United College GEU 4011E Senior Seminar Research Presentation Understanding Marriage Yeung Nga Man Chan Hiu Yan Leung Lai Man Yuen Lee Lee

Source: Hong Kong SAR Census and Statistics Department Present situation

Introduction Late marriage Cohabitation  negative image towards marriage THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON MARRIAGE IN HONG KONG

Content 1 Introduction 2 University student’s views on marriage 3 Factors affecting their views 4 Alternative ways to substitute marriage 5 Suggestion 6 Conclusion

Methodology 1.Survey – questionnaire at cohabitation/62042.phtml cohabitation/62042.phtml - targets: University students in Hong Kong 2.Interview with Professor Ting Kwok Fai, Department of Sociology, CUHK 3.Case study – interview of a student who does not want to get married 4.Documentary analysis

Hypotheses University students have lost their confidence in the marriage system and have negative views towards marriage. Their views towards marriage are affected by various factors. University students tend to use other alternatives to replace marriage

University students’ views on marriage - - Students are willing to get married.

1) First Hypothesis university students have lost their confidence in the marriage system and have a negative view towards marriage

Students’ views on marriage

More than 90% of the respondents expressed that they will get married, only 7.3% won’t, which is a relatively small proportion. Students’ views on marriage

1 st hypothesis failed

3. Students’ views on marriage in relation to their background a.Gender b.Religion c.Family background d.Dating experience e.Studying year

4. University students’ perception of marriage

a. Perceptions of ‘perfect marriage’ Love and commitment deny reproduction and basic economic condition A lifelong commitment Overcome difficulties of life at all time Share responsibilities Between one man and one woman Love and happiness

b. Reasons for getting married Best times: 27 to 29, 24 to 26. Formation of families Request by the partner Others Fear of lonliness Maintenance of lifelong relationship

b. Reasons for getting married Other Factors traditional Chinese customs and ideas family pressure peer pressure religious belief Therefore, university students articulate their reasons of getting married to internal and personal consideration rather than external pressure.

c. Values of marriage – love and commitment Value of marriage Love and commitment Maintenance of social stability Responding to parents’ expectations Extending family tree

Why did the first hypothesis fail?

Can anyone help?

Professor Ting Kwok Fai

5. Reasons for the failure — Changes of society Rise of divorce rate ≠collapse of marriage system due to many other reasons Industrialization, rise of women status, advancement of technology, “liquid” love pure relationship

5. Reasons for the failure — Media construction focus on cohabitations, the alarming divorce rate and people’s failure in maintaining love and commitment in marriage Magazines, newspaper a wrong perception of losing confidence in marriage

2 nd Hypothesis- Factors affecting attitudes towards marriage Marriage Family Personal experien ce Friends/ peers Social atmosph ere MediaReligion 2 nd Hypothesis  confirmed

The most influential factor is personal experience.

1. Personal Experience Note 1/3 of the respondents have not dated before Other people they have met in life Partners Dating experience Family and Friends (part 2 and 3) Education Elderly people Teacher

1. Personal experience

2. Friends/peers Friends are always a source of advice Emotional support and understanding especially with less parental support less important than parents

3. Religion 162 respondents have no religion Christians, Catholics and Buddhists All Positive impact

Very positive image Hints deeper love between humans and God Unbreakable and united Christianity Higher standard Must be between any two baptized Catholics and it is a sacrament Catholic Marriage as a personal concern Leading a happy married life Buddhism

4. Family

Shape views and understandings – Spent most of the times with family members – Learn core value orientations in family – One of parents’ most important tasks Affected by family situation – Marital conflicts – Working parents – Remarriages

4. Family Changes in society and values Fundamental family attitudes and values Best to get marriedHave childrenNot to divorce Not to get involved in extra-marital affairs More heterogeneous More receptive towards divorce & remarriage More receptive towards pre-marital sex & cohabitation

5. Social atmosphere

Shared values  social norms – Behavior element: specify the behavior preferred – Moral element: guides what is right or wrong Changes & norms in HK – Nuclear family (3.9 persons  3 persons) – Marriage norms Increasing divorce rate Decreasing marriage rate Late marriage Increasing remarriages

6. Media

Political info Get most of political information from TV  affected their views on politics and political institutions Sexual images Sexual images of women  support sexual aggression Violence Emulate violent acts in identical fashion to portrayals in films/ TV Aggressions are not harmful Aggressor is actually a good person and is rarely punished Marriage Easy breaking ups, divorce, extra-marital affairs, family violence &remarriage The reasons: lack of love/ boredom Males having multiple partners  attractive & valuable ‘Marriage is the tomb’ TV has a major influence on attitudes

6. Media Newspapers & magazines also contribute to the problem – Headlines reporting divorces or breaking-ups of celebrities – Modeling effect Idols do not behave healthily and positively Divorced Single parent Having a promiscuous life

The 3rd hypothesis University students tend to use other alternatives to replace marriage. Failed

Alternative ways to substitute marriage by university students

Their attitude towards marriage Is marriage a covenant for life? Does marriage have its own important values? Values include: experience love fulfill promises point to a new stage in life

Their attitude towards marriage Is marriage indispensable in their lives? Does marriage have an irreplaceable position in society? Can marriage protect love and relationship?

Interview with Winnie Ho University: CUHK Major: IBBA Year: 2 Preferred Status: Single

Reasons for not getting married

Being tied down by marriage

Pressure responsibility Excitement Waste time Troublesome Conflicts Unhappy Love Romantic Winnie

Enjoy being single Depend on husband Past Educa tion Career Social status Independent Burden to women Now

Career

Background correlation All non-marriage students have NO RELIGION!!!

Make a guess! Make a guess, more male or female are non- marriage students? or the same?? =

Suggestion Marriage is good! Healthy develop -ment of children Improve physical health Import- ant to family Social stability

Suggestion Media education Teenagers are target customers High spending power Idols have higher impact than parents Make use of high impact and high penetration power Convey positive messages Divert attention and focus more on the positive aspect of marriage The notable should behave themselves Family relationship Pay more attention Spend more time with children Convey the positive views of marriage Act as role models Government support Current system may be inadequate Counseling advice before getting married Raise the awareness of the people about the importance of marriage and family.

Conclusion Seem to view marriage of less importance Seem to have little confidence in marriage Tend to adapt and accept other alternatives Hypothesis University students not lost their confidence in marriage Marriage is an irreplaceable part of lives Only a few choose not to get married Broken the construction of false images about the collapse of the marriage system Findings Marriage is important Our target - university students’ opinions are good indicators of the future trend We hope the suggestions can be adopted It is essential to maintain love and commitment in marriage Suggestions

Limitations & Future Research Small amount of respondents are not representative large-scaled projects should be conducted Small-scaled research Other factors e.g. economic structure and the cultural context can be explored. Relationship between factor with marriage  independent investigation Social relationships between people can be further investigated. Not limited to the values of marriage These areas can be better explored Affect our social development and structure. Trends of adapting alternatives like cohabitation, singleness and late marriage exist

Q & A Session

The End Thank You!