"The great majority of American high school seniors still want to get married, with 82% of girls and 70% of boys recently saying that 'having a good marriage and family life' is 'extremely important' to them. These percentages, in fact, represent a slight increase from the late 1970s. But as high schoolers reach young adulthood, when the attraction of cohabitation and careers gains strong currency, making the actual commitment to marriage is not easy. Young people need, therefore, to be made continually aware of the many benefits married life brings, both for themselves and for their children. The empirical evidence is now strong and persuasive that a good marriage enhances personal happiness, economic success, health and longevity. This evidence should become a regular part of our education programs and our public discourse."
Popenoe poses an interesting question: why do we have such disparity, this gap between what young people believe about marriage at the end of high school and what they believe just a few years later? What happens during these years to change their minds?
I think one part of the answer lies in a point that the National Marriage Project addresses, but fails to connect to the question of the gap between high schoolers' and young adults' attitudes towards marriage. It relates to another disparity - the growing "marriage gap" in America between those who are well-educated and those who are not. Consider these facts:
- Americans with a college degree (about 25% of the U.S. population) are much more likely to marry and much less likely to divorce than those without a college education.
- In the early 1990s, 16.5% of college-educated women were divorced within 10 years of marrying, compared to 46% of women who did not finish high school. Such differences in the divorce rate have remained relatively steady over time.
- Most of the recent decline in divorce rates is among the college-educated. For those who did not finish high school, the divorce rate is actually rising.
So perhaps these two gaps are related - the gap between high schoolers and young adults, and the gap between those with college educations and those without. The question of social justice thus enters the debate: does a young person's access to higher education influence how he or she will ultimately view marriage? Studies show that Americans with less education and lower income levels are more likely to live together instead of marry, more likely to divorce, and more likely to have children out of wedlock.
Do we need to reframe the question? Is it not always the allure of cohabitation or the pressure of careers that redefines young people's view of marriage (although this may be true for the mid-to-upper classes)? Could it also be the reality of diminished educational and economic opportunities that colors many young adults' attitude towards marriage?
1 comments:
what a fascinating post! there is so much to consider within the framing of the text. i specifically appreciate the link that you made between education and the divorce rate. I speaking as a divorced woman, have often wondered about connections that I have seen from my own experience, but also in reflection on others experiences. I would love to see where else you take this Fanuch!
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