Marriage gap: what it is and how it affects singleness

The marriage gap is a social and economic phenomenon that hurts the poorest.

Fewer and fewer couples are choosing to marry, but not few are choosing to have children. There are clear differences between getting married and the long-term stability of the couple.

All of this is ultimately related to the couple's financial resources, which can be especially diminished when they bring a child into the world and subsequently choose to separate.

Here's what the research has to say about the marriage gap in Europe and the United Statesand also come to a few conclusions.

What do we mean by the marriage gap?

The term "marriage gap" describes a set of economic and political differences between people who have married compared to those who remain unmarried or cohabit with their partner but have not married. or cohabit with their partner, but have not married.

Although it may seem a somewhat retrograde statement, marriage is a factor that seems to correlate with the well-being, both physical and emotional, of family members and, especially, of children. There are differences between being the child of happily married parents, divorced parents, unmarried parents, and single parents. In these four scenarios, the child's social adjustment is different.

Although it can be compared to the gender gap, the marriage gap is not synonymous with it, although it is worth noting that, in general respects, single mothers are the most likely to be married, single mothers fare the worst..

What does the research say about it?

Over the last few decades, both in Europe and the U.S., attempts have been made to find out what factors influence couples' decisions to marry or not to marry, have been trying to find out what factors influence couples' decisions to marry or not to marry, and how this can have a significant impact both on whether the couple stays together and on their economic prosperity.and how this can have a significant impact both on whether the couple stays together and on their economic prosperity.

Having children without being married is not a bad thing, but it is worth noting the importance and, above all, the stability that comes with such a solid commitment as marriage. While getting married does not guarantee that the couple cannot separate in the future (see divorces), it is more complicated to break a union such as marriage compared to being a couple and cohabiting. Divorce is a much more cumbersome and lengthy process at the legal and bureaucratic level than ending a relationship without being married.

Marriage has profound consequences on the stability and development of children.. Couples who marry before giving birth to children are more likely to stay together while raising their children, compared to those who marry later or never. Between 70 and 80% of parents who have married before having children stay together, while the percentage is 40% if they decide to marry later and only 30% if they never say "I do" to each other.

Couples who break up are more likely to suffer from financial problems and require more help from the state. For example, about 60% of single parents receive some form of state aid, compared to 10% of single parents who never say "I do".compared to 10% of those who are in a couple. Apart from the problem of living with a parent with financial problems, living with only one parent and having little or no contact with the other parent, in addition to the psychological impact that divorce can have, has a negative impact on the psychological health of the child.

According to data collected by Brigham Young University professor in the United States, Professor Spencer James and Harry Benson analyzed several European-wide surveys from 2014, coming to their conclusions about the marriage gap in Europe, seeing how this issue is given in at least 20 countries of the old continent. They observed that the marriage gap between rich and poor occurred in all the countries surveyed. surveyed.

Eighty-four percent of the highest-income parents were married, while only 42 percent of the lowest-income parents were married. They also found that marriage was much more common in the Mediterranean countries, where 87% of the richest families were married, while 53% of the least rich were married.

However, the percentage of rich people in colder countries who were also married was not exactly low. Even in more liberal countriesIn the Scandinavian countries, about 75% of the richest parents were married, while the percentage dropped to 30 among the poorest.

If we jump to the other side of the pond, we see that the data in the United States are also quite interesting, as well as allowing us to see how this gap has evolved in North America over the last 50 years.

In recent decades, the percentage of children born out of wedlock has been increasing. Taking data from the U.S. Office of National Statistics (ONS) in 1972 about 91% of children were born into an already married family, while this percentage was 53% in 2014.

Different factors have also been evaluated which, although it might seem that they have no relationship with the stability and prosperity of the couple, have been shown to be determinants when making the decision to get married. The data below take into account characteristics of the mothers, and whether they are single or married.

1. Age

Age is a very clear indicator of the marriage gap. Taking data from the ONS, mothers of all ages were overwhelmingly married in the 1970s. Although there were differences between the youngest group (16-24 years), 78% of them being married, and among the oldest, 25-44, 96%.

However, taking the same data but from a more recent year, it can be seen that in the 21st century, marriage has decreased in the last two decades. in the 21st century, marriage is declining among mothers of different ages, although in all age groups, the proportion of married women is declining.However, in all age groups there is a significant drop. Among 25-34 year olds, 65%, and among 35-44 year olds, 73%. Among young mothers, between 16 and 24 years of age, only 16% of them choose to marry at such young ages.

2. Housing

In the 1970s, nearly 90% of mothers with young children were married, regardless of whether their housing was purchased, rented or subsidized. Since then, the marriage gap has been widening between those mothers who live in a purchased home and those who live in a rented one. Those who are married tend to live in purchased homes and those who are not tend to live in rented homes.Those who are not tend to live in rented homes.

3. Employment

In the 1970s, about 94% of mothers who were homemakers or stayed at home without paid employment were married. This percentage dropped to 50% in 2006..

4. Smoking

Although it may seem surprising, smoking is a factor that has been linked to lower incomes.. While in the 1970s there were no significant differences between smokers and nonsmokers in terms of whether they were married, today there does appear to be a relationship.

In that decade, about 90% of smokers and 94% of non-smokers were married, compared to 93% who had never smoked.

Today there is a gap even in this factor. Among those who still continue to smoke only 32% of them are married, whereas about 60% of those who no longer smoke are married, and non-smokers are rising.The proportion of non-smokers rises to almost 70% of those who are married.

Conclusions

What is clear from these data is that, whether in Europe or the United States, there is a clear marriage gap when income is taken into account. Families with children who have a good income can afford to get married, while it seems that those with lower incomes do not dare to marry. those with lower incomes are reluctant to take the plunge.. This is because poor people, unable to enjoy the economic stability of the rich, dare not put their savings at risk.

Based on research findings, it is clear that there is a very prominent marriage gap in both the United States and Europe, in which socioeconomic factors play a major role. Education, income and even the seemingly banal factor of Smoking seem to be related to being able to afford to take the step of getting married as well as staying married.

These factors, depending on whether they are conducive to being able to get married, play a dramatic role in the decision to say "I do" and decisions regarding starting a family. Deciding whether or not to get married is a factor that profoundly affects the stability of the couple.As mentioned above, the decision to marry is a strong protector of the couple.

Given that more and more families are formed without the decision to marry, but cohabit, it is important to stress the importance of understanding how these types of families are at greater risk of breaking up than married couples. More fragile families are synonymous with troubled children, since not having both parents and not having secure financial resources directly affects the standard of living.

Based on all this, it is especially urgent to create family planning plans that are much more effective than those that already exist. and to understand that, although not being married does not mean that children will be raised in an unhappy way, it is convenient to understand the great responsibility of bringing a life into the world.

If many couples choose not to get married because they see that they do not have enough income to prepare for a wedding and all the aspects related to this type of ceremony, much less will they have the financial stability to raise a child. When that child comes into the world, he or she will need to have his or her needs met, and that means money.

That is why it becomes especially important to raise awareness among the population to take the necessary prophylactic measures to avoid having children when they did not want them, and to choose to have them when they have already been dating for many years, regardless of whether they decide, or not, to get married.

Bibliographical references:

• Amato, P. (2005) The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation. Marriage and Child Wellbeing, 15, 75 - 96.
• Benson, H. (2015) Get married BEFORE you have children. Marriage Foundation; Cambridge.