Marriage, Divorce & Cohabitation: Trends & Influences

• Legal changes, societal attitudes, the internet, secularization, cultural expectations, and female empowerment all have huge influence on marriage, divorce and cohabitation trends

Legislation

• Legal reforms have shaped marital patterns, divorce accessibility, and the definition of relationships.
• The Divorce Reform Act (1969, UK) introduced "no-fault divorce", allowing couples to separate without proof of wrongdoing, leading to increased divorce rates in the 1970s and 1980s.
• The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act (1984) simplified the process further, reducing the minimum separation period from three years to one.
• Legal systems are adapting to social attitudes by prioritizing individual happiness over lifelong commitment.
• Ronald Fletcher (1966) linked rising divorce rates to higher marital expectations, with people seeking emotional satisfaction alongside financial security.
• Laws surrounding cohabitation, like UK civil partnerships in 2004, legally recognize non-marital relationships.
• Legalizing same-sex marriage in the UK (2014) and the US (2015) reflects changing societal norms on marriage and family structures.

Societal Attitudes and Values

• Societal attitudes toward marriage, divorce, and cohabitation have dramatically shifted.
• The functionalist perspective believed nuclear family was ideal for social stability
• Talcott Parsons (1955) viewed the nuclear family as ideal for social stability, and society moving away from it.
• Giddens (1992) introduced "confluent love," where relationships are sustained only with emotional fulfillment, in contrast to duty-based views.
• Now that the stigma around divorce has declined, it is contibuting to increased divorce rates.
• Ulrich Beck (1992) and Anthony Giddens (1992) connect "individualization" to prioritizing self-identity over traditional family expectations.
• Young adults now focus on education, career progression, and self-development before considering marriage

Role of the Internet

• The internet has reshaped dating, marriage, and divorce by introducing new ways to connect and separate.
• Online dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge increase ease of relationship formation by reducing dependance on social networks.
• Digital communication makes relationships more flexible but breakable, allowing easy entry and exit.
• Digital media influenced expectations around relationships by introducing people to new cultural norms and lifestyles
• Social media can also lead to marital problems, with potential for jealousy issues, emotional affairs, and divorce
• Clayton (2014) connected excessive Facebook use to higher divorce likelihood because it is easier to reconnect with former partners and increase partner surveillance within relationships.
• Online divorce services simplify the legal process and reduce costs

Secularisation

• Declining religious influence impacts marriage and family trends by making cohabitation and divorce more socially accepted.
• Religious institutions traditionally emphasized the sanctity of marriage, discouraging divorce.
• Bruce (2002) suggests secularization has weakened religious norms, allowing individuals to prioritize personal happiness over religious duty.
• Church attendance has declined in countries like the UK, and religious marriage ceremonies are less common.
• The Catholic Church opposes divorce, but Catholic countries like Spain and Italy have increased their rates
• Wilson (1966) implied that secular societies lose their moral values, becoming more liberal about partners
• Modood et al. (1997) notes that South Asian and Muslim families in the UK maintain strong family traditions reducing divorce and having stricter gender roles.

Cultural Expectations

• Cultural norms continue to affect expectations around marraige co-habitating, marriage and divorce
• In Westernized societies, marriage is seen as emotional partnership over social obligation
• Chester (1985) described the ‘neo-conventional family,' where the family remain but are more flexible and have things like dual earners and later marriages
• In other cultures, marriage is highly valued for social and economic stability, often arranged by amilies
• Ballard (1982) noticed South Asian families in maintain strong ancestral expectations when it comes to marriage so their divorce rates are lower than the national average

Changes in the Status and Power of Women / Female Empowerment

• Women's independence through education and careers is influencing rates of marriage, cohabitation, and divorce.
• Because women are more educated and have careers, they can now financially move into and out of relationships
• Sue Sharpe (1976, 1994) found that young girls in the 1970s prioritizes marriage, but in the 1990s prioritized career.
• Gender roles traditionally puts women at a disadvantage, leading to dissatisfaction and divorce
• Ann Oakley (1974) implies traditional gender roles causes less job satisfaction and increased divorce rates.
• Hochschild (1989) introduced the concept of 'second shift,' when a woman does a full-time job but still has the majority of domestic jobs
• Duncombe and Marsden (1995) expanded, introducing ‘triple shift’ with work, emotion and housework being handled by the woman alone
• Divorce laws like the Equality Act (2010, UK) have reinforced divorce laws for women making it easier to leave unfair marriages