Cultural Context

CULTURAL CONTEXT -

SUMMARY OF DATA

Marriage & Divorce

MARRIAGE & DIVORCE

(1) Marriage is still popular

(2) Marriage is on decline – especially religious ceremonies
and takes place later in life

In 1966 over 400,000 marriages each year in UK, by 1996 just over 300,000
Fewer first marriages in 1992 than in 1892
Religious weddings in England and Wales down from ½ (1989) to 1/3 (1999)
Cof E share of religious weddings constant (2/3) but therefore down from 1/3 (1989) to ¼ (1999) of all weddings.
Average age at marriage in 1999: 34.4 for men, 31.8 for women.
Average age at first marriage in 1999: 30.1 for single men, 28.0 for single women.
In 1999 only 16% of single men marrying were under 25 (41% in 1989) and only 31% of women (61% in 1989).

(3) Divorce is high but numbers no longer rising

Down from 1993 peak of 165,000 in England & Wales to around 145,000
Massive rise in 1970s as legislation altered.
Approximately 3,000 children each week see parents divorce
Reckoned that 28% of children being born in mid 1990s would see parents divorce before they turned 16 (figure was 9% for those born in 1960).
Only about 10,000 more first marriages each year in England and Wales than divorces

COHABITATION, SEX & CHILDREN

(4) Cohabitation before marriage now the social norm

In every age group more now register marriage from same address – ¾ of all marriages and 85% of civil marriages.
In 1999 – ½ of Anglican, 2/3 of RC, ¾ of Methodist & URC and ¼ of Brethren weddings registered from same address.
In 1988 only 17% of 18-38 year olds recommend 'marriage without living together first'
Fewer than 1% of 16-24 year olds married at time of first sexual intercourse
About 1:10 of population cohabiting but 1:3 of unmarried 25-45 year olds and 1:3 of unmarried divorcees.

(5) Sex outside committed and monogamous relationships
is on increase

Within the last 12 months

About 30% (M) and 20% (F) of 16-44 year olds formed new heterosexual partnership.
Just over half of 16-24 year old men had more than one heterosexual partner.
About 15% of men and 10% of women had concurrent sexual partnerships.
57% of men had sex within one month of meeting most recent sexual partner.

(6) Number of children outside marriage risen dramatically

Live births outside marriage quadrupled between 1979 and 1999
In 1998 recorded conceptions greater outside than inside marriage
In 1999 there were 400,000 conceptions outside marriage – out of every 100 of these the results were: abortion (35), born in marriage (5), born outside with two registered parents (50), born outside with only mother registered (10).
About ¼ of family units now headed by lone parent.
Even in 1992 reckoned that less than 50% of children being born would have their parents married at birth and still married to each other 16 years later.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

(7) Singleness on all definitions increasingly common in Britain

Never married: see Q12 & Q13 in quiz
Not currently married: soon more than half of population in this category, between 1971 and 1991 number of single people in UK rose by 3.5 million.
Living on own: see Q11, now about 1/5 of adults over 16 live on own (about 1/10 in early 1970s).

OBSERVATIONS

(8) High cost socially and financially

"No-one can deny that divorce, separation, birth outside marriage and one-parent families as well as cohabitation and extra-marital sexual intercourse have increased rapidly. Many applaud these freedoms. But what should be universally acknowledged is that the children of parents who do not follow the traditional norm…are thereby disadvantaged in many major aspects of their chances of living a successful life. On the evidence available such children tend to die earlier, to have more illness, to do less well at school, to exist at a lower level of nutrition, comfort and conviviality, to suffer more unemployment, to be more prone to deviance and crime, and finally to repeat the cycle of unstable parenting from which they themselves have suffered" (A.H. Halsey)

(9) Attitudes also changing, especially among young

Disapproval of premarital sex fall from 40%(F) and 30% (M) in 1980s to 18%(both) in 1994. In 1994 among 18-27 year olds, less than 1%(F) and 4%(M) disapprove.
In 2001: Only 54% think people who want children should get married (1989 – 70%)
67% think cohabitation acceptable even if couple not intend to get married
Only 1/3 of 18-24 year olds think marriage should precede parenthood.

(10) Society unlikely to revert to 'traditional' patterns

By 2010 reckoned that 40% of all households will be single persons, less than half the adult population will be married and 39%(M) and 31%(F) will never have married.
"Couple relationships are likely to continue to be transient for a growing percentage of the adult population with a high rate of break-up among those who cohabit and of divorce among those who are married" (Britain in 2010).