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Research Paper:
The Delay of Marriage in the 21st Century

Student name: Mobeen Abdulla Student #: 0968458 Professor Sandra Colavecchia Teachers Assistant: Lindsay DeClou Tutorial section: T21 Date: March 4, 2011

Over the last century, there have been many changes to various social norms that were once present in the past. There were countless trends in many parts of the world that were influenced by the modernization era over time. The family has evolved from living in large tribes and bands to the modern nuclear family consisting of a father, mother and children; although there are numerous family structures that vary cross-culturally. The definition of marriage has changed from the past as there was much debate about how the definition of marriage was politically incorrect. According to New Society, marriage is defined as the set of relationships people creat to share resources daily in order to ensure their own and any dependents welfare(Brym, 2008) It is clear to see that the definition of marriage has changed from the traditional man and woman. The age at which people decide to get married at has changed dramatically around the world as well. There is a current trend of men and women delaying the cultural milestone of getting married. The deferral of marriage indicates that marriage has lost its value that it once had in society. The value that was once placed upon marriage in the past is rapidly losing its merit. Marriage is viewed as a choice internationally, rather than a milestone in a persons life. Research on the delay of marriage suggests that it has increased over the past few years and continues to rise in order to meet societys demands. This essay will examine the age at which individuals get married has increased because of economic conditions and employment opportunities. It will also look at the main reason for the delay in marriage is due to the impact education has on marriage. The time individuals get married has changed due to religious beliefs and values will also be specified. Lastly, the geography of the available partners to choose from and modern family structures can slow the process of getting married.

Economic conditions as well as employment has greatly influenced the age of marriage around the world, mostly in North America. The Eighteenth century is seen as the period where the marriage age greatly increased due to the reaction of economic conditions. The desirability of marriage is determined in part by the presence of desirable alternatives to marriage, especially the employment possibilities for young men and women (Hacker, 2008). This theory describes the fact that men and women ignore marriage for possible employment opportunities. This trend is more common in women because of the role women have in the family; a care giver. For example a woman who is a CEO of a company is less likely to have children for the most part because she would be too busy with the company and would have less time to raise her children, which delays or disregards marriage. Highly educated and economically independent women who generally have higher incomes than men tend to deny males with lower income and may even choose not to marry at all. Economically speaking, the opportunity cost of getting married is focusing on a career in the sense that individuals are devoting all their time and effort to their occupation. Thus, employment has a direct impact on marriage for those individuals who are more career minded, which results in the delay of marriage.

Economic stability is a factor that affects a couples decision to get married. The feasibility of marriage reflects young couples ability to acquire the necessary economic resources to marry (Hacker, 2008). This theory states that couples will choose to marry when they feel that they have the right economic resources to raise children and to run a household. During tough economic times such as a recession, individuals are less likely to get married because of the rising costs in the economy. Moreover they would likely avoid getting married

during a recession because raising children is a very expensive duty in a persons life; not to mention the procedure of getting married is a costly process. Unemployment rates among the young have been higher than among the older age groups, and many of the jobs available to them do not offer long-term security (Ravanera & Rajulton, 2007) Moreover there are many job cuts and salary cuts during a recession as companies reduce productivity. This effects the age of marriage because if an individual decided to get married during a recession, their job and salary would be at stake. A persons job security a great asset and therefore is a factor of postponing marriage. During harsh economic times such as a recession, individuals are trying to save their money instead of spending it because of the rise in the price of basic goods and education.

In general, companies are reluctant to hire women and are more likely to hire a male instead. The reason being is that young women who plan on having children will then require maternity leave in which the company has to cover up for the woman as she nurtures the baby. Not only do women nurture during pregnancy, but females have the role of being the mother and raising the children, which keeps them busy and possibly affecting work performance. Womens work rate and attendance is possibly at risk when they have children as they have to modify their schedule in order to accommodate for the children. For example, when a child gets sick, the mother is often the one to take them to the doctor and possibly stay at home with the child. Although there are services that are available, women are generally more attached to their children. This does alter the age at which women are able to get married because they are unable to find a job in order to survive on their own, thus delaying marriage and living with their parents for a longer period of time.

The main reason for the delay in marriage in western societies is because of the attainment of education. Society has placed such a high demand on post-secondary studies that it has delayed the milestone of getting married. This is a direct explanation as to why people tend to overlook marriage when finishing their education. Post-secondary and higher education have become a huge part in westernized social norms. The level of education is a main factor simply because going for higher levels of education takes more time (Ravanera & Rajulton, 2007). This study provides the possible explanation of the increasing age in which young Canadians choose to get married. Education influences the delay in marriage because individuals are often too busy attaining higher education. Individuals are willing to sacrifice the time they could spend raising a family to obtain post-secondary education to meet the demands of the modern day society. The demand for individuals to achieve higher education defers marriage, which was not the case in the first half of the century as individuals got married after or during high school in their early twenties. men in 1960 married at a median age of 22.8, they now marry at a median age of 26.7(Xu, Hudspeth & Bartkowski, 2005) Studies show that the average age has increased by four years from 1960, which is due to the introduction of higher education. The time it takes to complete college and university explains that four year gap between now and the past as it falls perfectly into the increase of the age at which people choose to get married. This is seen as the necessary step before individuals can enter their career, which now takes a longer period of time than in the past.

Another trend that education poses on the age that people choose to marry is that individuals choose partners based on the level of education. Mare found that the odds of intermarriage between college graduates and high school graduates declined by 25% (Schwartz

& Mare, 2005). Studies indicate that people are more likely to marry people with the same level of education of themselves rather than marry people who have a lower level of education. This is the case with many marriages in western societies, which delays the process of marriage even longer because both partners have to complete their education before thinking about marriage. Many couples may have even met in school, where schools can sometimes be a marriage market for possible spouses. This creates another obstacle for individuals in the marriage market. Modern day society has placed emphasis on beauty and health. Everyone is looking for the perfect partner who has all the characteristics that is suited for ones liking. This is done in order to create overall satisfaction with marriage to avoid divorce, which the rates continue to increase in society. The westernized perception of education entails that with a higher education, you receive a better paying job, which becomes a factor when choosing a partner.

Another indirect cost that education has on marriage timing is the student loans Going for higher education is most likely facilitated by parental resources but for many, acquiring higher education requires student loans, the period to repay which could also be a contributing factor in the postponement of marriage(Ravanera & Rajulton 2007). While students are attending school, they are most likely living with their parents or their parents are paying for their housing. When students are done post-secondary studies, they have to re pay their loans if they have any which could be a factor of the delay in marriage. As tuition costs increase every year, students are expected to start making payments towards their loan 6 months after they are done school. This leaves students who are done post-secondary school to go back and live with their parents in order to try and save up some money. This is only assuming that individuals are able to get a job right after they get out of school. Many students find it hard to obtain a job in

their graduated field and are forced to upgrade their degree to a masters program in order to have the advantage over other possible employees. This delays marriage more as more time is spent in school rather looking to start their own life with a family. These individuals are dependent on their parents until they are financially stable, paid their student loans and have a secure job before any kind of marriage arrangements can take place. Education has many direct and indirect implications that effect the marriage age in western society. Education has an enormous impact on the cultural norm of the timing of marriage.

Family structures have changed over the years in order for families to meets societys demands. Hunter gatherers family compromised of large bands and tribes operating as a small community to survive hunting and agriculture. Hundreds of years changed the way families live their lives as urbanization in the city has decreased family size. A modern trend in society has changed the family structure, as well as delayed marriage is common-law and cohabitation. In 2006, Over 14 percent of families are common-law couples in Canada (Brym, 2008). This gives individuals the option of living together without being married as well as portraying married life with each other. This can be used as a tool for couples to test out their compatibility and make a strong decision about their partner, which can ultimately avoid divorce. Many people fear divorce especially if they have children and are taking measures in order to make sure there is no sense of divorce in couples, which is also pushing the age at which people get married. Overall marriage is a big decision for individuals and for them to ensure they will be happy in the long run, however it is affecting the amount of marriages as well as delaying marriage in society.

Different religions vary in terms of marriage timing norms no matter where in the world a person is located. That Jews are significantly more likely to postpone their first marriage than Catholics,( Xu, Hudspeth & Bartkowski, 2005) This study attempts to find the relationship between religion and the marriage timing in the United States. The Jewish religion is more likely to suspend marriage and obtain an education because there is no division of labor and the couple is perceived as equal. The Jewish religion consists of living a harmonious life which is why marriage is delayed. marriage is deemed a sacrament, and divorceinstitutionally sanctioned as serious sinis generally not an acceptable option for ending an unsatisfactory marriage.( Xu, Hudspeth & Bartkowski, 2005). The catholic religion believes that marriage is sacred and is considered one of the main turning points in a persons life. Catholics tend to do all the actions that have previously stated which delays their transition to marriage. To avoid the sin of divorce, Catholic individuals are very specific with mate selection in order to make the marriage work and tend to devote more time looking for a spouse just so that it does not end in a divorce. People in modern day society tend to have a long list of characteristics when searching for a partner which inevitably delays marriage timing even further. With everyone looking for the right partner that has all the characteristics on their long list, it requires a lot of time invested which leads to the delay in marriage in western societies.

The delay in marriage has become a trend among young men and women in western societies. Although it comes down to personal preference, there are many other factors that would affect that choice. The decision to decide to get married or delay the process is like deciding whether to have ice-cream or not.(Blestrino & Ciardi, 2008) It is clear to see that

marriage is not valued as it was in the past. The concept of cohabitation seems to be more common than marriage in todays society. If a person can agree to live with another person without legally marrying they are cohabitating, which allows for people to avoid marriage. Education also influences the age at which people decide to get married. Religion manipulates the acceptable age in which a person should get married. Lastly, economic conditions also affect the delay of marriage in many ways. As the western world moves on, more factors will influence marriage timing; considering now-a-days everyone is striving for more and more education, and thus individuals will choose to marry later to meet these demands in the future.

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References
Balestrino, A., & Ciardi, C. (2008). Social norms, cognitive dissonance and the timing of marriage. Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(6), 2399-2410. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from the Sociological Abstract database.

Bartkowski, J., Xu, X., & Hudspeth, C. (2005). The Timing of First Marriage: Are There Religious Variations?. Journal of Family Issues, 26(5), 584-618. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from the Scholars Portal database. Brym, R. J. (2008). 10. New society (6th ed., p. 251). Toronto: Thomson Nelson.

Hacker, J. (2008). Economic, Demographic, and Anthropometric Correlates of First Marriage in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century United . Social Science History, 32(2). Retrieved February 19, 2011, from the Scholars Portal database. Mare, R. D., & Schwartz, C. R. (2005). Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage From 1940 to 2003. Population Association of America, 42(4), 621-646. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from the Scholars Portal database.

Ravanera, Z., & Rajulton, F. (2007). Changes in economic status and timing of marriage of

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young Canadians. Canadian Studies in Population, 34(1), pp. 49-67. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from the Sociological Abstract database.