Marriage Statistics Aren't What They Used to Be

Marriage used to be the status of choice for the majority of American adults; however, times have changed, and fewer people are opting for this lifestyle. At the same time, it has become an accepted norm to have children without the benefit of marriage, to live together instead of getting married, and to divorce without making every effort to save the marriage. The statistics on marriages in America are certainly going downhill very fast.

Between the years 1970 and 1996, the number of married women decreased sharply. Based on the statistics, 7.7% of women living in 1970 were unmarried. By 1996, however, this rate had diminished to approximately 5.0%. The marriage rate is currently at 7.1 per 1000 people for American adults which is quite low compared to the past. Nowadays, the divorce rate is also increased and is currently at approximately 3.5. According to these statistics, over half of all marriages end in divorce.

It is also quite common for people to cohabitate nowadays. In 1960, approximately 439,000 couples lived together without benefit of marriage. There were just over 4 million couples living together by 1998. Also, the age at which people have gotten married for the first time has risen to 27 for men and 25 for women. In past generations, people married younger in order to enjoy the companionship and sexual freedom of a permanent relationship. Now couples are preferring to prove their compatibility by just living together before making any real commitment. Only 6% of women get married by the age of 18 nowadays, and that figure sits at just 2% for men.

In the last 50 years, illegitimate birth rates have exploded. It used to be a source of shame to be pregnant whenever you weren't married, but that is no longer the case nowadays as 1.3 million children are born every year to unwed mothers. In fact, many celebrities are choosing to openly flaunt having children with current paramours rather than husbands or wives.

Second marriages generally are more prone to divorce than first marriages. The marriage will suffer from excess stress. Whenever people are getting married for the first time, they typically don't have a lot of excess baggage from prior relationships. Whenever you get married for the second time, you may have to deal with stepchildren, ex-spouses, debt, and other things.

Kristie Brown writes on a variety of topics from health to technology. Check out her websites on www.marriage-success-secrets.com