The Marriage Paradox

Marriage has been declared dead by many scholars and the media. Marriage rates are dropping, divorce rates remain high, and marriage no longer enjoys the prominence it once held. Especially among young adults, marriage may seem like a relic of a distant past. Yet young adults continue to report that marriage is important to them, and they may not be abandoning marriage, as many would assume. The Marriage Paradox explores both national U.S. data and a smaller sample of emerging adults to find out how they really view marriage today. Interspersed with real stories and insight from emerging adults themselves, this book attempts to make sense of the increasingly paradoxical ways that young adults are thinking about marriage. The combination of national trends, statistical findings, and quotations from emerging adults makes for a deep exploration of why we see the marital trends of today, and why they may not actually represent emerging adults moving away from marriage.

Brian J. Willoughby, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. Dr. Willoughby is considered an international expert in the field of couple and marital relationships, sexuality, and emerging adult development. His research generally focuses on how adolescents, young adults, and adults move toward and form long-term committed relationships. Spencer L. James, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. As a family demographer, Dr. James is interested in the ways people form, maintain, and dissolve long-term romantic relationships, especially during emerging adulthood. He draws primarily on nationally representative longitudinal datasets and advanced statistical methods to answer questions about contemporary trends in marital and cohabiting relationships.

Series ForewordAcknowledgments
Introduction: The Marriage Paradox
Chapter 1: Modern Marriage and Emerging Adulthood in the United StatesChapter 2: Dating, Hooking-up, and Love: Relationships during Emerging AdulthoodChapter 3: Why Marriage Still Matters: Understanding Marital Paradigms During Emerging AdulthoodChapter 4: I Want to Get Married Just Not Right NowChapter 5: Marriage is Important Just Not That ImportantChapter 6: Finding the Right Person to MarryChapter 7: The Influence of Parents and FamiliesChapter 8: Social Influences and MarriageChapter 9: Gender and Gender Role ExpectationsChapter 10: The Counter-Culture of Married Emerging AdultsChapter 11: Looking Ahead: The Future of the Marriage Paradox
AppendixReferencesAbout the AuthorsIndex