compel a man to make such an investment.

[Jess]

The problem with marriage in the U.S. is that is viewed as a financial contract by government.
Considering what others have posted let's toss in the cost of a divorce as well as consider that married people earn roughly 10%-20% more than unmarried people.

So your financial investment opportunity in marriage breaks down as such:
You have a 50% chance of getting about a 15% return. If the investment goes south, you lose half of everything you own, will be responsible for additional payments if children are involved for about another decade, and will be responsible for additional monthly sums to your "investment partner" till you die (depending on which state you live in).

This is why God made vaginas. It is the only thing in the universe with the power to compel a man to make such an investment.

No. That's what man made alcohol for. To get women drunk enough to throw her lot in with some guy who is going to bitch about her while she takes care of him, the house, the kids and she'll end up on the short end of the stick because she was "a good wife" instead of getting her fair share.

[Thunderknuckles]

No. That's what man made alcohol for. To get women drunk enough to throw her lot in with some guy who is going to bitch about her while she takes care of him, the house, the kids and she'll end up on the short end of the stick because she was "a good wife" instead of getting her fair share.

I think she's referring to you Gunny

[Jess]

I think she's referring to you Gunny

Nope. His predecessor.

Gunny's a peach.

[Shadow]

No. That's what man made alcohol for. To get women drunk enough to throw her lot in with some guy who is going to bitch about her while she takes care of him, the house, the kids and she'll end up on the short end of the stick because she was "a good wife" instead of getting her fair share.

Yeah...and bitch and moan about what an abusive deadbeat his own father was everytime the subject was brought up...only to turn around and later write off his own kids without a second thought or dime spent on making sure that their needs are being met.

That's some pretty good alcohol...I think mine was laced with crack actually.

[Jess]

Yeah...and bitch and moan about what an abusive deadbeat his own father was everytime the subject was brought up...only to turn around and later write off his own kids without a second thought or dime spent on making sure that their needs are being met.

That's some pretty good alcohol...I think mine was laced with crack actually.

Wait - how did you marry and have kids with my ex? This is strange.

[Shadow]

For real?!?!?

That's ridiculous.

Maybe that's why the marriages fail - they start out broke, he's peeved that they spent $20K on "the day" and they could have done something constructive with it.

It's crazy,huh. I was watching a snippet from one of those wedding shows on TLC this morning. Some girl went to a bridal shop wanting dresses....and goes " I want to only spend 2-5 thousand dollars...if possible". The wedding planner then has this look on her face like..."good luck with that".

I spent $120.00 on mine...and I think maybe $800.00 for the preacher,church,flowers,food etc...(this was in 1994).

Probably unheard of now.

[cadet]

Whatever happened to "Till death due us part."?

Guess promises aren't as important anymore. What do you have if not your word?

[ConHog]

It's crazy,huh. I was watching a snippet from one of those wedding shows on TLC this morning. Some girl went to a bridal shop wanting dresses....and goes " I want to only spend 2-5 thousand dollars...if possible". The wedding planner then has this look on her face like..."good luck with that".

I spent $120.00 on mine...and I think maybe $800.00 for the preacher,church,flowers,food etc...(this was in 1994).

Probably unheard of now.

got married in 2005 at Disney World, the wife wanted to be married at Cindarella's castle. Cost a little over $30K even then.

But for her, it will be the only wedding.

[jimnyc]

I blame it on the queers. They've invaded the institution.