Marriage and divorce: a social and economic study. Rev. ed.

Abstract

This monograph documents various trends and variations in the demographic aspects of marital behavior in the U.S. during recent decades. Tabulated data and an index are included. The statistics show that both marriage and divorce rates are higher in the U.S. than in other countries. Marriage rates seem to be responsive to changing socioeconomic conditions. People in the U.S. especially women seem to be marrying at younger ages. The proportion married has increased much more than the proportion divorced in recent decades and the proportion single has decreased much more than the proportion widowed. These changes have not affected all subgroups equally. There has been an upward trend in intermarriage--racially religiously and ethnically. Women who never marry seem to be more capable than men who never marry of taking care of themselves. Mortality is higher under almost all circumstances for unmarried than for comparable married persons. White married women have the lowest mortality rates and nonwhite widowed or divorced men have the highest mortality rates. The legal and administrative aspects of marriage and divorce and changing trends are discussed briefly. The main restrictions to marriage concern minimum age absence of certain diseases and degree of consanguinity.