3. Family and Marriage in the United States

The American Family Nuclear Bilateral Practice democratic decision making Neolocal Monogamous 50% marriages end in divorce Many are blended

90% of Americans will marry in their lifetime Reasons for Marriage In the US 83% of married people report they married for love. (compared to near 0% in many cultures around the world) US believes marriages done for reasons other than love cannot succeed, while most other cultures believe marriages based only on love cannot last 90% of Americans will marry in their lifetime Statistics estimate 6-8% of Americans are homosexual

Marriage Rate

Why does divorce happen? Marriage for love means that in many cases religion, laws, parents, social pressures aren’t a reason to keep a loveless marriage together Women are financially independent The “stay together for the kids” ideal has been abandoned for most couples

Emotionally painful for each partner Economically harmful Effects of Divorce Emotionally painful for each partner Economically harmful Custody issues Kids tend to have less supervision and are therefore more likely to stray from rules Remarriage can be very difficult if children are involved

Characteristics of Divorce-Prone Couples Different backgrounds At least one partner has divorce in their family The couple dated for only a short time before marriage Families or friends disapprove of the marriage The couple has opposing views on the roles of husband and wife The partners have no formal membership in a religious group.

Divorce is most likely in the first 5 years Statistics Divorce is most likely in the first 5 years Divorce more common in younger couples than older Unexpected crisis can place an otherwise happy marriage under strain Disagreements on how to raise kids or handle certain issues with kids can end a marriage Problems with children of divorce has remained the same, despite its common presence for most kids