Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"I don't feel any need to get married." "I don't want to loose that easy-going lifestyle." So say an increasing number of single people who are at what has traditionally been seen as mariageable age. Even if they inted to get married at some stage in the future, more than half of unmarried men and women say that they "are happy to stay single until the right person comes along," meaning that the overall outlook towards marriage is less positive than in the past.
If we compare the results of surveys of unmarried males and females from 1950 and 2007, we see the figure for males has jumped from 1.5% to 25.6% and from 1.4% to 12.6% for females. There is an increasing trend among both men and women to opt not to marry. Similarly, there is a move to marry later: the average age for first marriage has risen for both of men and women. the length of time that couples spend together before getting married is increasing, and this one of the reasons for the increase in the average age for first marriage. These are, of course, many other factors also at work here.
At the same time, there has been a remarkable rise in the divorce rate. The divorce rate is not high compared to many Western countries, but the 70,000 cases of divorce in 1960 had doubled to 140,000 by the 1980, and by 2001 had reached a record figure 0f 290,000. Despite the fact that couples are spending longer together before getting married - and, one would assume, getting to know each other better - some 40% of couples getting divorce do so within five years of having got married, and an increase divorce among older people is also noticeable. Cases of wives losing interest in their husbanda and divorcing them as a result are becoming increasingly common.
Surveys suggest that one wife in three is unhappy with her husband, that more than half regret getting married and that as many as 70% has considered divorce. Also, divorce was once seen as socially unacceptable, but attitudes are changing: there has been a 10% increase in the number who think people should get divorce if they feel dissatisfied with their marriage partner. A contributory factor is that women are participating in society more than before and have greater economic independence.
It may not be the best way to think of it, but that is a lot to pay when the chances of divorce are increasing...
If we compare the results of surveys of unmarried males and females from 1950 and 2007, we see the figure for males has jumped from 1.5% to 25.6% and from 1.4% to 12.6% for females. There is an increasing trend among both men and women to opt not to marry. Similarly, there is a move to marry later: the average age for first marriage has risen for both of men and women. the length of time that couples spend together before getting married is increasing, and this one of the reasons for the increase in the average age for first marriage. These are, of course, many other factors also at work here.
At the same time, there has been a remarkable rise in the divorce rate. The divorce rate is not high compared to many Western countries, but the 70,000 cases of divorce in 1960 had doubled to 140,000 by the 1980, and by 2001 had reached a record figure 0f 290,000. Despite the fact that couples are spending longer together before getting married - and, one would assume, getting to know each other better - some 40% of couples getting divorce do so within five years of having got married, and an increase divorce among older people is also noticeable. Cases of wives losing interest in their husbanda and divorcing them as a result are becoming increasingly common.
Surveys suggest that one wife in three is unhappy with her husband, that more than half regret getting married and that as many as 70% has considered divorce. Also, divorce was once seen as socially unacceptable, but attitudes are changing: there has been a 10% increase in the number who think people should get divorce if they feel dissatisfied with their marriage partner. A contributory factor is that women are participating in society more than before and have greater economic independence.
It may not be the best way to think of it, but that is a lot to pay when the chances of divorce are increasing...