UNH Study: Rural children more likely living in cohabiting households
The number of children living with cohabiting parents has increased more rapidly than any other family form during the past decade.
PDF Link: Full Report
related: US households
Archives For trends
Below are the key findings from a report published this week by the National Center for Health Statistics (download complete report: Data Brief No. 19).
Key Findings:
- Over 70% of men and women aged 25–44 have ever been married: 71% of men and 79% of women.
- Non-Hispanic black men and women aged 25–44 have lower percentages who have ever been married than non- Hispanic white and Hispanic persons of the same age.
- The probability that men will marry by age 40 is 81%; for women, it is 86%.
- A larger percentage of women than men aged 35–44 have married by age 35.
- Smaller percentages of non-Hispanic black women aged 35–44 have married by age 35 than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic women of the same age range.
- Smaller percentages of non-Hispanic black men aged 35–44 who are below the poverty line have been married by age 35 than non-Hispanic black men of the same age who are at least 200% above poverty.
- Among all race and ethnic groups aged 35–44, the data suggest that larger percentages of poor women have not married by age 35 than women who are near poor or not poor. (see chart below)
Link: Nesties – Who are they and why does it matter?
NEW YORK The Knot Inc. has identified a demographic subset of women who are going through a series of intense, mega-life-changes in a compressed period of time. The digital media company, best known for its core wedding-centric site TheKnot.com, recently conducted a study in conjunction with global research firm OTX. The result was the classification of this marketing-friendly group dubbed “Nesties” — 25-to-32-year-old women who are getting engaged, planning weddings, shopping for houses and preparing to have kids — essentially planning for the next 20 years of their lives during a tight three- to four-year window. Knot CEO David Liu said that when TheKnot.com launched in 1999, the average age for a bride was 24. Today, it’s 27-plus. “When you get married at 24, you are not necessarily thinking about a baby. When you get married at 27, that biological clock is suddenly ticking. It’s causing some interesting overlap.” As a result of delayed marriage, many couples make big lifestage jumps in a non-traditional order, such as first buying a home, then starting a family, and then getting married. “There is this weird almost social shift where these lifestages are not as sequential as in the past,” said Liu. “It’s now one big soup.”
China: Trends in Marriage and Relationships
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in 2007 showed, of those born between 1976 and 1986, the average age of those getting married was 24, based on a study of 2,888 adults from single-child families.
The study by the CASS showed almost 50 percent of adults from only-child units preferred the nuclear structure, while only 35 percent said they did not live with their parents.
Link: Poland: Changing Views On Family Life
“In the past marriage was synonymous to family. Nowadays a wedding does not imply having children and a child is no longer a reason to get married”, says Prof. Miroslawa Marody from the University of Warsaw, commenting that Poland’s views on family life have changed. There is a growing number of people living in informal relationships who decide to have a child or married couples who decide not to. “Nowadays traditional marriage is perceived by many as a restriction”, explains Prof. Krystyna Iglicka-Okolska. “Young people do not want to sign a marriage certificate. They prefer to stay in informal relationships and evolve”. It is easier for them, than for their parents, to abandon the idea of getting married because the social pressure is not that strong any more.
Are Teen “Sexters” Sex Offenders? Results of a survey of teens indicate that most teens send suggestive images and texts to their boyfriends and girlfriends. Referred to as sexting—sex and texting—the majority of teens believe that sending these messages can have “serious negative consequences”. Yet almost half of teens say doing this is “common” and admit to doing this forwarding themselves. (Full article)
How should we as a society handle sexting?
Link: trend: We marry later and guzzle more energy
AUSTRALIANS are putting off marriage until they are older or opting out of it altogether. About three-quarters of couples who have married since 2000 lived together beforehand, compared with a rate of only 3 per cent in the 1960s. In 1986, the most common relationship for people aged 18 to 24 was marriage, whereas now it is a de facto relationship. When we do marry, we do it later. In 2007, the average age of people marrying for the first time was 29.6 for men and 27.6 for women, up from 25.9 and 23.8 respectively in 1987. Many people find a partner for life, with 70 per cent of people over 35 having had only one live-in partnership.
Link: UK: Number of Marriages Hit 111-Year Low in 2006
Iona Institute of Dublin, which works to promote civil society, especially through promoting marriage, reported this week on new figures published by the U.K. Office for National Statistics in its General Household Survey 2007, a poll of almost 13,000 homes across Britain.
