Chapter 7 Marriage Marriage Movement What is Happening to Marriage Today o Marriage a legally and socially recognized relationship that includes sexual economic and social rights and responsibilities for partners o Covenant Marriage you agree that you are not going to easily get divorced 2nd Busch administration Different than a normal marriage Cannot legally divorce for at least a year which you must go to counseling Available in 3 states o Colonial America the wives had no legal rights o Industrial Revolution women have the right to vote extended family women are beginning to work o Marriage Movement the activities of a group of some religious leaders marriage and family therapists and government leaders who hope to influence public policy to promote and strengthen traditional marriage o Marital Decline Perspective the view that the institution of marriage is increasingly being threatened by hedonistic personal pleasure pursuits of personal happiness at the expense of long term commitment o Marital Resilience Perspective the view that overall marriage is no weaker than in the past but that all families need an increase in structural supports over time o Delayed Marriage o Homogamous v Heterogamous Homogamous Marriage a type of marriage in which spouses share certain social characteristics such as race ethnicity religion education age and social class Heterogamous Marriage a type of marriage in which spouses do not share certain social characteristics such as race ethnicity religion education age and social class Interracial Marriage a type of marriage in which spouses come from different racial groups Antimiscegenation Laws laws forbidding interracial marriage which existed at the state level until 1967 Interethnic Marriage a type of marriage in which spouses come from different countries or have different cultural and religious back grounds o Same Sex Marriage Civil Union a public policy designed to extend some benefits to partners who are not legally married o Changing Attitudes about Marriage Becoming more liberal Attitudes about non marital sex Attitudes about cohabitation Attitudes about non marital childbearing Attitudes about shared breadwinning Attitudes about the division of household labor The Marriage Premium Happiness Health and Economic Security o Marriage Premium the concept that married people are happier healthier and financially better off than those who are not married o Selection Effect the hypothesis that people who marry may be different from those who do not marry for example they may be happier healthier and have more money research effect o Economic Security Wage Premium generally married men earn more than their unmarried counterparts particularly married men with stay at home wives Social Capital the goods and services that are by products of social relationships including connections social support information or financial help Defining Marital Quality o What does it mean to say that a marriage is happy o Terms associated with marital quality Marital happiness and marital satisfaction Marital adjustment Adjusting to not being single or living with somebody Marital stability Marital success Marital Satisfaction and Success o Types of Marriage Conflict Habituated Marriage a type of marriage that includes frequent conflict although it may be enduring Devitalized Marriage an enduring marriage that exists without much passion o Correlates of Marital Quality Personal background characteristics Agreements about roles Children and marital quality Marital quality and the duration of marriage Sexual orientation Marital Scripts o Expectations a person has about what is appropriate behavior for husbands and wives o Five different types of cultural expectations about marriage 1 Marriage as conflict 2 Patriarchal marriage 3 Role segregated marriage 4 Companionate marriage 5 Peer marriage The Marital Gradient o Tendency for women to marry up with regard to age education occupation and earning potential 9 out of 10 marriages the man is older than the woman Homogamy o People tend to marry people of similar race age education religious background and social class Endogamy marry within one s social group Exogamy marry outside one s group Heterogamy marrying someone dissimilar in race age education religion or social class o Reasons for Homogamy Live in close proximity Culture encourages people to marry other similar to People are more comfortable with others from similar themselves backgrounds People want to strike a fair exchange Exchange Theory People with high rewards wouldn t want someone with Exchange Theory high costs o Individuals pick the relationship that is most rewarding or least costly o In romantic relationships individuals have resources beauty personality status skills maturity intellect etc o Individuals also have costly attributes being demanding low status geographic inaccessibility etc
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