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250 Outstanding Marriage and Family Research Topics

Looking for the best marriage and family research topics for your sociology paper? With the changing dynamics of family and marriage, there is always scope for more research. This leaves you with endless options for a suitable title for your paper. To make the process simpler, here is a list of the best topics on marriage and family to help you narrow down the choices. It is good to remember that some of these topics may evoke conflicting emotions and opinions. therefore, they are best handled with sensitivity and objectivity. They present ample scope for classroom discussion and debates. However, pick a topic that also presents sufficient scope for research to showcase your understanding of the subject and writing skills as well.

Best Research Topics on Family

Here is a list of some of the best family research topics that explore the changing dynamics on family structures in the recent times.

How can you define the term ‘family’?
Family background determines your rate of success in career and life. Comment.
What are the consequences of divorce on children?
Overcoming trauma of a dysfunctional family
Is it possible to always live up to family expectations?
The effects of parental neglect on children.
How to minimize negative effect of divorce on a family
War veterans and their families. Do they really need help?
Family and its impact on teenage delinquency
Stages of grief in children after the loss of a family member
Stages of grief in an adult after the loss of a family member
How should families cope with the loss of a family member?
The increasing problem of work-life balance and its impact on families
Joint family versus a nuclear family
Family members who should have a say in the upbringing of a child
Fostering children and the issues that arise
Substance abuse within a family. How to save yourself and the rest of your family?
Sexual abuse within a family. Strategies to escape it.
Family violence in the last decade. Has it increased?
The effect of setting very high expectations for members of the family.
Family values: Should they be strict or flexible?
Different types of relationships within a family.
Putting life together after a natural disaster.
Accepting children from a previous marriage into your family.
How to meet a crisis as a family
The issue of gender discrimination within a family.
Gender roles and expectations of the family
Coping with unpleasant secrets of your family
The pressure of inheriting a family business and the impact on children and younger members of the family.
Balancing between family support and allowing young adults to live their lives on their own.
How involved should the family be in one’s career?
The absence of love within a family
Helping a family member in distress.
Unwanted activities that modern families engage in
Accepting the transition of children into adult lives.

Family Life Education Topics for Research

Among the many family and marriage topics for discussion, family life education is an important concept that presents a huge scope for research.

The objectives of family life education
The importance of family life education
The primary principles of family life education
The practices of family life education and their importance in effective outreach.
How family life education can improve moral codes in young adults
The importance of family life education in developing a good personality in adolescents
Complementing parent education with family life education.
How family life education can fill the gap when parents abdicate responsibilities.
The three behavioural needs for family planning.
Importance of setting priorities when planning a family.
Resources that teen parents need for effective parenting.
Tools to build resilience in teen parents
Family life education and psychology
Family life education and social work.
The 10 contents of family life education.
Family life education is one of the most flexible fields of sociology. Your comments.
Family life education to help problem teens cope in college or school.
The role of family life education in decision making among family members.
Write in detail about a decision making model that youth can benefit from when it comes to family planning decisions.
Skill application in family planning.
Parenting classes: A modern trend or a necessity for new parents?
Identifying personal attitude and belief in teen parenting.
How family life education contributes to overall well being and growth of a family.
Assessing knowledge levels of adolescent girls with respect to issues in family life education.
The key areas of study of family life education.
Differences in rural and urban approach to family life education.
How to set up an effective intervention plan when dealing with family life education crisis
The challenges of parents with adolescent parents.
Using family life education to teach teens about balancing between responsibility and freedom.
Critical interests of preschool children
Stimulating growth and development of preschool children.
The right time to plan for a second child.
Adjusting to the ‘Empty Nest Syndrome’.
Importance of family life education in reproductive health.
Population education versus family life education.

Sociology of Family Research Topics

Family structures are an important part of studying sociology. Here are trending sociology research topics on family to help you ace your papers.

Unconventional family structures in the modern world.
Child behaviour and the impact of parents on it.
Child abuse and its long term effects
The impact of cross-racial adoption
The challenges of cross-racial adoption
Differences in family structures across ethnic groups and races
How single parenting impacts the life of children.
The impact on children when couples live apart.
The impact on family structure when couples live apart.
Family and its involvement in community
The role of the community in changing family structures.
Different household structures within families
The earner-carer family model
The need for dual earner couples
The evolution of household structures within families
The importance of dividing household labour within a family.
What is family demography?
Effective ways of dealing with family conflicts
What is maternalism?
The changing approach to filial responsibility
Effective family migration planning
The challenges faced by immigrant families.
Examples of matriarchal family structures across the globe.
The changing roles of a woman in a family.
The changing roles of a man in a family.
Effective ways to manage money within a family
The important parental roles in deciding the outcomes for children.
Sibling relationships at different ages.
Dealing with stepfamilies.
Challenges faced by stepmothers and how to overcome them?
Challenges faced by stepfathers and how to overcome them?
The concept of sibling ties.
Causes for increase in female householders
Deteriorating economic circumstances of men and the impact on family structures.
Cohabitation and a decline in marriage.

Marriage and Family Therapy Research Topics

Whether it is research paper on relationships, marriage or family structure, therapy and counselling plays an important role in today’s world. Here are some topics that are trending and relevant.

Stress and its impact on family or marriage counselling.
Qualities of a good family therapist.
The role of pre-marriage counselling in strengthening relationships.
Techniques of family therapy
The key concepts of family therapy
Objectives of marriage and family therapy
Living with a family member who has mental health issues
Providing family support to members with mental health issues.
Importance of family therapy in the sociology of family.
The emergence of family therapy as an identifiable field of psychology.
Family therapy and its importance in social work.
Child guidance and mental health
Family systems model of therapy.
Improving communication patterns within family through counselling.
The concept of function and purpose of symptoms.
The circular causation model of family therapy.
Recognizing structural characteristics of families through therapy
The increasing need for family and marriage therapy.
How family therapy can help cope with members who are addicted to substances.
Family therapy and child sexual abuse.
Family therapy versus marriage counselling.
Non systemic postmodernist models of family therapy.
The challenges faced by family therapists.
Factors that limit the scope of family therapy.
History of professional marriage and family therapy.
The evolving treatment of gender in family therapy.
The evolving treatment of sexual orientation in family therapy.
The perspective of family and marriage therapy among various ethnic groups.
The need for counselling for children of divorce.
Family therapy to help deal with loss of family members.
Family therapy to cope with terminally ill family members.
Significant models of family therapy in the modern world.
Important research papers on family therapy.
The pioneers of family and marriage counselling.
Changes in psychiatry and its role in the development of family therapy.
The contributions of Harry Stack Sullivan to family therapy.
Factors that contribute the positive mental health among family members.
The impact of cultural systems on the understanding of family dynamics.
Family therapy and its integration into family medicine.
Common treatment protocols in family therapy.

Divorce Topics For Research Paper

Because of the social and emotional impact that it has, divorce is among the most important marriage topics for discussion.

Study of abusive and toxic relationships within a family.
The causes for increasing divorce rates.
Perception of divorce among different ethnicities.
The impact of culture on the perception of divorce.
Marriage counselling as an effective way of preventing divorce
The trauma of child custody battles
The impact of child custody battles on the child.
The social perspective of divorced couples.
Raising children as a divorced couple.
A study on family violence
The changing perspective of marriage among children of divorce.
The impact of divorce on the social lives of children.
Sociological consequences of divorce.
Changing patterns and trends of divorce
Is divorce a social problem?
The negative consequences of divorce
The positive consequences of divorce
The economical consequences of divorce
How divorce impacts your social circle.
The impact of increasing divorce rates on society.
Ideological considerations of divorce
The process of marital breakdown.

Family Law Topics for Research

Here is a list of family law topics that have a good scope for data collection so that you can present an impressive paper.

Shared residence orders versus single residence orders.
The need for reform and alteration in family laws in your country.
Relationships, family and the law
Reform in the cohabitation law.
The Children Act of 1989 and its importance in Family Law.
Extending civil marriage availability to same sex couples. Write your views for and against this topic.
Laws regarding non-conjugal relationships.
The role of family law in determining the boundaries of marriage.
Child relocation and the laws associated with it
Divorce decisions based on the Principles of Fairness
The matrimonial cause act of 1973. Discuss its importance and the evolution.
Discuss three family laws that may be irrelevant in the modern world.
Why is it necessary to establish family laws?
The Piglowska versus Piglowski case of 1999 and its impact on divorce law decisions.
The role of religion on divorce laws.
Providing legal support to make victims of domestic abuse.
Why are child protection laws important?
The legal aspects of family welfare and social work.
Intervention of the State or authorities in families where children are abused or neglected.
Termination of parental rights in case of neglect or abuse. Is it the right approach?
Family laws about inheritance.
The changing laws of adoption.
A comparison of family laws in the West and the East.
Are family laws more liberal in the West?
Is the concept of alimony redundant in today’s world?
The need for legal validation of relationships.
Should women receive child support even if they are financially stable?
Is it correct for one parent to withhold visitation rights of the other?
Challenges faced by family lawyers.

Family Bible Study Topics of Research

Religion is a primary construct in the family structure. Here are some best rated family bible study topics that you can choose from:

Family bible study and its role in establishing values with a family.
How to use family bible study to improve the personality of adolescents.
The role of family bible study in increasing bonding between family members.
Is family bible study necessary in the modern world?
How the church positively influences the family structure.
Some family theories and concepts from the bible that are relevant even today?
Some outdated concepts of family that are mentioned in the bible that do not fit into modern society.
How family bible study impacts marriages and relationships.
Family bible study and why it is important for children to start young.
Family bible study and its role in improving behaviour of family members.
Interesting ideas to make family bible study relevant and interesting.

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344 Marriage Essay Topics & Examples

Whether you’re writing about unconventional, traditional, or arranged marriage, essay topics can be pretty handy. Consider some original ideas gathered by our experts and discuss divorce, weddings, and family in your paper.

🏆 Best Marriage Essay Examples & Topics

👍 good marriage essay topics, 💡 simple topics about marriage, ⭐ interesting research topics about marriage, 🔍 good research topics about marriage, 📌 most interesting marriage topics to write about, ❓ marriage research questions.

Marriage in the Importance of Being Earnest: Analysis Although Algernon’s view on love and marriage is not known during the conversation with his butler, we get to know his thoughts on the subject in a monologue where he claims that marriage is an […]
Christian vs. Muslim Marriages Comparison and Contrast A wedding is a civil or religious ceremony conducted in the presence of the family and friends of the bride and groom, to celebrate the beginning of their marriage.
Early Marriage Advantages In addition to this, there is a positive correlation between marriage and the increased mental and physical well being of an individual.
Women, Friendships, Marriage in Lynn Nottage’s “Poof!” Maybe Loureen and Florence treat their problems a little differently depending on the fact of having children or the degree to which the husband’s attitude can be tolerated. The general opinion about women and their […]
Early Marriage and Its Impact on Education Given the significant impacts that early marriage has had on education, this paper builds on the available recent research to establish the extent of early marriage and its impacts on the lives of children.
The Pros and Cons of Gay Marriage Counteracting the argument that prohibition of gay marriage appears similar to discrimination is the idea that marriage, in the traditional understanding of the word, is the union of necessarily different sexes, a man and a […]
Marriage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream The main theme of the play revolves around the marriage between Thesus, the Duke of Athens, and the Queen of Amazons called Hippolyta, as well as the events that surround the married couple.
Why Gay Marriage Should Not Be Legal Therefore, because marriage is a consecrated unification of a male and a female, ready to sacrifice all that is at their disposal for the continuation of the human species and societal values, I believe all […]
Statement for Marriage and Family Therapist Applicant My personal experience in marriage, long-term work with families within the framework of my occupational duties, and the desire to help people through life’s difficulties motivate me to become a Marriage and Family Therapist.
Qualities of Successful Marriages Faith makes great differences in marriage and this is why it is very important to share your individual beliefs and values with the partner prior to marriage in order to understand each other and plan […]
Marriage and Family Challenges As a rule, one of the principal reasons for a difficult adaptation is the initially inflated requirements of one of the spouses or even both of them.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell The contraries used by the poet in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” are the backbone of this poem. The structure of “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” is the first feature of the contraries […]
Definition of Marriage. Reward of Marriage For many years, social scientists have argued on the reward of marriage due to the distinctiveness of the populace who get married and stay married. As a result, the definition of marriage can be broadened […]
The Future of Marriage Although today marriage is still a significant stage in the personal life and family is discussed as the fundamental factor for the social development, the role of marriage declines, the rate of divorces increases, and […]
Argument for Gay Marriages Enacting laws that recognize gay marriages would be beneficial to the society in the sense that it promotes equal rights among members of the society.
Marriage Relationships in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Hemingway Harry and his wife, Helen, are stranded in Mount Kilimanjaro and their interactions reveal that their rocky relationship is a result of a mixture of frustration, incorrect decisions, getting married for wrong reasons, and unreciprocated […]
Marriage and Adultery Laws of Emperor Augustus The laws were enacted to deal with marriage avoidance, the preference for childless unions, marriage of lower class women by the Roman elite, and adultery, all of which threatened the continuity of the Roman aristocracy.
How to Have a Happy Marriage In life, although a number of strategies of enhancing happiness in life exist, it is important for all individuals to note that, success of these strategies depends on the commitment levels in spouses hence, the […]
Marriage Differences in Botswana The body part discusses the history of life and marriage, marriage now, marriage in the book, the similarities and differences of life and marriage in the book and real life.
Marriage in the Postmodern Society Circa 900BC, the world only knew one type of marriage, at least the Judeo-Christian history, which is the best documented type that indicates that marriage was between a man and a woman with the option […]
Arguments against Young Marriage and Their Rebuttal For the most part, these arguments point at the current social flaws and the need to address them. Instead, such experience is acquired in the course of social interactions, which young people are engaged into […]
From Collectivism to Individualism in Marriage A marriage that is established on a collectivist ideal tends to be focused more on the interests of the in-group more than self interests.
Islamic Marriage and Divorce The family being the basic unit of a society which is also a principle in the Islamic society its genesis is the relationship between a husband and a wife.
“Why Marriages Fail” by Anne Roiphe It is a productive way to end the essay because people are reassured that in every situation there is a way out and it all depends on the individuals and their want to work things […]
Marriage in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin News about the death of her husband arises and owing to her heart problem, carefulness is vital for the one to deliver the news to her.
Absolute Gender Equality in a Marriage Despite the fact that the principles of gender equality in marriage will clearly affect not only the relationships between a husband and a wife but also the roles of the spouses considerably, it is bound […]
The Marriage Traditions of Wolof Culture These include the role that marriage plays in the family formation in the Wolof society, what the economic background of the plural marriages is, and which traditions describe the marriage ceremony of the Wolof culture.
Marriage is Outdated and no Longer Suits Modern Lifestyles and Attitudes They do not perceive the essence of entering in to marriage when they can accomplish most of the above mentioned issues outside marriage.
Interracial Marriage in the 1950s The central problem was that the period was characterized by racial segregation laws that did not allow people of a different race to attend the same restaurants, cinemas, and other public places. Moreover, parents often […]
Christian Marriage Rituals From the ancient times, parents of both the bride and groom were the primary parties to the marriage covenant. According to the biblical times, marriage was a legal covenant between the parents of the bride […]
Marriage and Family Therapy Even though she is the one instigating therapy, she is suggesting that the therapist speaks to Leon and not her. This case, the problems is Marceline’s indecision and lack of set goals of what she […]
Cultural Differences in Arranged Marriages All the expenses of the marriage are taken care of by the parents of the couple. The reason why arranged marriages are encouraged among the Hindus is that there is utmost respect compared to marriages […]
The Concept of Same Sex Marriage and Child Adoption It is as a result of this approach that an individual sexual orientation cannot be used to limit them from adopting children least it is proven beyond doubt that the relationship will be harmful to […]
Process Philosophy’s Impact on Marriage and Education The growth in the popularity of gay marriages in America provides evidence of the impact of process philosophy on government policies.
The Benefits of Marriage This essay aims to identify the benefits of marriage, compare the level of happiness between married couples and cohabitors and analyze the conditions that contribute to the marriage advantage.
Traditional Marriage and Love Marriage Comparison In this paper, the pros and cons of love marriage and traditional marriage will be discussed to clarify which one is a better or just more appropriate option for modern people.
Cultural Traditions: Arranged vs. Autonomous Marriage Given the aforementioned reasons, this is possible to convince people that pre-arranged marriages can be admitted as culturally permissible, and the concept of cultural relativism is an objective tool.
Taqiya and Mut’ah in Islam: The Legal Status of Mut’ah Marriage in Indonesia It is essentially a temporary contract marriage, in which a man and a woman agree to assume the roles of husband and wife for a limited period.
Temporary Marriage in Lebanon: Pros and Cons Supporters of temporary marriage in Lebanon argue that, since the union does not involve use of force, it cannot be termed as a violation of the right of women.
The Marriage in Norway in the 1800s The paper reviews the tendencies of matrimonial and reproduction life in Norway in the 19th century. The research study is based on the academic peer-reviewed article that analyzes marriage in the country in the 1800s.
Interracial Marriage and Emirati Identity Issues According to the Federal National Council, the prevalence of interracial marriages in the UAE is threatening Emirati women, in terms of their ability to be married by a fellow Emirati man.
Marriage in Saudi Arabia The elders of the prospective bride propagated marriage in Saudi Arabia, and afterward, it was the responsibility of either the groom or the groom’s parents to propose to her father.
Benefits of Remarriage for Happy Life Remarriage allows a person to find love and comfort from the other partner. When a person chooses to be remarried, they would likely accumulate their financial sources to focus their economic development with the partner.
Cohabiting Before Marriage: Reasons and Benefits The concept of cohabitation is traditionally looked down at by the representatives of the contemporary society, which is quite weird given the fact that the phenomenon of diversity and plurality of opinions have been promoted […]
Marriage Vs. Living Together: Pros and Cons Marriage is simply a ceremony that was imagined and enacted by man in order to signify the decision of a man and a woman to live together in a forever sense of the word.
Marriage in The Yellow Wallpaper She has failed to recognize that she is the driver of her own life, and blame should not be put on man. Therefore, she is not able to work her creativity and ends up drawing […]
Polygamy in Islam: Marriage Issues Thus, the faith of people in their prophet is also the basis and rationale for the practice of polygamy. The fact that Islam views marriage as a sacred act of goodness and mutual help is […]
Interracial Marriage Explained Secondly, an interracial marriage promotes the general acceptance of people from a different race in the new society or community and also promotes the appreciation of other people’s values in the new community and their […]
Inter Caste Marriages and Mixed Identity They do not experience the practices of a particular religion due to which they are perturbed when other children know and talk about their religion and its practices with a sense of pride and belonging.
Interracial Marriage in the United Arab Emirates One of the main problems is the population ratio of the country. The increased presence of foreign wives in the country can create an appearance that the identity of the country changed.
Assessing in the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy Through assessment, the family therapist can influence the outcome of the conversations in a consultative meeting between the troubled individual and the therapist.
Effect of Stress on Relations and Marriage Therefore, this paper had the aim of discussing the effects of stress on a marriage and relationships and how the stress can be reduced and controlled.
Effects of Same Sex Marriage to the Society Therefore, the paper will seek to elaborate on the effects of same sex marriage to the society. The number of children being raised in the available families has reduced leading to a declining population and […]
The Importance of Premarital Counseling Before Marriage It is thus essential for couples contemplating to enter into a binding contract to go through premarital counseling program in order to get skills and knowledge on how to maintain their marriage.
Love and Marriage during the Era of Mao in Communist China In the Mao era, the law did not allow polygamous marriage in the Chinese community and through such, the sale of young females within the society ended.
Marriage and Family: Life Experience When we got married, a man was perceived to be the head of the family, and in his absence the wife was expected to guide the family.
Marriage in the Modern World For instance, there is no common agreement over the number of parties required in a marriage; who should select partners for marriage; whether or not the rearing of children is the core idea of marriage; […]
Child Marriages in Modern India The practice of child marriages among the Shaikh and the Rajasthan community at large has been exacerbated by the government’s reluctance in preventing it and to make the matter worst, it seems to be very […]
Factors Influencing Perception on Same-sex marriage in the American Society The protagonists and antagonists of this marriage institution have always clashed over the tenet of the same-sex marriage against the moral standards of the society.
American Marriage in transition Nevertheless, the Great Depression and the two World Wars drove women from homes into the labor market, and this had a major effect on the roles and expectations of both husbands and wives within the […]
Importance of Communication in Marriage Marriage is the first step in establishing a family and the kind of communication that exists between the partners determines the kind of family that they will establish.
Sex and Marriage Relations Analysis The problem of the modern married couples is that the notion of sex became the dominant in the relations and the faithfulness in the family is not in honor now.
Arranged Marriages: A Critical Analysis While discussing the points in favor of arranged marriage, the writer does not seem to have taken a stand in favor yet he has provided evidence to show that arranged marriage is an outlet for […]
Christians Holy Orders and Marriage To a great level the society itself is constitutive of the symbol, and is thus vital in calling forward the gifts of the occupation in which each individual is well-known and established in each sacrament […]
Love, Marriage, and Divorce He weighs the possible outcomes, and mostly, these were negative elements such as discrimination of his side of the family who are expected to wait only for food and drink during the wedding, other wedding […]
Marriage Decline as a Social Problem in the US To discuss the social illness of declining marriages in the US, the incorporated is the social constructionist perspective. The origins of the constructionism can be traced back to the attempts to establish the nature of […]
Let Me Not to the Marriage of Two Minds by William Shakespeare The reader can interpret starting lines as the response to the question of the priest in the wedding ceremony about the reasons preventing the couple from getting married The structure of the phrase “Let me […]
Marriage in the Bible According to the book of genesis 1:28, after creating a man and a woman, God bestowed them with blessings and told them to “…be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and […]
Marianne Weber’s Views on Marriage Traditionally, the role of a husband was that of a breadwinner and a patriarch of the family, whereas a wife’s duties were to take care of their children and keep the family hearth.
Marriage Types and Their Critical Components Increasingly, variations have also encompassed how one of the traditional expectations of marriage, that is, siring children, is construed and whether spouses are of the same or different sexes.
Arranged Marriages in India According to Bertolani, marriage in Indian society is strictly arranged by the parents of potential marriage partners and does not necessarily have to involve love. Thus, arranged marriage in the context of Indian society is […]
Marriage and Family Problems as Social Issues Sociology as a discipline has an extremely wide range of interests and it is next to impossible even to enumerate them, however the issue that has always been of the utmost importance for the sociological […]
Domestic Violence in Marriage and Family While there are enormous reports of intimate partner homicides, murders, rapes, and assaults, it is important to note that victims of all this violence find it very difficult to explain the matter and incidents to […]
Making Marriage Work The aim of the governor in using state funds to reduce the number of divorce cases is compulsory because it becomes obligatory for individuals to know each other, be able to come up with conclusive […]
Same-Sex Marriage as a Positive Tendency Nowadays The festival also occurred to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in all the United States by the Supreme Court. In December 2000, the first law in the world that legalized same-sex marriage was adopted […]
Arranged Marriages are Less Successful This research aims to establish the reasons why arranged marriages are less successful when compared to love unions in the realms of commitment, passion, intimacy, and marital satisfaction.
Common Sexual Problems Experienced During a Marriage Dissatisfaction with the relationship, a lack of shared activities, old age, poor health, and daily stress also contribute to a decrease in sexual satisfaction in a marriage.
Marriage Decline Among Black Americans The marriage rate in the United States of America has generally declined in the current decade. Incarceration of the African American community has played a significant role in promoting their marriage decline for decades.
Unforgiveness in Marriages and Families I think true forgiveness in the context of marital or familial relationships cannot be achieved without a complete understanding of the causes of the transgression and the reasons behind one’s inability to forgive.
Life in Marriage or Single Life? However, in recent decades, the world has begun to actively change, society has become more inclusive, and more and more people who refuse to marry for different beliefs have begun to appear.
Privacy in Marriage: Rights Violations While this approach differs from the notion of the Living Constitution, which holds that the constitution should be read in the context of current times and political identities, even if such interpretation is at odds […]
Premarital Cohabitation’s Impact on Marriage Though premarital cohabitation used to be linked to an increased probability to a divorce.recent studies confirm that cohabitation enhances the power of a marriage.
The Importance of Marriage Education In such cases, the importance of attending marriage education is highlighted, the usefulness and importance of which is to provide knowledge not only about the marriage union but also in general about interaction and proper […]
Women in Marriage & Sex, Abortion, and Birth Control The historical period chosen is from the eighteenth to the twentieth century to demonstrate the advancement of social structures for women.
Creating a Survey About an Institution of Marriage If I were to create a poll or a survey, I would want to study the institution of marriage from the viewpoint of people who have gotten a divorce at least once.
Comparison of Marriage in Elizabethan Times and in “Othello” The man was believed to be the head of the family, and he had the legal right to punish his wife.
Family Behaviors, Inequality, and Outside Childbearing Marriage The gap between the poor and the rich is widening in the US, making the American dream impossible for many people, especially children and families.
The Meaning of Marriage: A Comparison of Articles In addition to the titles of academic journals and articles, it is possible to determine which field of science an article belongs to from its content, the language used, and the focus of the study.
The Love and Marriage Relationship Analysis This shows that the researcher was determined to obtain accurate results from the subjects with the least, and that is the strength of the research.
Institution of Marriage: The Sociological Perspectives However, sociological studies played a pivotal role in defining the main tendencies of marriage as a social institute development from the end of World War II to the current realities.
Same-Sex Marriages and Equality Some oppose gay marriage on religious grounds and others- on an individual or group basis, but some tussle against the inequitable portrayal of gay marriage with zeal, such as Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Newlyweds’ Optimistic Forecasts of Their Marriage The first instrument used was the Quality of Marriage Index, a six-item scale requiring partners to describe the level of their agreement and disagreements regarding their marriage in general.
The Supreme Court Decision on the Right to Same-Sex Marriage The decision of the Supreme Court on the constitutional right of citizens to same-sex marriage is a significant event in the history of the development of modern democratic society.
“Do Student Loans Delay Marriage?”: Participants, Measures, and Results The purpose of this article is to discover: the relationship between student loan debt and marriage in young adulthood; whether or not the relationship differs for women and men; if this relationship becomes weak over […]
Aspects of Marriage and Family Life At the time of Colonial America, during the consequent period of the emerging modern family, and after the formation of the contemporary family, the situation of this institution differed drastically.
Institution of Marriage in China Marriage is one of the oldest social institutions that regulate interpersonal and sexual relations, a society recognized by the union between spouses to create a family, giving rise to a married couple’s mutual rights and […]
How Marriage Affected the Economic Status of Women On the other hand, in Twelfth Night, written in the early XVIIth century, the reader is shown the more romantic side of a marital union.
Institution of Marriage and Its History Due to the nature and intentions of marriage, numerous definitions and viewpoints have emerged that continue to dictate what the institution ought to be.
The Church’s Attitude Toward Homosexual Marriage Erickson Millard claims that Jesus’s teaching about the permanence of marriage is based on the fact that: God made humanity as male and female and pronounced them to be one.
Future of Marriage: Non-Monogamy, People’s Needs in Marriage Another condition explaining the likelihood of the shift in the meaning and form of this institution is the fact that some of the values underpinning it remain intact.
Marriage in Muslim Cultures and America In the Muslim religion, which is most widespread in the Arabian countries and among the Arabian people, marriage is perceived differently than in the American culture.
Girls Not Brides Organization’s Commitment to Eliminate the Forced Child Marriage Graca Machel, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are the champions of Girls Not Bride, and they advocate to end child marriage in our society.
Gay Marriage Should Be Repealed The institution of marriage has changed dramatically within the first two decades of the 21st century due to the gradual acceptance of gay marriage.
Interracial Marriages in “Like Mexicans” by Gary Soto Therefore, Soto’s decision to marry a Japanese woman should encourage Mexican people to change their negative attitude towards other ethnic groups and practice interracial marriages.
COVID-19: How Race, Gender and Marriage Contribute to Humanity A study by Landivar et al.about the effect of the virus on gender and marriage in the US reveals that the pandemic has worsened gender inequality in employment.
“Social Attitudes Regarding Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT…” by Hatzenbuehler It relates to the fact that the scientists failed to articulate a research question in the proper form. However, it is possible to mention that the two hypotheses mitigate the adverse effect of the lacking […]
Cuban Americans Views on Marriage The representatives of different racial and ethnic groups tend to share dissimilar views regarding marriage, parenting, and divorce that are based on their cultural traditions and beliefs.
Specific Communication Styles That Make for Happy Marriages The next style of communication is submissive, characterized by a desire to please other people, and avoid conflicts by all means.
Does Marriage Bring Happiness?: Based on “The Story of an Hour” In this case, marriage is not a union of the loved ones but is a social obligation where a wife is a subject of a husband.Mr. Millard’s family seemed a perfect example of the social […]
The Defense of Marriage Act: LGBTQ + Community One of the milestones in the development of the struggle of members of the LGBTQ + community for their rights in the United States is the adoption of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Marriage and Divorce: Problems of Couples This seems to be the same stand that is taken by Paul in regards to the position of the man and the woman in the marriage, where the man seems to be the sole determinant […]
Legalization of the Same-Sex Marriage: Advantages In this particular section, I would like to find out by which percent the economy of different countries will grow when the government legalizes homosexuality due to the excess expenses that it uses in buying […]
Controversies Surrounding the Topic of Same-Sex Marriage In particular, the emergence of same-sex relations is the sign of the deinstitutionalization of the concept of marriage in society. The changes that occurred at the beginning of the 90s of the past century were […]
The Gay Marriages: Ethical and Economic Perspectives Among the key ethical dilemmas that are related to the issue in question, the conflict between religious beliefs and the necessity to provide the aforementioned services, the issue regarding the company’s needs v.its duty to […]
Marriage and Crime Reduction: Is There a Relationship? It is clear that marriage plays an integral role in reducing crime through a shift of priorities that are family centered and the transition to adulthood.
Effects of Mastectomy on Marriage This is because the husband has to deal with the fact that his wife has one breast. The husband is affected by his wife’s condition of a missing breast.
California’s Proposition 8 on Same-Sex Marriages However, in other states, obtaining the right for same sex marriages is only one of a series of the issues that have arisen since much controversy as the U.S.same sex marriages movement rose in the […]
“Why Marriages Succeed or Fail”: The “Bang” or “Whimper?” As mentioned above, it is common for people to assume that if something is wrong in a close relationship between a wife and a husband, there is a profound and apparent conflict to blame.
The Role of Marriage on the Example of Two Plays The plays Waiting for Godot and A Long Day’s Journey into Night indirectly imply the topic of the marriage’s role and how it impacts the individuals.
Stephanie Doe: Misyar Marriage as Human Trafficking in Saudi Arabia In this article, the author seeks to highlight how the practice of temporary marriages by the wealthy in Saudi Arabia, commonly known as misyar, is a form of human trafficking.
The Opinion of Americans on Whether Gay Marriage Should Be Allowed or Not Based on the political nature of the population, 43% of the democrats think, American society supports gay marriages and only 18% of the republicans hold the same view.
Millennials Say Marriage Ideal but Parenthood the Priority However, it is still believed that the joy of giving birth to a child is one of the greatest joys in life.
Doomed Marriage in “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses” by Irwin Shaw The most common answer to this question is that these people love each other. The article The Girls in Their Summer Dresses testifies to the fact that marriage is doomed.
Sexuality, Marriage, Gay Rights The supremacy of law and protection of people right lie in the heart of the protection of the freedom of personality.”Part of the basis of democratic government in the United States is a system of […]
Cross-Border Marriages Between Japan and China: Reasons and Results Besides, the statistics of Japanese men and women dissatisfied with their marriages is humbling; consequently, determined to find a more gratifying alternative, men are engaged in cross-border marriage enterprise.
Same-Sex Marriage Policy & Social Impact Reflection Creation of public policies and laws are significantly influenced by the diversity in culture forcing the government to engage with the society when developing policies.
Same‐Sex Couples, Families, and Marriage The article under consideration is a systematic review of the recent scientific literature that addresses the range of issues that same-sex couples face and the peculiarities of their inner structure.
Marriage Premium for Professional Athletes Researchers in the sphere of the labor economy agree that there is a connection between marital status and the number of wages earned by men.
“How I Met Your Mother”: Ideas of Marriage The central relationship throughout the series is Marshall and Lily’s marriage, with its ups and downs, individual quirks, and their influence on each other.
Woman’s Position in Marriage: Similarities in History With time she began to see the creeping figures in the pattern of the wallpapers in the room; with an absence of any physical and mental activity, her anxiety began to increase and resulted in […]
For Richer (Not for Poorer): The Inequality Crisis of Marriage An example of a factual claim made by the writer is where she states that the number of marriages in the United States dropped by 5% from the year 2009 to 2010.
In Defense of Marriage Act 1996 As the editorial holds, the power of the law is lower than that of the congress and therefore its application on the subject of marriage is like depriving the congress of its powers of regulating […]
Effect of Same-Sex Marriage on the Legal Structure of Gender in All Marriages Despite the fact that the current article does not address the gender roles in the family, parallels can be drawn showing that in no way the institutionalization of same-sex marriage can have an effect on […]
Gender, Love and Sexuality: Healthy Marriage Formation Parties in marriage must have trust in each other because it is a basis for the growth of their union. Parties in a marriage need to be romantic as it harnesses love and loyalty.
Same Sex Marriages: Definition and Main Problems In essence, the opposition of same sex marriages practically comes out of the use of the word “marriage”; such that, same sex couples enjoy the same rights as partners from contemporary marriages.
Emotionally Focused Therapy Effectiveness in the Instituion of Marriage The suitability of the elements of the methodology determines the appropriateness. They indicate the main themes of the study and provide a beginning for the reader to understand the problem that is being researched and […]
Marriage and Mothering Challenges In the modern world, the institution of marriage and the issue of motherhood have experienced challenges due to changes in perception.
Interventions in Institution of Marriage Analysis This paper helps to understand the principles of evaluation research, the effectiveness of the intervention selected for settling marital discord and the use of evidence elicited in the research analysis for the purpose of enhancing […]
The Case Against Gay Marriage The Constitutional protection to equal rights under the law has been invoked over and over again to try and afford homosexuals “equal right” to the social institution of marriage and to social security when one […]
Conflict and Marriage Satisfaction To manage solving differences effectively, individuals in a marriage relationship should learn the thinking and positive and negative behaviors of their partners and have a positive perception towards these partners. This leads to unresolved conflicts […]
Marriage and Physical Well-Being The dissolution of a marriage combined with the poor quality of the marriage leading up to the divorce is associated with the decline of both mental and physical health resulting in the increased use of […]
Cohabitation Before Marriage One of the many disadvantages of cohabiting is that in this condition, you are never sure of your partner’s next move.
Irony of Marriages in an Indian Set Up On the contrary, it is a belief, which can well be attributed to the rigidity of an Indian cultural norm that forces its followers to believe that the institution of marriage is indeed a handiwork […]
Marriage and Family Systems: Western Society and Kadara of Nigeria The institution of marriage in the modern culture holds a distinct development over the years. In these cultures, marriage is negotiated by the parents of the betrothed.
Re-Thinking Homosexual Marriage in Rational and Ethical Fashion We demonstrate that the way out of the hysterical debate is to consider soberly the basis for supporting the ordinary family as the basic unit of society and protector of the next generation.
Gay Marriage and Bible: Differences From Heterosexual Practice When respected the bonds of marriage leads to the good not only of the couple and their children, but also to the good of society as a whole.
Gay Marriage: Evaluation Argument The basic theme of the article was to present advocacy of gay marriage and a thorough presentation of arguments in favor of the legalization of gay marriages.
Same Sex Marriage Morality: Discussion Patterson further concluded that as long as the homosexual parents could let their children understand the real scenario, there is a strong indication that children could very well accept and love their parents even though […]
Do Young Couples Marriages Always End in Divorce? The reasons for the failure of the marriage is supposed to stem from the immaturity of the parties involved and the ill preparedness of the couple to deal with the changes that married life brings […]
The Concept of Marriage: Discussion They control their language and behavior and this is a prime example of symbolic interactionism that is instrumental in the institution of marriage.
Marriage Rates in Oklahoma and Illinois This essay dwells much in the states of Illinois and Oklahoma and the differences and the reasons for this differences will make up the body of this discussion. Marriage rate differs a lot in the […]
Interracial Marriage: History and Future Developments Sigler in- “Civil rights in America: 1500 to the present” is of the opinion that the civil rights of the citizens of America is helpful to make and end to the racial segregation in America.”Politics […]
Civil Union: Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Couples’ Marriages Once the readers are influenced by the argument it is assumed that they would move a social memorandum in favor of the argument and insist the authority to grant the gay couples the status of […]
How Is Marriage Related to Health? We can only surmise how marriage is related to health, but those who have been through a lot of problems and hassles as a result of bad marriages, literally know what marriage can bring to […]
Marriage and Family: Women as Love Experts and Victims As evidenced in the case of Roberta, it is essential for women to continually reiterate emotions of love at regular intervals, in the absence of which she begins to lose faith in the very basics […]
Views on Marriage and Family Throughout Chinese History in Relation to Religion The cost of having a kid in China is going up tremendously; especially since about a few years back due to the rapid development in China as they have only recently opened their market to […]
Successful Marriage Conditions Research indicates that the success of long-term relationships is related both to intrinsic aspects of the relationship, such as liking one’s partner as a person, and to factors that are extrinsic to the relationship, such […]
The Definition of Marriage The Sexual Revolution that took place in the 1960s caused sex to brazenly slip out of the boundaries of marriage. S, same-sex marriage is legal only in the states of Iowa and Massachusetts.
Advocacy Plan for Forced Marriage in Sudanese Tradition This situation is a violation of human rights, and its high rate denotes that it is necessary to take specific actions to solve the problem. The information above means that it is necessary to address […]
The Effects of Social Media on Marriage in the UAE This paper will explore the effects of social media in its relation to marriage, highlighting both the positive and the negative effects on the individuals and society as a whole.
Marriage in Contemporary America
Marriage Lawsuit in the State of Florida
Gender Role Attitudes and Expectations for Marriage
First and Second Marriages: Psychological Perspective
Happiness: Health, Marriage, and Success
Gay Marriage: Societal Suicide
Early Arranged Marriages in Indonesia
Child Marriage in Egypt: Changing Public Attitudes
Same-Sex Marriage Discriminatory Law in Alabama
Family, Marriage, and Parenting Concepts Nowadays
Marriage and Divorce Statistics in the United States
“The Case For Same Sex Marriage” Video by Savino
The Rejection of Marriage and Social Stability
Family Life Cycle: The Institution of Marriage
Marriage Expectations in Newlyweds
Marriage Stages: Mother and Daughter’s Interview
Marriage Process in Saudi Culture
Advices for a Happy Marriage Life
Marriage: The Good, the Bad, and the Greedy
Same-Sex Marriage Legalization and Public Attitude
Same-Sex Marriage National Legalization
Long-Lasting Marriage and Its Psychology
Marriage: Economic, Social and Political Meanings
Interfaith Marriages in Islamic Views
Child Marriage in Egypt as a Social Problem
Arranged Marriage and Its Ethical Dilemma
The Smart Stepfamily Marriage
Gay Marriage and Its Social Acceptance in the US
Relations and Social Distance in Kinship and Marriage
Infidelity in Sexual Relationships and Marriage
Five Filters of Communication in Marriage
American Marriage Trends and Government Measures
Same-Sex Marriage Representation in American Media
Relationship and Marriage Coaching
Marriage and Family Class Ideas
Marriage and Politics in 3500 BC-1600 AD
Marriage Peculiarities in the United Arab Emirates
Marriage Life in the Film “The World of Apu”
Does Marriage and Relationship Education Work?
High Marriage Costs in the United Arab Emirates
Marriage in the New Millennium
Homosexual Marriage: Causes of Debates
Interpersonal Communication Issues in the Marriage
Marriage in the Films: The Mirror Has Two Faces and Sunrise
Weddings, Marriage, and Money in the UAE
Physical Health Problems in Marriage
Marriage in the United Arab Emirates
Tthe Defense of Marriage
Sociology: Marriage and Reasons Why People Get Married
The Changing Landscape of Love and Marriage
Asian American Women and Marriage
Biblical Marriage and Divorce – Religious Studies
Legalizing Gay Marriage in the US
The Miseries of Enforced Marriage
“Gay Marriages” by Michael Nava and Robert Dawidoff
Social Issues: Arranged Marriages
Fairy Tale Marriages Are Not Real
Marriage as Depicted in Soloveitchik’s Typology of Human Nature
Why Do Conservatives Disagree on the Topic of Marriage Equality?
Same-Sex Marriage in the United States of America
Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage in San Francisco
Family and Marriage Therapy
Genograms Role in Family and Marriage
Boundaries in Marriage: A Healthy Marital Association
Gay Marriage’s Social and Religious Debates
Interracial Marriages in the US
Marriage and Family Therapy in Connecticut
Interview of a Marriage and Family Therapist
Gay Marriage in The UK
Marriage and Love are Incompatible
Marriage & Family Therapy
Legalization of the Same Sex Marriage in California
Constitutional Amendment that Allows Same-sex Marriage
Gay Marriage: Debating the Ethics, Religion, and Culture Analytical
Marriage and Family Counselling
The Problems of Marriage and Divorce
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
Homosexuals’ Right to Marry
Conservative Views on Same-Sex Marriage Campaigns
The Effectiveness of Marriage Conflict Resolution Programs in the USA
Self-Expansion and Marriage
The Government Should Sanction Marriages of Same Sex Couples
Millennials Say Marriage is Ideal but Parenthood is the Priority
The Effect of Marriage on Crime Rate
Current Trends Affecting Marriage and Family Formation in Asia
Gay Marriages and US Constitution
The Issue of Gay Marriages: Meaning, Importance and Cons
Legalizing Gay Marriage
Incest – How Did Society’s View on Consanguineous Marriage Change Throughout History and Science Development and Why
Naked Marriage and Chinese Society Research
Marriage in Early Modern Europe
Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, And America’s Children
The Nature of Aristocratic Marriage and Family in the Mid-Heian Period
Gay Couples’ Right to Marriage
Human Behavior: How Five General Perspectives Affect Marriage
Marriage and the Limits of Contract
Defending Gay Marriage
Relation of Gay Marriage to the Definition of Marriage
Marriage Concerns in Al-Khobar City
Concepts of Gay Marriage
The Idea of Marriage: Why So Eager?
Effects of the Social, Economic and Technological Change on Marriage
Marriage and Alternative Family Arrangements
Defense of Marriage Act
Medieval Introduction to the Basic Principles of Marriage Sovereignty
The Ethics of Early Marriages in the American Society
Gay Marriage: Culture, Religion, and Society
Gay Marriages in New York
Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legal?
Why Gay Marriages Should Not Be Legalized?
Interracial Marriage in the U.S.
Concept of Representation of Marriage
Gay Marriage as a Civil Rights Issue
Low Income Marriage and Divorce VS. High Level of Income Marriage and Divorce
Role of Marriage/Family & Singlehood
Anti-same-sex Marriage Laws and Amendments Violate the Constitutional Guarantees of Equality for all Citizens of the United States
Arguments for Supporting Same-Sex Marriage
Interracial Marriages and Relationships in Asian American Communities in the US
Same-sex Couples and Marriage: Causes and Claims
Children in Interracial Marriages
Gay Marriage and Parenting
Feelings about Marriage and Family Life
The Women’s Career Role in the Institution of Marriage
Should Gay Marriages Be Allowed?
Reasons of the High Homosexual Marriage Rate
Marriage systems of the Gikuyu and San Communities
Gay Marriage and Decision Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Cohabitation: Is It Wrong?
Arguments for Gay Marriages
Opposition to the Legalization of Same Sex Marriage
Marriage and Family Imagery in the Cinematography
Religious, Governmental and Social Views on Same-Sex Marriage
The Changes that has Occurred in Transpacific Vietnamese Marriages
Gay Marriages: Why Not Legalize Them?
19th Century Norms of Marriage
Should We Allow Gay Marriages as Civil Unions?
Same-Sex Marriage: Sociopolitical
Cohabitation vs. Marriage
Marriage Equality: Same-Sex Marriage
Monogamy as an Acceptable System of Marriage in America
Must gay marriage to be legal?
Gay Marriage in the U.S.
Marriage as a Basic and Universal Social Institute
Concepts why marriage matters
Gay marriage and homosexuality
Problems in Marriage – The Weakening of Families
Pre Marriage Counseling: One Year Before Getting Married
Same Sex Marriages Impact on the Children Social Growth
Gay Marriage Legalization
The Effect of Divorce on a Person After Long Marriage
Rebuilding Families and Marriage in America’s Society
Problems in Marriage: Is Divorce the Only Option?
American vs. Asian Marriages
Sex Marriage: Personal Opinion
What Are Factors Aid Determining Societal Norms Marriage Family?
Who Did First Love Marriage in the World?
How Does Marriage Affect Physical and Psychological Health?
How Has Same-Sex Marriage Decision of Supreme Court Impacted Lives?
What Are the Stages of Marriage?
How Does the Perspective of Gay Marriage?
Why Should Couples Not Live Together Before Marriage?
How Do Cohabitation and Marriage Effects Childhood Well?
What Are the Types of Marriage?
How Do Legal Constraints Affect Marriage and Family Formations?
How Has Marriage Changed Over the Last 30 Years?
Can a Marriage Survive Different Political Views?
Why Do People Stop Fighting for Their Marriage?
How Does Same-Sex Marriage Affect Decreasing Population Growth?
Why Do Men Change After Marriage?
Why Married Couples Drift Apart After Marriage?
Why Was Marriage Originally Created?
How Does Same-Sex Marriage Affects Society?
What Does the Bible Say About Marriage?
What Do the Parental Pressures Affect Your Own Desire for Marriage?
How Did the Utopian Communities Challenge Existing Ideas About Property and Marriage?
How Does Infidelity Affect the Marriage and Family?
How Was Marriage Back in the 1800s?
Why Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage?
How Does Infertility Effects Marriage?
How Does Interracial Marriage Affect Children?
How Similar Are Cohabitation and Marriage?
How Far Would You Agree That Marriage Is Based on Social Class?
When Marriage Loses Its Value?
What Benefits Are There of Marriage Today?
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261 Marriage Essay Topics

Marriage is a vast theme for analysis, covering many complexities, joys, and interpersonal relationships. We want to share some of the best marriage essay topics. Discover various facets of marriage, from its historical roots to contemporary issues. Among our topics on marriage and family, find the best option for an essay about Christian or same-sex marriage.

💒 TOP 7 Marriage Titles

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Arranged Marriages’ Advantages and Disadvantages
The Theme of Money and Marriage in “Pride and Prejudice”
Theme of Marriage in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
Marriage Theme in “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde
Young Marriage: Good or Not Good?
Process Philosophy in Family, Marriage, and Education
Gay Marriage and Ethical Theories
Concept of Same-Sex Marriage Same sex marriage is becoming common and accepted legally and socially in many societies. This is more common in more advanced economies like UK, Europe and USA.
Midsummer Night’s Dream: Perspectives on Marriage Marriage is shown to be a highly pragmatic and social institution rather than one based on love, highlighting that each couple in the play has their own purposes for getting married.
Marriage Has Lost Its Relevance In Modern Culture It is a long-standing tradition that seems to have more of a religious connotation rather than a social meaning.
Personal Essay on Sociological Imagination, Divorce, & Marriage Mills’ idea of the sociological imagination demonstrates how the ability to analyze the personal experience can help to be well-orientated in social processes.
Conflict Theories: Gay Marriages and Feminism Conflict theories purport that, families can take different structures and do not view change as a clash or dysfunctional. This theory has been a catalyst for gay marriages and feminism.
Marriage: Types and Characteristics The main types of marriage include traditional, civil, monogamous, companion-based, religious, and parenting marriages. All the types have their advantages and disadvantages.
Yoruba and Lakota Marriage Rituals This essay elucidates the marriage customs and rituals in the context of Yoruba and Lakota while examining the similarities and disparities of these cultures.
Why Marriage Should Be Based on Love and Not Arranged? The paper aims to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an arranged marriage and explain why based on love between the bride and groom is better.
Unforgiveness in Marriage and Families Unforgiveness is caused by broken trust, abuse and humiliation and may adversely affect an individual’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
Marriage and Family Relationships’ Role in Society In this paper, attention will be paid to such factors as social class, age, and other determinants of marriage in order to comprehend the worth of a family in society.
Marriage in “A Doll’s House” Play by Henrik Ibsen There are several prominent themes raised in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, including the discussion of feminism, freedom, happiness, and dignity.
Malay Marriage and Its Ceremonies The marriage is one of the brightest ceremonies that the Malayans celebrate and this paper will examine all aspects that precede this ceremony and are carried out during the latter.
The Concept and Aspects of Remarriage After divorce, some couples end up remarrying for a second or subsequent period. It has become a culture as many marriages may have one or both partners remarried.
Marriage and Romantic Relationships: US vs. Trinidad & Tobago This paper aims to discuss the courtship and marriage customs in the United States and compare them with those from Trinidad and Tobago.
Theme of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen is the most famous novel and it may be considered as a classic of English literature.
Declining Marriage Rates Outcomes The plummeting marriage rates have created the discernment that Americans do not regard marriage highly anymore.
Healthy Marriage and Family Relationships This essay examines the significance of scientifically based knowledge on marriages and family relationships with a view of establishing how good choices increase longevity.
Unhappy Marriages in the Movie ”Passing” One could argue that the bourgeois roots of both Irene and Clare determined their unhappy marriages in “Passing”.
Marriage and Inequalities With Gender The issue of bridging gender equality has been the center of debate in the 21 century. The role of women in society could no longer be underestimated.
Family, Marriage, and Gender in “Gone With the Wind” This essay focuses on the marriage issues presented in “Gone With the Wind” and examines the protagonist’s rebellion against the social standards imposed by society.
Finding and Choosing a Partner for Marriage An individual can know that he or she found a good or even outstanding partner if both of them are willing to change and adapt according to each other’s needs.
Unhappy Marriage in “The Story of an Hour” by K. Chopin The theme of the story that Choplin has highlighted is that women felt trapped in a marriage as they were required to serve as dutiful wives of an honorable man.
Marriage in “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver “Popular Mechanics” by Carver is a story full of realism that uses the social issue of marriage problems to argue that quarreling in the family can harm both parents and children.
Ethnocentrism: The Practice of Arranged Marriage Globalization is an inescapable and ever-expanding conceit, which seems to be considered synonymous with modern-day existence.
Gay Marriage Should not be Legal Due to media popularization of gay rights, opposition of gay rights to marriage is normally equated to intolerance.
What Are the Theological Underpinnings and Teachings on Marriage from the Christian Scriptures?
The Role of Faith in Marriage: How Shared Religious Beliefs Shape Communication, Values, and Decision-making in a Christian Marriage?
What Are the Traditional and Evolving Gender Roles of Spouses Within the Context of Christian Teachings?
The Significance of Marriage as a Sacrament within Various Christian Denominations.
What Are the Major Challenges in Mixed-Faith Marriages for Couples with Differing Christian Beliefs?
Communication and Conflict Resolution in Christian Marriages.
How Do Christian Values Influence Parenting Approaches and Family Dynamics within a Marriage?
The Concept of Mutual Submission and Servant Leadership in Christian Marriages.
The Connection Between Spiritual Intimacy and Physical Intimacy in a Christian Marital Relationship.
The Role of Christian Counseling in Addressing Marital Challenges and Fostering Growth.
The Importance of Premarital Counseling and Its Role in Establishing a Strong Christian Foundation for Marriage.
How Do Christian Values Drive Decisions Related to Adoption and Foster Care?
The Christian Approach to Addressing Infidelity and Forgiveness.
Explore the Challenges and Joys of Couples Engaged in Ministry Work Together.
How Do Christian Marriage Practices Vary Across Cultures and Regions?
The Concept of Marriage as a Sacred Covenant Rather Than a Mere Legal Contract.
How Do Theological Disagreements Within Christian Marriages Are Navigated and Resolved?
The Unique Blessings and Challenges of Growing Old as a Couple with Shared Christian Values.
What Are the Benefits of Attending Christian-Focused Marriage Enrichment Programs?
How Do Church Involvement and Fellowship Contribute to the Strength of Christian Marriages?
Marriage in Pride & Prejudice: Research Paper The paper provides several angles to look at the subject of marriage, deals with the institution of marriage as dealt with in the book by Jane Austen, The Pride and Prejudice.
Analysis of Social Institution of Marriage Marriage is a unique social institution that can be viewed as an agreement between partners needed to regulate social life.
Modern Arranged Marriages in Indian Community The culture of arranged marriage has transformed considerably over time. The practice of arranged marriages has formed a vital component of Indian culture since the fourth century.
Intercultural Communication: Interfaith Marriages Nowadays rapidly changing the world sets new opportunities and challenges in the field of intercultural communication. One of them is a growing number of interfaith marriages.
Same-Sex Marriage as a Moral Controversy Commonly same-sex marriages were considered to be immoral and were not supported by society. However, recently they became legal in some countries and several states of America.
Marriage and Divorce Rates Decline in Qatar This paper discusses the decline in the rate of marriages and divorces in Qatar in recent years, analyzes the reasons, explores the cultural and traditional attitudes.
Cohabitation vs. Traditional Marriage Cohabitation has taken an increasing trend in the young population and many people prefer it for compatibility before marriage.
The Social Construct of Marriage The modern world considers marriage as a social construct. The culture and the conventions of a country have a very prominent role in marriage.
Social Structure of Marriage in Western Society In modern-day and marriage is rapidly becoming less popular, although widely still perceived as an essential step in a successful life.
For and Against of Gay Marriage Same-sex marriages is a union that takes place between two people who belong to the same social gender or similar biological sex.
Marriage and the Rules in Place Around the Globe The two marital practices in the societies are polygamous and monogamous marriages. The paper aims to gather and compare the data on marital rules in countries around the world.
Same Sex Marriages in India Those involved in same sex marriages feel safe, a large percentage of the population in India still upholds the conservative culture and this is a source of risk.
Essential Qualities of Marriage Partners Successful marriages are characterized by friendship among partners, thereby constant care and love, mutual trust, and similar interests are the most important traits in a partner.
Contemporary Threats to Marriage and Family This paper examines contemporary threats to marriage and family, how government contributes to these problems, and its role in solving them
Albion’s Seed: Marriage and Cultural Folkways David Hackett Fisher’s book Albion’s Seed describes the folk customs of four groups of people who moved from different areas of Great Britain to the United States.
Discussion of Marriage and Divorce Impact Marriage can provide evidence economic benefits to both parties; divorce, on the other hand, can be costly, that’s why the paper examines the economics of marriage and divorce.
Marriage Oppression and Freedom Signs The 19th century is characterized by women discrimination in society, whereby the role of women is to offer basic services at home.
Moral Relativism and the Same-Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage has evoked numerous debates in political, religious, legal, and some other dimensions. Various cultures tend to accept marriage in different ways.
Saudi Arabia: Marriage and Family Formation In Saudi Arabia, marriage is a very important step in everyone’s life because the foundation of their culture is drawn from the Islamic religion.
Child Marriage Issue in Afghanistan This essay is a summary of the connection between a child rights group and its link with child marriage, and an analysis of other forms of child abuse.
The Relevance of Child Marriage and Its Impact on Fertility The main reasons for early marriages are excessive parental care and poor relationships between parents. This leads girls to the desire to leave the parental family.
Aspects of Effective Communication in Marriage Effective communication in marriage is crucial for any successful marriage, it helps in problem-solving and expression of views as well as ideas; which results in acceptance
Remarriage in Religious Studies The most scared institution of the human life is marriage. By marrying each other a man and a woman become one and enter the family life.
Two-Lives, One Partner: Indo-Canadian Youth Between Love and Arranged Marriages Netting expands knowledge about the marriage patterns and choices of Indo-Canadian youth: the ways they balance between the possibilities of “love marriage” and “arranged marriage”.
The Role of Scientifically Based Knowledge on Marriage and Family Relationships This essay examines the significance of scientifically based knowledge on marriages and family relationships with a view of establishing how good choices increase longevity.
Remarriage and Step Families: Myths and Challenges This paper discusses remarriage and step families: categories of remarried couples, demographics of remarriage, challenges, and myths of remarriage, and qualities of remarriage.
Theology of Family Life, Marriage and Parenting Religious marriage is possible when a ceremony is conducted (simultaneously or separately, depending on religion) with the couple being wed in the eyes of God.
Mallards Couple’s Marriage in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” The work examines the marriage of Mallards, the couple from the piece of literature entitled “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin.
Themes of Social Rituals, Marriage Customs in “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe managed to create a great tragedy of tribe living disclosed through personal tragedy of one character who was unable to overcome his passion for family, culture and work.
Marriage as a Topic in Cultural Anthropology This paper presents the picture of marriage in different cultures. It shows the specific traits that cultural anthropology entails and how they can be identified.
Cohabiting Before Marriage: The Negative Effects Cohabitation among couples has become popular in the past fifty years. The author explains how cohabitation can cause many problems and create unhappiness in relationships.
The Cultural and Psychological Aspects of Marriage Recognizing the cultural and psychological aspects of marriage and the shifts these aspects are currently experiencing is also important.
Polygamy and Polyamory: Debate the Ethical, Legal, and Cultural Aspects of Multiple Partner Marriages.
What Are the Complexities of Arranged Marriages in Different Cultural Contexts?
The Major Challenges and Consequences of Open Marriages.
What Is the Appropriate Age for Marriage and How Does It Impact Individuals and Society?
Evaluate Same-Sex Marriage Rights and the Ongoing Debates around LGBTQ+ Rights.
What Are the Major Challenges and Benefits of Marriages Between Individuals of Different Religious Beliefs?
What Are the Societal Perceptions and Challenges Faced by Couples from Different Racial Backgrounds?
The Implications of Prenuptial Agreements on Trust and Commitment.
The Impact of Income Disparities and Financial Contributions on Marital Dynamics.
The Ethical Concerns and Legal Implications of Child Marriages in Various Cultures.
The Complexities Faced by Transgender Individuals in Marriage Contexts.
Temporary Marriages (Nikah Mut’ah): The Practice of Temporary Marriages in Certain Islamic Traditions.
What Are the Legal and Ethical Aspects of Recognizing and Addressing Marital Rape?
The Ethical Implications of International Marriages Arranged Through Agencies.
The Pros and Cons of Cohabitation Versus Formal Marriage Arrangements.
The Challenges and Benefits When One Partner Converts to Their Spouse’s Religion.
What Is the Impact of Infertility on Marital Relationships and the Pursuit of Parenthood?
What Are the Challenges Faced by Couples When One Partner Has a Disability?
How Do Mental Health Issues Impact Marital Dynamics and Support?
The Reasons for and Consequences of High Divorce Rates in Modern Society.
Children Before Marriage: Contradictions in Society Sociology discloses a great majority of myths connected with the power of marriage given to children and their parents.
Cohabitation and Its Advantages Over Marriage In recent years, cohabitation has rose significantly in the US as more couples choose to live together outside the institution of marriage.
Marriage Equality and Its Constitutionality This paper addresses the constitutionality of marriage fairness in the United States by first tracing the evolution of same-gender marriage as a fundamental human right.
Interracial Marriages: Racial Literacy Components and Border Patrolling Interracial marriages have become an evident positive phenomenon of the present-day United States, but there are still those who share obsolete views and object to them.
Marriage and Family Counseling The woman in the discussed situation decided to preserve her autonomy, and in case the marriage is truly frustrating for her, then she has the right to act so.
Love and Marriage in “The Philadelphia Story” Film This essay bases on the film ‘The Philadelphia Story’ and explains the historical significance of the issue of love and marriage in American society in the 1940s.
“Same-Sex Marriage in Canada” by Jay Makarenko “Same-Sex Marriage in Canada” focused on the analysis of historical and legal processes that culminated in the legalization of same-sex marriages in the country.
Marriage in Experience of Men and Women The family life crisis is a highly challenging time for two individuals when they realize things are not going as planned, given their attitudes.
“Soul, Self, and Society”: Marriage, Family, and Kinship The fifth chapter of the book “Soul, Self, and Society,” is devoted to the discussion of marriage, kin, and family and their various forms across the world.
The Same-Sex Marriage Counterargument This work analyzes the current problems of the LGBT community associated with the family unit and provides a counterargument to the legalization of same-sex marriage.
“Contra Same-Sex Marriage” by by Jeff Jordan Jeff Jordan begins by asserting that having an opposing opinion to same-sex marriage is not necessarily anti-gay.
Personal Issues: Marriage, Obesity, and Alcohol Abuse The actions of every person have a particular impact on society and its development, and this impact is sometimes underestimated.
The Addictions That Have Effects on Marriage The addictions that have effects on marriage can be classified into two groups: substance addiction and process addiction.
Marriage According to Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen This focus of this paper is a critical evaluation of the way the characters of Chaucer and Jane Austen looked at life and marriage.
Discriminatory Traditions Regarding Marriage in Egypt In Egypt, the situation remains complex as its population adheres to old, inhumane, and discriminative traditions regarding the marriage and partners` rights in it.
The Same-Sex Marriages: Social Aspects LGBTQ couples not only have a chance of getting married normally, but also attending worship centers like typical people.
Same-Sex Marriages in the United States Same-sex marriage is one of the most controversial topics in the U.S. Many people consider such marriages a fundamental right of humans, while others find them inappropriate.
Society in the Medieval Ages: Women, Marriage, and Sexuality The most surprising fact about the Medieval Ages when it comes to women’s position in society is relative inconsistency.
Marriage and Divorce in the Modern World Marriage is a social institution and it defines parenthood. Families are often affected by divorce both ideologically and financially.
The Job of a Marriage and Family Therapist The job of a marriage and family therapist presupposes consulting people who are in close relationships or partners who are thinking about parting.
Change in Marriage: The Family Therapy Treatment planning process is continuous reassessment of the current state of the clients’ marriage with the purpose of ascertaining specific changes that is needed in behavior.
Authentic Sexuality in the Marriage Authentic sexuality is hard to define in a sexually oversaturated, postmodern, and increasingly heterogeneous society.
Same-Sex Marriage: Issues and Debates The paper discusses the problems and debates surrounding same-sex marriage in the US, including legal and ethical issues, history, and arguments from proponents and opponents.
The Problem of Same-Sex Marriage Marriage gender equity supporters claim that providing same-sex couples marriage privileges ensures equal legal status and opens the door to a slew of governmental opportunities.
Same-Gender Families and Marriage Law This essay will interrogate the laws that control marriage and their application to the union of same-gender marriages.
Homogamous Marriage as Societal Change Social standards and institutions, especially regarding love and marriage, are fundamental for any society. People are likely to keep to tradition for a long time.
Legalization of Same-Sex Marriages in the US Same-sex marriages should not have been legalized because it is one way of advocating for immorality and disrespect to human dignity from a creation point of view.
Marriage Issues and Divorce Rates in America One needs to look at the modern institution of marriage in America in order to explain the problem of divorce in the current social situation.
View on Marriage as Observed in Ephesians 5 Remarkably, the culture would be great if Ephesians 5 was truly understood by all married couples and would positively affect other aspects of life.
Gay Marriage Redefines the True Meaning of Family This literature review aims to illustrate how the legalization of gay marriage helped redefine the meaning of family and argues that it transformed the social role of the unit.
Why Same-Sex Marriages Are Ok for All Countries? When discrimination becomes widespread in society, everyone suffers from it. In that way, same-sex marriages should be legalized in all countries that strive for development.
Changes in Perception on Same-Sex Marriage and LGBTQ+ People The paper states that acceptance of the LGBT community and marriage between people of the same sex is gradually beginning to appear in modern society.
Historical Context and Implications of Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage.
Same-Sex Marriage and Civil Rights Movements.
Causes and Effects of Shifts in Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage.
Religious Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage: Diverse Views and Debates.
The Economic Impact of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization.
Challenges and Benefits of Same-Sex Marriage for Mental Health.
Parenting in Same-Sex Marriages: Effects on Children’s Well-Being.
Legal Challenges and Obstacles to Same-Sex Marriage Worldwide.
Cultural Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage in Different Regions.
Legal Protections for Same-Sex Couples: Beyond Marriage.
Progress and Remaining Hurdles of Same-Sex Marriage in Terms of Social Equality.
Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals in Same-Sex Marriages.
Legal and Ethical Implications of Same-Sex Marriage for Adoption.
Impact of Same-Sex Marriage on Traditional Marriage Norms
Healthcare Access and Same-Sex Marriages: Policy and Barriers.
Intersectionality and Same-Sex Marriages: Race, Gender, and Identity.
Unique Challenges and Legal Considerations of Same-Sex Divorce.
Comparative Analysis of Same-Sex Marriage Laws in Different Countries.
Same-Sex Marriage and Workplace Discrimination.
LGBTQ+ Activism and Its Role in Promoting Same-Sex Marriage.
Religious Exemptions and Same-Sex Marriage Legislation.
Impact of Same-Sex Marriage on Mental Health Stigma.
Media Representation of Same-Sex Marriage and LGBTQ+ Individuals.
Same-Sex Marriage and the Role of Social Media in Advocacy.
Same-Sex Marriage and Elderly LGBTQ+ Individuals.
Same-Sex Marriage and Tourism: Economic and Cultural Impacts.
The Role of Courts in Advancing Same-Sex Marriage Rights.
Ethical Dilemmas and Same-Sex Marriage: Balancing Rights and Values.
Marriage in “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman The institute of marriage is one of the core pillars of social structure, and a family unit is anchored on marriage.
John Gottman: What Makes Marriages Work In his research on love and relationships in couples, John Gottman and his team utilized diverse types of data.
Marriage and Family Therapist License Obtaining To be licensed as a licensed marriage and family therapist, there are various requirements that one has to meet, and they will be discussed in this paper.
Same-sex Marriages in the United States This essay discusses why these old-fashioned views must be disregarded since society has embraced equal rights, including gay marriages.
Marriage and Family Therapy and Pharmacological Treatment The notion of marriage and family counseling presupposes a sophisticated process during which professionals are to adopt an integrative approach to the therapy.
Trappings of Marriage in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a social commentary on marriage and how horrible it could be for women and men at the end of the eighteenth century.
Trajectories of Change in Criminal Offending: Good Marriages and the Desistance Process The researchers closely relate age factors to criminal habits. The main challenge of their research study is that they do not accord appropriate attention to the issue of change.
Marriages and Reduction of the Number of Divorces Marriage is like many other traditions, it varies changes over time. Among the trends recently noted in the U.S., some inspire hope, and others cause concern.
The Gay Marriage: Legal Arguments For and Against The Constitution not only legitimizes gay marriage but implies that the government should never have considered a ban and should instead actively pursue legalizing gay marriage.
Same-Sex Marriage Movement in the United States This research paper discusses supporting and opposing views regarding same-sex marriages in the United States and provides evidence from existing studies on both matrimonies.
“Is Gender Equality the Silent Killer of Marriages?” Article Analysis The article “Is Equality Ruining Your Marriage?” by Suzanne Venker explores the adverse effects of integrating egalitarian concepts in the marriage context.
Should Gay Marriage Rights Be a State or Federal Law? If the issue of same-sex marriage is left to the states, some of them would probably recognize it, while others would not.
Marriage Problems: Non-reciprocal Love Marriage and laborious job: if suddenly it seems that love is gone, a divorce should not be the first conclusion, it is better to start working on oneself and the relationship.
Gay Marriage: Support of the Legalization Gay marriage remains a controversial topic of public debate and discussion that is often rooted in religious beliefs and various definitions of marriage.
What Is Marriage? Being one of the most ancient social formations, the notion of marriage has attracted the attention of many thinkers and researchers throughout human history.
Same-Sex Marriages: a Question of Legality or Morality The existence of same-sex relationships and the eventual legalization of such marriages have been controversial in different societies around the world.
Evidence Based Practice and Marriage and Family Therapy It is obvious that introduction of managed care climate would be beneficial for the evidence based practice implementation, as it would promote its usage.
Marriage & Family: Cultural Background Effects It is quite predictable that the family’s traditions and ideas of orientation, as well as cultural background, largely affect a person’s worldviews.
Same-Sex Marriage: Definitions and History Every human has a right to marry as well as a right to vote, it is stated in each constitution, there should be no differentiation between a traditional and non-traditional family.
Marriage and Divorce: Poverty Among Divorced Women This paper aims at looking into the possible connection between divorce and poverty among women given that many women are employed and are financially independent.
Same Sex Marriage Question Overview Basically, society seems to focus on the question as to whether it is morally acceptable to engage in sexual relationships with people of the same sex.
Polygamous Marriage in TV Series “Big Love” Season 1 The theme of polygamous marriage is the central motive of the “Big Love” series. The theme of the research may be defined as the nature and hardships of polygamous marriage.
A Marriage Built on Christian Love In this essay, the author discusses how love should actually be understood according to Christian beliefs, and what is a factor in a strong marriage.
Gay and Poverty Marriage The institution of family and the issues of marriage play a crucial role in society today. Marriage status determines relations between spouses and their relations with the state.
The Issue of the Gay-Marriage Movement in the United States Gay people should have the right to marry because constitution is aimed to protect social and sexual rights of all people and all citizens of the USA.
Gay Marriages in the Media: Different Opinions About the Question Gay marriages are rather common affairs in modern world. Many countries began to think about legalization of same-sex marriages.
An Attempt to Reform the Institution of Marriage in California This paper seeks to identify the arguments for and against proposition 8 for the Californian Constitution and thus identify the government’s position and what it means.
Marriage Integrity: Literature Study This admittedly brief survey of the literature on marriage and divorce in America today finds uncommon agreement that divorce impacts children in a variety of damaging ways.
Same-Sex Marriage Legality: Discussion Same sex marriage is a controversial practice in any society. The called more advanced societies are now recognizing it as a social need to appease the increasingly demanding people.
Interracial Relationships and Marriage in the USA Interracial relationships and marriage remains one of the most highly debated topics in American society today
Gay Marriages Legalization: Arguments Against Proponents of same-sex marriages argue that legalization would grant same-sex marriages equal rights and benefits with heterosexual marriages.
Is the Institution of Marriage at Risk? The main factors comprise the categories of family, home, and cultural along with traditional background, so that to evaluate the main framework of the paper on the whole.
Same-Sex Marriage: Marriage Laws Features In the United States, married couples receive many legal benefits that couples who live together but are unmarried do not.
Controversy on Gay Marriage in the U.S. The paper explores the question of the legalization of gay marriage and provides arguments on the positive sides of that for American society.
Gay Marriages Legality Discussion Gay marriage is a union that is characterized by the joining together between spouses of similar sex and which is acknowledged legally like the vows of a conventional marriage.
Child Marriage in the Middle East Countries Child marriage is a significant concern in some parts of the world, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. It is defined as the marriage of a child under the age of 18.
Issues of Interracial Marriages in the United States Unions between members of different races tend to suffer from judgment-related issues when interacting with other members of the community.
Marriage Satisfaction and Its Factors In this paper, factors that go into relationship and marriage satisfaction will be explored in order to understand their effects better.
Same-Sex Marriages and Their Benefits for Society Same-sex marriage refers to the coming together of two people of analogous sexual orientations through a religious or a civil ritual.
Same-Sex Marriages and Human Rights Many people acknowledge that same-sex marriage is something that should be analyzed using this law. This discussion gives my personal perspective of this issue.
Same-Sex Marriages and Their Moral Basis Statistical findings depict a substantial increase in the number of American adults who support the idea of same-sex marriage.
Civil Rights: Same-Sex Marriage in Texas Using the case of Texas, this paper identifies different cartoons published within the past two years to discuss the predicaments associated with the given civil rights concern.
Christian Counseling for Marriage and Family This paper discusses Christian counseling for marriage and family described in “Love and Respect” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.
Talking Traditions of Marriage In “Talking traditions of marriage – negotiating young British Bangladeshi femininities”, Pichler uses a variety of techniques that are traditionally considered ‘masculine’ in order to get her point across.
Can Marriage End Poverty? Marriages to some degree alleviate poverty, but not all marriages can do so. Only marriages build on sound principles can achieve such a feat.
Marriage in Family Life and Government Policies Marriage is essential in every family. People get into the lifelong covenant of marriage for spiritual protection, joy, security, and meaning to the people involved.
The Future of Same-Sex Marriages This paper supports the argument that marriage of homosexual couples should be allowed. The tenet of this position is based on basic human rights, the religious freedom and personal conscious.
Marriage Equality: LGBT Couples’ Constitutional Issues This essay explores the constitutional issue of marriage equality for married same-sex partners that still face discrimination, as shows the example of the case of Pavan v. Smith.
Marriage in Bradstreet’s, Dooley’s, Larkin’s Works This paper discusses marriage life in Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, Dooley’s “Post-Its (Notes on a Marriage)”, and Holzman and Larkin’s “Talking in Bed”.
Puritan Marriages in Bradstreet’s Poetry This paper discusses what Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband” tells us about the nature of Puritan marriages.
Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi’i Iran The author aimed to explain how “contractual” or temporary marriage provided the Muslim community with an efficient and practical solution for fulfilling their basic human needs.
Same Sex Marriages in Australia Same sex marriages and relationships have become common in modern societies due to the expansive democratic space offered by constitutions.
Love, Sex, and Marriage in Ancient and Middle Ages The attitude to love, sex, and marriage has changed in the course of our history. Numerous societies created their own approaches to these questions.
Why Same-Sex Marriage Should Be a Norm? With the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States the public has divided the views on this point into two opposite frameworks.
Same-Sex Marriage: US Laws and Attitudes Tradition alone cannot serve as a justification to refuse someone their right to marry, thus discriminating against them based on their sexual orientation.
Sociology Family Matters: Happy and Successful Marriage To be successful in marriage, couples need to spend time before entering into the relationship to ensure that minimal discrepancies exist in terms of mutual interests.
Sidesteps Broad Gay Marriage Ruling The article, “Sidesteps Broad Gay Marriage Ruling,” by Peralta Eyder, explores the controversial 2013 ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by the US Supreme Court.
Marriage Contract’ Legal Provisions The contract cannot cover each of aspect of family life. Much attention should be paid to such issues as emotional closeness, openness, or empathy.
Gender Studies: Same-Sex Marriage Same sex marriage is a moral issue that has raised controversies in many parts of the world. It is popularity referred to as homosexuality.
Debate Surrounding Same-Sex Marriage Eight states have legalized same-sex marriages in USA.These states argue that gays and lesbians, as the citizens of the United States, should enjoy the civil benefits of marriage.
Supreme Court Justice: Homosexual Marriages The question of homosexual relations and untraditional marriages remains to be open for a long period of time. It is hard to make all people choose the same position and stick to it all the time.
Relationships: Different Views on Gay Marriage Gay marriage is a topical issue caused by different perceptions and understanding of human nature and interpersonal relations. The approaches towards gay marriage are liberal and conservative.
Should Same-Sex Marriages be Legalized? The supporters and opponents of the idea to legalize same-sex marriages defend their positions acting as social organizations and at the Senate.
Marriage or Cohabitation: Benefits and Drawbacks The paper compares marriage and cohabitation relationship. Both relationships have the potential to become lifetime partnerships, each has its own drawbacks and benefits.
Gender Studies: Same Sex Marriages The nature of same-sex marriages cannot be considered in the same light as traditional marriage institutions. Same-sex marriages can only be compared to polygamy and polyandry.
Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized?
What Are the Three Important Things in a Marriage?
Does Age Difference Matter in a Relationship or Marriage?
Does Marriage and Love Come Hand in Hand?
Does Marriage Reduce Crime?
What Are Common Problems in Marriage?
What Are the Signs of a Troubled Marriage?
What Is the Number One Problem in Marriage?
How Does Jane Austen Present Love and Marriage in “Pride and Prejudice”?
How Does Same-Sex Marriage Affects Decreasing Population Growth?
What Causes the Most Problems in Marriage?
How Does Shakespeare Present the Theme of Love and Marriage in “Much Ado About Nothing”?
How Far Would You Agree That Marriage Is Based on Social Class?
What Is the Hardest Stage of Marriage?
What Are Red Flags in a Marriage?
How Marriage Has Changed Over the Last 30 Years?
When to Call It Quits in a Marriage?
Is Marriage Still Important in Society?
What Are the Three Most Common Sources of Conflict in a Marriage?
At What Year Do Most Marriages Fail?
Should Cohabitation Before Marriage Be Encouraged?
Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage?
What Are the Five Problems of Marriage?
What Part Does the Theme of Marriage Play in “Mrs. Dalloway”?
Why Cohabitation Before Marriage Is Beneficial?
What Causes Stress in Marriage?
What Are Signs Your Marriage Is in Trouble?
What Is an Unhealthy Marriage?
What Is the Most Stressful Time for a Marriage?
Is It Better to Divorce or to Stay In Unhappily Marriage?

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StudyCorgi . "261 Marriage Essay Topics." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/marriage-essay-topics/.

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These essay examples and topics on Marriage were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

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118 Marriage Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Marriage is one of the oldest institutions in human history, with its roots dating back thousands of years. It is a sacred bond between two individuals, a union that is meant to last a lifetime. With such a rich history, it's no wonder that marriage has been a popular topic for essays and discussions.

If you're looking for inspiration for your next marriage essay, look no further. Below are 118 marriage essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started:

The role of marriage in society
The evolution of marriage throughout history
The benefits of marriage for individuals and society
The challenges of modern marriage
The impact of technology on marriage
The role of gender in marriage
The changing definition of marriage
The legal implications of marriage
The cultural significance of marriage
The economics of marriage
The psychology of marriage
The impact of marriage on mental health
The role of religion in marriage
The effects of marriage on children
The importance of communication in marriage
The significance of trust in marriage
The role of intimacy in marriage
The impact of infidelity on marriage
The benefits of premarital counseling
The challenges of maintaining a healthy marriage
The impact of marriage on personal identity
The role of conflict resolution in marriage
The benefits of marriage for mental health
The impact of marriage on physical health
The role of commitment in marriage
The impact of divorce on individuals and society
The benefits of marriage for financial stability
The impact of marriage on career development
The role of social media in marriage
The impact of cultural differences on marriage
The benefits of arranged marriages
The impact of age on marriage
The role of family in marriage
The impact of marriage on social status
The benefits of marriage for emotional well-being
The challenges of long-distance marriage
The impact of marriage on personal growth
The role of forgiveness in marriage
The benefits of marriage for personal development
The impact of marriage on self-esteem
The role of love in marriage
The impact of marriage on happiness
The benefits of marriage for physical health
The role of compromise in marriage
The impact of marriage on parenting
The benefits of marriage for children
The impact of marriage on career satisfaction
The role of equality in marriage
The benefits of marriage for social connections
The impact of marriage on community involvement
The role of respect in marriage
The benefits of marriage for emotional intimacy
The impact of marriage on personal fulfillment
The challenges of maintaining a work-life balance in marriage
The impact of marriage on personal values
The benefits of marriage for personal growth
The impact of marriage on personal goals
The challenges of balancing individuality and partnership in marriage
The impact of marriage on self-awareness
The role of communication in marriage
The impact of marriage on spiritual growth
The challenges of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in marriage
The impact of marriage on social connections
The role of trust in marriage
The impact of marriage on emotional well-being
The challenges of balancing work and family in marriage
The role of emotional intelligence in marriage
The challenges of balancing independence and partnership in marriage
The role of empathy in marriage

Whether you're writing a research paper, a personal essay, or a persuasive argument, these marriage essay topic ideas and examples are sure to spark your creativity and inspire a thoughtful discussion. Marriage is a complex and multifaceted institution, and there are countless angles from which to explore it. So grab your pen and paper, or fire up your laptop, and start exploring the fascinating world of marriage through the lens of these thought-provoking topics.

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Topic: Marriage and Family: Suggested Topics

Finding Articles in Library Databases
Citing Sources
Suggested Topics

Narrowing Your Topic

Before you can start your research, you must focus on one aspect of the larger topic of marriage and family. Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want to know about marriage?
What do I want to know about family?
What is an argument that I'd like to present to my professor and class?

Here are some suggestions for narrowing this broad topic:

Do couples marry for love, to procreate, or for another reason?
What is the history of arranged marriages or what are the current practices of arranged marriages?
Do prenuptial agreements work?
What effects does divorce have on the couple, their children, etc.?
Should same-sex couples be allowed the same marital rights as heterosexual couples?
How does the new trend of "cohabiting" change the institution of marriage?
Do women in abusive relationships stay married to the abuser?
Should mothers work outside the home or care for their children?
How have family values evolved throughout history?
What are the issues involved with single parents?
Should same-sex couples be allowed to adopt children?
What is the place of the elderly within the family? Should they live with their families or reside in an assisted living facility?
How does child abuse affect those children psychologically? What happens to children if they see their mothers or fathers being abused?
How are household chores handled by males vs females?

Family Topics

Family / Families / Family life Parenting Children Mothers Fathers Siblings Grandparents Birth order Family values Single parenting Stepfamilies / Stepparents Teen parents Same-sex parenting Parenting styles Parenting stress Elderly Aging Retirement Multigenerational families Family violence Child abuse Children with disabilities Working parents Stay-at-home parents Child care Adoption Household labor and chores Family planning Infertility Childlessness Maternity / paternity / parental leave Child development and stages: Infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, middle childhood, adolescence Family rituals Family roles Family values Religion Discipline Military families

Marriage & Relationship Topics

Marriage Military marriages Divorce Custody Remarriage Stepfamilies Same-sex marriage Adoption Arranged marriages Cohabitation Household chores / tasks Work / Careers Prenuptial agreements Widowhood Gender roles Love Dating Relationships Infidelity Communication Dating or Domestic violence Marriage customs around the world and in specific cultures

<< Previous: Citing Sources
Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024 5:13 PM
URL: https://libguides.northampton.edu/MarriageAndFamily

Articles on Marriage research

Displaying all articles.

Most couples still make decisions together when they give money to charity – but it’s becoming less common

Jacqueline Ackerman , IUPUI and Jon Bergdoll , IUPUI

A 4-step maintenance plan to help keep your relationship going strong

Gary W. Lewandowski Jr. , Monmouth University

Your relationship may be better than you think – find the knot

How your genes could affect the quality of your marriage

Richard Mattson , Binghamton University, State University of New York

As the Royal Wedding approaches, what can one of the world’s greatest novels teach us about marriage?

Richard Gunderman , Indiana University

Why you should date your best friend

Relationship advice from the government doesn’t help low-income couples – here’s what might

Justin Lavner , University of Georgia ; Benjamin Karney , University of California, Los Angeles , and Thomas Bradbury , University of California, Los Angeles

Why are fewer people getting married?

Jay L. Zagorsky , The Ohio State University

Have children? Here’s how kids ruin your romantic relationship

Matthew D. Johnson , Binghamton University, State University of New York

Dual-earner couples share the housework equally – until the first baby comes

Claire Kamp Dush , The Ohio State University

Youthful vows: what it means to marry young

Christina Gibson-Davis , Duke University

Town and gown relationships are like a marriage

Stephen M Gavazzi , The Ohio State University

Top contributors

Professor of Psychology, Monmouth University

Professor, Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University

Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston University

Associate Professor of Sociology, Duke University

Associate Professor of Human Sciences and Sociology, The Ohio State University

Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Georgia

Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

Professor of Social Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

Associate Professor & Director of Graduate Studies in Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Associated Director of Data Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

Associate Director of Research, Women's Philanthropy Institute, Indiana University

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Marriage Research Paper

This sample marriage research paper features: 8600 words (approx. 28 pages), an outline, and a bibliography with 41 sources. Browse other research paper examples for more inspiration. If you need a thorough research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Introduction

Choice of marriage partner, courtship patterns and mate selection, restrictions on marriage: the incest taboo, the act of marriage, love and marriage, economic aspects of marriage, sexuality and marriage, forms of marriage, universality of marriage, family structure and types of households, changes in marriage and the family.

Bibliography

Marriage and families are found in all societies; however, marriage and family customs vary significantly across cultures. Cultures differ with regard to what is considered appropriate premarital behavior, whom one marries, how one marries, a proper marriage ceremony, and length and purpose of the marriage. From an anthropological perspective, there are various marriage systems or “marriagelike” relationships that fulfill both biological and social functions. Regarding families, all societies have parent-child social groups but the size and form of the family varies. Although marriage remains customary across societies, it does not necessarily constitute the basis for family life.

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Marriage is found in virtually all societies, and the majority (some 90%) of people in every society get married at least once in their lifetime (Carroll & Wolpe, 1996; Ember, Ember, & Peregrine, 2006). Cultures vary with regard to what is considered appropriate premarital behavior, whom one marries, how one marries, a proper marriage ceremony, and length and purpose of the marriage. Each culture also defines marriage differently although there are some common criteria across many societies. Marriage is typically defined simply as a “socially approved sexual and economic union, usually between a woman and a man” (Ember et al., 2006, p. 343), which is generally denoted symbolically in some way (e.g., ceremony, certificate, symbols—rings). Normally, there are reciprocal rights and obligations between the two spouses and their future children. Viewing marriage as a social process where new relationships are set up between the kin of both the husband and the wife essentially describes all forms of marriage. With this, marriage maintains social patterns through the production of offspring.

Traditionally, marriage was defined as a union between a man and a woman with children born to the woman being recognized as legitimate offspring to both parents (Royal Anthropological Institute, 1951). Marriage was thought to change the status of a man and a woman, stipulate the degree of sexual access for the married partners, establish the legitimacy of the children born to the wife, and create relationships between the kin of both the wife and husband. Anthropologists have since noted the exceptions to this standard definition and have expanded it to reflect broader practices. As such, Miller (2008) offers a working definition of marriage given the complexity of practices that fall under the umbrella of marriage— “a more or less stable union, usually between two people, who may be, but are not necessarily, co-residential, sexually involved with each other, and procreative with each other” (p. 140).

British anthropologist Edmund Leach (1955) observed that marriage may accomplish the following depending on the society. Leach described these rights of marriage as possibilities for either or both spouses:

Establish legal father and mother of children
Provide control over sexuality of spouse
Give rights to labor of spouse
Give rights over spouse’s property
Create a joint fund of property (for children)
Begin a socially significant affinal relationship between spouses and their relatives

In some cultures, there are other reasons for marriage. For instance, the Hindu religion considers marriage sacred and representative of the marriage between the sun goddess Surya and the moon god Soma. Without a wife, a man is considered spiritually incomplete (Kumari, 1988). Representing the two interacting principles of Yin (female, passive, weak) and Yang (male, active, strong), long-term relationships in China are thought to be a spiritual necessity that ensures survival. Still others may marry to gain higher status (Sonko, 1994).

From the ethnographic literature, we know that one group of people did not have marriage as it has been typically defined. During the 19th century, a caste group in southern India called the Nayar appear to have treated sexual and economic relations between men and women as separate from marriage. At puberty, Nayar girls took ritual husbands but after the ceremony, the husband had no responsibility for his wife and typically never saw her again. The girl lived in a large household with extended family and was visited by other men through the years. If she became pregnant by any of them, the man was not responsible for supporting her or the child except for paying for a midwife. The female’s relatives remained responsible for supporting her. Thought to be a response to extended male absence during military service, Nayar unions seemed to fulfill the needs of this particular caste group within a historical and cultural period. Today, the Nayar men are not involved in soldiering to the extent they once were, and stable marital relationships have become the norm (Ember et al., 2006).

Across societies, many people live in long-term, common-law domestic partnerships that are not legally sanctioned. Some people have civil marriages which are licensed and legalized by a justice of the peace while others go through religious marriage ceremonies so they are united from a religious perspective but not a legal one (Kottak, 2008).

Every society has directives and ideological notions about whom one should marry ranging from arranged marriages to exogamous individual choice of partner. Sometimes these directives are informal and implicit, and other times they are formal and explicit. Marriage is one of the primary ways to establish relationships of affinity in contrast to consanguine relationships, which are from bloodlines.

Exogamy and Endogamy

Exogamy, the practice of seeking a husband or wife outside of one’s own defined social group, has adaptive value because it links people into a wider social network that can nurture, provide for, and protect during times of need (Kottak, 2008). For example, the Hindus of northern India practice village exogamy in order to ensure that spouses live in a far-away village or town. In addition, exogamy ensures genetic diversity between groups and maintains a successful human species.

In contrast, endogamy is the practice of marriage within a particular group so that the spouse comes from a specific social category. Sometimes endogamy is based on geographic location. For instance, village endogamy is favored in the eastern Mediterranean among both Christians and Muslims, and among Muslims throughout India and among Hindus in southern India. In other cultures, endogamy occurs to maintain a strong kinship network. Some religious and ethnic groups prefer endogamy in order that groups remain intact. An extreme example of endogamy is India’s caste system, which, although abolished in 1949, still remains in terms of structure and ideology. Royal endogamy, usually royal brother-sister marriage in a few societies, is similar to caste endogamy whereby certain sacred, political, and economic functions can be maintained. Inca Peru, ancient Egypt, and traditional Hawaii allowed royal brothersister marriages. Other kingdoms, including European royalty, have practiced endogamy through cousin marriage rather than brother-sister marriage (Kottak, 2008).

Hypergyny, Hypogyny, and Isogamy

Status also plays an important role in the selection of a spouse across cultures. Hypergyny, or “marrying up,” indicates a marriage where the bride has a lower status than the groom. Hypergyny is commonplace in northern India especially among upper-status groups and in middle- and upper-class individuals in the United States. The opposite of hypergyny is hypogyny, or “marrying down,” in which a bride has a higher status than the groom. Hypogyny is relatively rare cross-culturally. Isogamy is marriage between partners who are status equals and occurs in cultures where gender roles are viewed as holding equal value (Miller, 2008).

Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriages are marriages that are “arranged” by parents of the bride and groom based on whether they believe the families are good matches. Arranged marriages are well-known in many Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries. The most important criteria that parents consider are the family’s reputation, social status, education, occupation and income of the spouse, and the absence of undesirable family traits like mental illness or divorce (Miller, 2008).

Cousin Marriages

An example of kin endogamy is cousin marriages, which has two forms: parallel cousins and cross-cousins. The marriage between parallel cousins is comprised of the children of either one’s father’s brother or one’s mother’s sister (linking siblings are the same gender). The marriage between cross-cousins includes children of either one’s father’s sister or one’s mother’s brother (linking siblings are of different genders). Parallel-cousin marriage is practiced by many Muslim groups in the Middle East and northern Africa, especially patrilateral parallel-cousin marriage, which is cousin marriage into the father’s line (Miller, 2008). Matrilateral cross-cousin marriage (cousin marriage into the mother’s line) is favored by Hindus of southern India but only includes about a fourth of the population (Ramesh, Srikumari, & Sukumar, 1989).

Levirate and Sororate

Still common as a form of second marriage, cultural norms in many societies require individuals to marry the spouse of deceased relatives so that alliances between descent groups can be maintained. Levirate is the custom of a man marrying his brother’s widow. Sororate describes when a woman marries her deceased sister’s husband. In some societies, this practice is permitted but not required and widows make other arrangements (Potash, 1986).

There is a plethora of research about what attracts people to potential mates. Proximity has long been linked to attraction, and physical attractiveness seems to be a key ingredient in romantic relationships especially for males. Several hypotheses have been proposed about what attracts someone to a partner for a romantic relationship. The matching hypothesis proposes that people with equal physical characteristics select each other as partners (Brehm, 1985). The similarity hypothesis proposes that people with similar demographics of age, race, religion, social class, education, intelligence, attitudes, and physical attractiveness tend to form intimate relationships (Brehm, 1985). Another approach is the reciprocity hypothesis, suggesting that people like others who are unlike them (Byrne & Murnen, 1988).

How and why individuals are attracted to each other varies significantly across cultures. Despite some of the differences, there are cross-cultural similarities with regard to mate selection. In a well-known study conducted by evolutionary psychologist David Buss (1989, 1994), more than 10,000 respondents across 37 different cultures responded to questions about factors in choosing mates. In 36 out of 37 cultures, females, as compared with males, rated financial prospects as more important, and in 29 of the 36 cultures, they rated ambition and industriousness as more important. In all 37 cultures, females preferred older mates and males preferred younger mates. In 34 of the cultures, males rated good looks as more important than did females, and in 23 of the cultures, males rated chastity as more important than females. Buss concluded that his findings represented and supported an evolutionary framework of universal mate selection across cultures whereby females look for cues in potential male mates that signal resource acquisition and males place more value on reproductive capacity.

Others have emphasized the cultural differences in Buss’s study. As compared with more advanced or modern cultures, traditional, less advanced cultures place greater value on chastity, domestic skills (e.g., housekeeping), desire for home and children, and abilities to support the home (Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1988). In China, India, Taiwan, and Iran, chastity was viewed as highly desirable in a prospective mate while in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway, it was considered irrelevant (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). Being a good housekeeper was highly valued in Estonia and China and of little value in Western Europe and North America. Refinement/neatness was highly valued in Nigeria and Iran and less so in Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia. Being religious was highly valued in Iran, moderately valued in India, and little valued in Western Europe and North America (Buss, 1994, p. 199).

Gender differences were also revealed in Buss’s study. Women across cultures place high value on characteristics of men that relate to providing resources—good earning capacity, financial prospects, ambition, industriousness, and social status. Men across the 37 cultures place a high premium on the physical appearance of a potential mate; according to Buss (1994), this supports an evolutionary argument because men use physical attractiveness as an indicator that the woman is fertile and has good reproductive capacity.

Other similar studies have shown that men across cultures rate physical attractiveness higher than women do in terms of preferences in a marital partner (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1995). However, there seem to be more consistencies than differences in descriptions of physical attractiveness. For instance, female attractiveness cross-culturally is connoted by characteristics of kindness, understanding, intelligence, good health, emotional stability, dependability, and a pleasing disposition (Shiraev & Levy, 2007). Attractiveness is usually described in terms of cleanliness, health, and feminine plumpness. Although the degree of plumpness varies across cultures, extreme thinness seems to be considered unattractive and unhealthy (Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1988).

Other theories, such as the social construction perspective, suggest that interpersonal attraction is due to individual and cultural factors instead of evolutionary factors.

One study conducted in the United States highlights gender similarities in mate selection with both men and women rating kindness, consideration, honesty, and a sense of humor as important traits in mate selection (Goodwin, 1990). A more recent study (Pines, 2001) of American and Israeli students and their perceptions of romantic relationships combines both the evolutionary and social construction theories. Pines (2001) found that more men than women, regardless of culture, reported physical attractiveness as a major part of attraction (evolutionary theory). However, culture was important in other factors of attraction (e.g., compared with Israelis, Americans indicated status, closeness, and similarity as key determinants of attraction—social construction theory). In one study demonstrating different standards of beauty, Daibo, Murasawa, and Chou (1994) compared judgments of physical attractiveness made by Japanese and Koreans. In Japan, attractiveness ratings were positively correlated with large eyes, small mouths, and small chins. In Korea, however, attractiveness ratings were positively correlated with large eyes, small and high noses, and thin and small faces. Koreans were more likely than the Japanese to attach other judgments such as maturity and likeability to judgments of attractiveness (Daibo et al., 1994).

Patterns of courting and flirtation have similarities across many cultures (Aune & Aune, 1994), but there are many exceptions to the rules. Kissing, for example, is a widely acceptable cross-cultural phenomenon but is unknown to people in some cultures in Africa and South America, who would not consider kissing as an aspect of mate selection and reproduction (Shiraev & Levy, 2007). In Mediterranean cultures, physical affection is displayed by touching as a form of communication and is considered acceptable and appropriate, whereas in the United States it may be considered inappropriate with some groups. The expectation of marital fidelity appears to be almost universal, although among some Arctic peoples, it is customary to offer a host’s wife to a guest (Shiraev & Levy, 2007). Men everywhere react more negatively, as compared with women, when their partners share sexual fantasies about having sex with others. Women everywhere are more distressed than men when their partner is kissing someone else (Rathus, Nevid, & Fischer-Rathus, 1993).

A relatively new phenomenon is Internet dating and the development of computer-mediated relationships (CMR). Since the 1990s, the Internet has become a primary venue for social encounters across the globe—offering an expanded world of mate possibilities in a shorter period at less expense (Lawson & Leck, 2006). Although some theorists have lamented the technological isolation and reduction of face-to-face interaction leading to emotional disconnection or superficial attraction that can occur with the Internet (Lawson & Leck, 2006), others have suggested that the Internet can be helpful in promoting romantic relationships because physical attributes and traditional/ constraining gender and relationship roles are downplayed while other factors related to emotional intimacy (e.g., rapport, similarity, mutual self-disclosure) are emphasized (Lawson & Leck, 2006). Whitty and Carr (2006) describe how online relating is different than romantic and sexual relationships offline. Advantages include opportunity to “grow” a relationship, safe space to flirt and experiment with relationship development, and greater freedom for people who are anxious or introverted (Whitty & Carr, 2006). The biggest benefits of Internet dating are the sheer number of potential partners and the freedom of choice among partners (Lawson & Leck, 2006). In fact, in one study examining the dynamics of Internet dating, Internet daters reported being lonely and many said they were seeking comfort after a crisis situation. The majority of the respondents liked the control over the presentation of self on the Internet and the feeling of a safe environment for getting to know someone. Finally, respondents reported that Internet dating provided freedom from commitment and stereotypic roles (Lawson & Leck, 2006).

Some of the typical dating problems still remain with Internet dating—people still tell lies, trust has to be negotiated, presentation of self must be managed, compatibility continues to be important, and appearance and shyness issues do not completely disappear when dating online. Rejection and emotional pain still can be part of Internet dating, as they are with face-to-face dating. There is also a dark side of online relationships, including Internet infidelity, Internet addiction, pedophilia, cyberharassment, cyberstalking, and misrepresentation of self (Whitty & Carr, 2006). However, many Internet daters say they are willing to take the risks associated because of the advantages offered by this technology (Lawson & Leck, 2006). Overall, successful relationships online start with people being honest and upfront in their profiles (Whitty & Carr, 2006).

One of the most basic and universal rules of exclusion to marriage is the incest taboo, or a rule prohibiting marriage or sexual intercourse between certain kinship relations. The most common form of incest taboo across societies is against marriage or sexual intercourse between fathers and their children and mothers and their children. In the majority of cultures, brother-sister marriage is prohibited, although there are exceptions. Historically, brothersister marriage in royal families was considered the norm and even existed to some extent in the general population (Kottak, 2008). A prime example of this was brother-sister marriages of royalty in Egypt at the time of the Roman Empire (Miller, 2008). In some cultures, incest taboos include cousin marriage, although in other cultures, cousin marriage is considered a viable option in order to build localized kinship networks. In other groups, such as the Nuer of southern Sudan, the incest taboo includes all members of the patrilineage in order to create widely dispersed kin networks (Kottak, 2008; Miller, 2008).

One of the most practical explanations for the incest taboo is that it arose to ensure exogamy, which was evolutionarily advantageous in terms of increasing survival via the creation and maintenance of alliances outside the social network. Despite prevalence of the taboo, in one study across 87 societies, some occurrences of incest were identified (Meigs & Barlow, 2002). Reportedly incest was “widely practiced” among the Yanomami of Venezuela and Brazil. Among the Ashanti people, punishment for incest shifted from death to merely being fined. Among 24 Ojibwa individuals, 8 cases of parent-child incest and 10 cases of brother-sister incest were found (Kottak, 2008). In Western societies, father-daughter incest is considered a risk under certain conditions (Meigs & Barlow, 2002). Father-daughter incest is most common with stepfathers and nonbiological male household members but also occurs with biological fathers, especially those who were absent or did little caretaking of their daughters in childhood (Kottak, 2008).

Societies have some way of marking the onset of marriage. Many societies have formal ceremonies and rituals that denote the beginning of marriage while others use symbolic or informal practices to indicate that a marriage has occurred. In the societies where a ceremony occurs, several elements emphasizing important aspects of the particular culture commonly occur as part of the ceremony. For instance, feasting and celebrations typically accompany marriage ceremonies, often with the underlying purpose of bringing the two families and friends together in unification. Shinto customs are still followed by many in Japanese wedding ceremonies with the drinking of rice wine (sake) after the ceremony to confirm the marriage (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). In some cultures, marriage ceremony customs include ritualized expressions of hostility between kin groups such as the trading of insults, which occurs on the Polynesian atoll of Pukapuka (Kottak, 2008). In Kenya, the rebuilding of a house in the bride’s village represents an important part of the marriage ceremony (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002).

The role of romantic love has been debated historically and cross-culturally. Many argue that romantic love did not become part of marriage until Western Europe and America accepted the idea given the strong influence of the Enlightenment and the individualistic emphasis during the French and American Revolutions (Coontz, 2007). Romantic love is more common in cultures where women are dependent on men economically, but increasingly, marriage based on romantic love is becoming widespread in many cultures (Levine, Sato, Hashimoto, & Verma, 1995).

There is cultural variation in the extent to which love plays a role in marriage. Marriage for love is a fairly recent development in the Western world and may be related to the individualistic orientation (Coontz, 2005). In many Western cultures, marriage is viewed as the culmination of romantic love represented by the idealistic and somewhat “fairy-tale” notion that people meet their soul mates, fall in love, marry, and live “happily ever after,” proving that “love conquers all” (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). People in collectivistic cultures place less emphasis on romantic love and love commitment in marriage. Historically, people married to acquire status through influential in-laws, for political reasons, to forge family alliances, to increase labor forces, and to effect business mergers. Romantic love was not unknown but it was not considered an essential part of marriage and thus was discouraged on the basis of being a selfish and weak reason to marry. For instance, in ancient India, love before marriage was perceived as irresponsible and antisocial. During the Middle Ages, the French viewed love as a type of insanity only curable through sexual intercourse either with the beloved or with someone else (Coontz, 2007).

In contrast, many of the arranged marriages common in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world do not have romantic love as a basis (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). This “Eastern ideal” is based on the notion that individuals have several possible mates with whom they could have a successful and enduring marriage. Arranged marriage is still practiced in some places, such as India, where arrangements may be made between families during a child’s infancy. Such arrangements are typically based on the parents’ status and knowledge of other families and possible matches; the marriage is considered the blending of two families (Ember et al., 2006; Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). Arranged marriages are viewed as more than just a union between two individuals and more as an alliance between families and even communities (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2002). However, trends are changing even in countries where arranged marriage has been popular. For example, in Japan, love marriages are replacing the earlier practice of arranged marriages, yet traditional customs often remain as part of the ceremony.

For thousands of years, the institution of marriage served many economic, political, and social functions at the cost of minimizing the needs and wishes of individuals (Coontz, 2005). Especially in the last 200 years, marriage, particularly in Europe and America, has become more personal and private with a greater emphasis on the emotional and sexual needs of the couple. With this historical transition came free choice in mate selection as the societal norm and love as the primary reason for marriage. As Coontz (2005) notes, “Marriage has become more joyful, more loving, and more satisfying for many couples than ever before in history. At the same time it has become optional and more brittle. These two strands of change cannot be disentangled” (p. 306). For some, this transformation of marriage and love has been appreciated as a liberating option from restrictive social and cultural expectations. For others, the shift has meant a significant loss of rules and protocol for relationships with nothing offered in its place. With such factors, the need to marry or remain unhappily married decreases.

Coontz (2005) suggests historical factors that have supported single living and personal autonomy. Factors include the belief that women have just as much sexual desire as men; less societal/governmental regulation of personal behavior and conformity; reliable birth control, which became readily available in the 1960s, relieving women from fears of unwanted pregnancy; increasing economic independence of women; and more time- and laborsaving devices, which have lessened the demand on women to do housekeeping. Examining the role of love in marriage provides a unique lens that reveals many aspects of culture, economic, interpersonal, and emotional (Padilla, Hirsch, Muñoz-Laboy, Sember, & Parker, 2007).

Most marriages (approximately 75%) are accompanied by some type of economic transaction, and exchanges between partners of goods or services and their families and friends (Ember et al., 2006).

Bride Price

Bride price or bridewealth, common in horticultural and pastoralist cultures, is the transfer of goods or money from the groom’s family to the bride’s family. This is the most common economic transaction across cultures. Payment of the bride price can be in the form of money, livestock, or even food. Bride price still occurs globally but is most popular in Africa and Oceania. For example, the Nandi typically offer five to seven cattle, one or two sheep and goats, cowrie shells, and money equivalent to one cow as the bride price.

Brideservice is a type of bride price where labor is transferred from the groom to his parents-in-law over a designated time period. This still occurs in about 19% of societies that have an economic transaction as part of marriage. One particular example is the brideservice still practiced in the Amazon (Ember et al., 2006).

Exchange of Families

In a few societies (about 6% who have economic transactions at marriage), a sister or female relative of the groom is exchanged for the bride. This occurs, for example, among horticultural and egalitarian societies such as the Tiv of West Africa and the Yanomamö of Venezuela and Brazil (Ember et al., 2006).

Gift Exchange

Gift exchange between the two kin groups linked by marriage occurs in some 11% of societies that have economic transactions at marriage. In the United States, it is customary that the groom’s family is responsible for paying for the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding whereas the bride’s family is expected to pay the costs for everything else (Miller, 2008). Among the Andaman Islanders, kin groups become united through the parents exchanging gifts via a third party once a boy and girl have voiced their intention to marry (Ember et al., 2006).

A dowry is the transfer of goods (sometimes money) from the bride’s side to the new married couple for their use. Occurring in about 8% of societies with economic transactions at marriage, the dowry normally includes household goods such as furniture, cooking utensils, and perhaps even a house. Dowries are still practiced in parts of Eastern Europe, southern Italy, France, and India (Ember et al., 2006).

In parts of India, the dowry passes to the groom’s family making the more accurate term groom price (Miller, 2008). Sometimes, an indirect dowry is provided from the groom’s family by giving goods to the bride’s father who then passes them along to her. Among the Basseri of southern Iran, the groom’s father gives cash to the bride’s father in order to set up the couple’s new household (Ember et al., 2006).

In many cultures, marriage sanctions sexual relations between partners. In others, sexuality is confined to procreative purposes. Depending on the society, there are different views about procreation. In some societies, it is believed that spirits place babies in women’s wombs. Some cultural groups believe that a fetus must be nourished by continual insemination during pregnancy. The Barí of Venezuela believe that multiple men can create the same fetus (multiple paternity). When the baby is born, the mother names the men she recognizes as fathers and they assist her in raising the child (Kottak, 2008).

Sexual practices differ as well depending on the society. Some societies are more restrictive concerning sexuality. The regulation of premarital sex and extramarital sex differs depending on the society. For example, Inis Beag, off the coast of Northern Island, is a sexually conservative and prohibiting culture. Nudity is prohibited, sexual ignorance is widespread, female orgasm is unknown, marital sex occurs infrequently, and the idea of sexual pleasure is nonexistent (Messenger, 1993). In other societies, such as the Melanesian Islands in the South Sea, marital sex is perceived as a normal and natural form of pleasure; however, premarital and extramarital sex are almost equal to the crime of murder (Davenport, 1965). Reportedly, in the Melanesian Islands, marital intercourse including orgasm is expected to occur two to three times per day in the early years of marriage, and later to subside to once a day or less. Premarital masturbation is encouraged for both males and females. The Trobriand Islanders approve of and even encourage premarital sex and provide thorough instruction in various forms of sexual expression for adolescents, believing that it is important preparation for later marital activities. The Ila-speaking population of central Africa encourage trial marriage between adolescents so that girls can “play wife” with boys of interest before marriage. Reportedly, virginity in this group does not occur after age 10 (Ember et al., 2006). Other cultural groups, such as many Muslim societies, “test” the female’s virginity by displaying blood-stained sheets from the wedding night as proof of her premarital chastity.

Extramarital sex is fairly common across societies, with about 69% of men and 57% of women engaging in extramarital sex more than occasionally. Most societies have a double standard with regard to women’s sexual behavior and expect that women will have more restrictions against extramarital sex.

One commonality of sex occurring during marriage is privacy in almost all societies. North Americans typically find privacy in their bedrooms while others have to locate other private areas or sometimes perform coitus with others present. Nighttime is generally the preferred time for coitus in most cultures although there are examples of preferences for daytime sex (e.g., the Rucuyen of Brazil). There are other prohibitions in some cultures restricting sexual activity, for example, before certain activities like hunting or planting or because of certain events like death, pregnancy, or menstruation (Ember et al., 2006).

The acceptance of homosexual relations differs widely across societies. Some more restrictive societies deny homosexuality and thus forbid homosexual practices. Historically in other groups, like the Siwans of North Africa, there are examples of much greater permissiveness regarding homosexuality, and all males were expected to engage in homosexual relations. The Etoro of New Guinea are reported to have preferred homosexuality to heterosexuality with specific prohibitions against heterosexuality most of the days during a year. Furthermore, male homosexuality was thought to make crops flourish and strengthen males (Ember et al., 2006).

Typically, marriage has been between a male and a female, but some societies have recognized marriage between people of the same biological sex. In the anthropological literature, alternative forms of marriage have also been noted.

Monogamy is the marriage between two people (opposite gender if heterosexual and same gender if homosexual). Heterosexual monogamy is the most frequent form of marriage across cultures and constitutes the only legal form of marriage in many countries (Miller, 2008). Serial monogamy appears to be a common form of monogamy in North American, where people may have more than one spouse in their lifetimes but never legally at the same time (Kottak, 2008).

Same-Sex Marriages

Some societies recognize various kinds of same-sex marriages (Kottak, 2008). Same-sex marriages are legal in Denmark; Norway; Holland; South Africa; Ontario, Canada; and Massachusetts, in the United States. There is much debate politically and socially regarding the legal status of same-sex marriages (Miller, 2008).

Depending on the historical and cultural setting, samesex marriages have been accepted. In some African cultures, for instance, women may marry other women in order to strengthen their social and economic status among society (Kottak, 2008). Among the Nandi of Kenya, approximately 3% of marriages are female-female marriages. The Nuer of southern Sudan are also reported to have womanwoman marriage. In this type of marriage, a woman with economic means gives gifts to obtain a “wife” and brings her into the residential compound just as a man would do if he married a woman. The wife in a Nuer woman-woman marriage performs productive labor by having sexual relations with a man, as the two women do not have a sexual relationship with each other. Her children, however, will belong to the two women who are married (Miller, 2008). In former times, the Cheyenne Indians allowed married men to take berdaches (two-spirits/male transvestites) as second wives (Ember et al., 2006).

Plural Marriages/Polygamy

Polygamy is marriage that involves multiple spouses, which is still permitted in many cultures (Miller, 2008). The most common form of plural marriage is polygyny, which is the marriage of one man with more than one woman. Polygyny in many societies serves as an indicator of a man’s wealth and prestige—in other words, the more wives he has, the greater status he accrues. In other societies, polygyny is practiced because a man has inherited a widow from his brother (levirate). In still others, polygyny is a way to advance politically and economically. For polygyny to work, there has to be some agreement among the wives about their status and household chores. Generally, there is a first wife or a senior wife who is in charge of the household and has some say-so regarding who is taken as another wife. For instance, among the Betsileo of Madagascar, each wife lived in a different village, but the senior, first wife, called “Big Wife”, lived in the primary village of her husband where he spent most of his time (Kottak, 2008). Other customs like having separate living quarters for cowives who are not sisters helps lessen jealousy among the cowives. The Tanala of Madagascar require the husband to spend one day with each cowife in succession and assist with cultivation of that wife’s land. If this rule is not followed, a wife can sue for divorce and alimony up to a third of the husband’s property. Such a practice gives cowives greater equality in matters of sex, possessions, and economics (Ember et al., 2006).

Marriage between one woman and more than one man (polyandry) is extremely rare, although it is still practiced in Tibet and parts of the surrounding Himalayan region. In Tibet, fraternal polyandry (brothers jointly marrying a wife) is still practiced. Fraternal polyandry is one of the least common forms of marriage globally, but in Tibet, it remains a viable and ideal form of marriage and family. Practically, the eldest brother is normally the dominant authority. The wife is expected to treat all brothers equally, and the sexual aspect of sharing spouses is not viewed as repulsive by males or females. Any offspring are treated similarly, and the children consider all the brothers their fathers. The typical explanation given for this type of marriage in Tibet is that it is a materialistic and economically advantageous one. The brothers do not have to divide their property and can therefore have a higher standard of living. Due to changes in social and economic conditions, polyandry may vanish within the next generation (Kottak, 2008).

Other Forms of Marriage

In the Brazilian community of Arembepe, people can choose among various forms of sexual union including common-law partnerships (not legally sanctioned), civil marriages, and “holy matrimony” (religious ceremony but not legally sanctioned). This means that some can have multiple spouses at the same time from the different types of unions (Kottak, 2008).

Also common among the Nuer was what EvansPritchard (1951) called the ghost marriage. The Nuer believed that a man who died without male heirs in his family was likely to trouble his living kin through an unhappy and angry spirit left behind. To appease the angry spirit, a relative of the dead man would often marry a woman “to his name” so that the woman was married to the ghost but lived with one of his surviving kinsmen.

The custom of female-male marriage practiced across societies appears to have adaptive functions that solve problems in societies. For instance, marriage has been proposed as an answer to gender division of labor that exists in every society. If societies designate different economic activities for men and women, there needs to be a mechanism by which the products of labor can be shared between men and women, and marriage is one possible solution.

Another interpretation of why marriage is universal is based on the extended care required for human infants. It has been suggested that infants have a prolonged dependency on the mother (typically the main caregiver in most cultures); this limits the kind of work she can do (hunting, for example). Therefore one solution is that the man must be available to help the woman with certain tasks, thus the mechanism of marriage (Ember et al., 2006).

A third interpretation of why marriage is universal is sexual competition between males for females. Marriage offers one possibility for reducing male rivalry and destructive conflict so that societies can survive (Ember, et al., 2006).

Many believe that divorce occurs more frequently in the modern United States as compared with other societies. However, anthropologists have reported comparable rates of separation and remarriage among hunting and gathering societies and other groups to those in modern-day industrial societies. For example, the highest rates of divorce ever recorded in the first half of the 20th century were in Malaysia and Indonesia, which surpassed the U.S. record rates of 1981 (Coontz, 2007). Depending on the society, ease of divorce varies. Marriage is much easier to dissolve in societies where marriage is more of an individual affair. In other societies where marriage represents a political and social union between families and communities, divorce is more difficult (Kottak, 2008). Considerable bridewealth and replacement marriages (levirate and sororate) work to preserve group alliances and thus decrease divorce rates. A wife among the Shoshone Indians could divorce her husband by merely placing her husband’s possessions outside the dwelling, which was considered her property. Divorce is official among the Cewa of East Africa when the husband leaves his wife’s village taking along his hoe, axe, and sleeping mat (Coontz, 2007). In the traditional society of Japan, a woman wanting a divorce had to complete two years of service at a special temple while the man could simply write a letter containing three and half lines in order to divorce his wife.

Coontz (2007) posits that the reasons for divorce in any given time period relate to the reasons for marriage. For example, a common reason for divorce in contemporary society is the loss of love, lack of individual fulfillment, or absence of mutual benefit. This has to do with the primary reason for marriage being love and romance.

In Western societies, there is more flexibility with the notion of a failed marriage. Generally, if romance, love, sex, or companionship dies out in a marriage, then couples in contemporary Western society may opt for divorce. However, sometimes for economic reasons, obligations to children, negative public opinion, or simply inertia, couples may maintain “failed” marriages. Among countries across the globe, the United States has one of the highest rates of divorce, although rates have dropped as compared with the 1970s. From historical records of divorce in the United States, there is an increase after wars and a decrease after tough economic times. The high rates of U.S. divorce are thought to be related to the economic independence enjoyed by many women and the cultural ideas of independence and self-actualization which give greater permission for people to abandon marriage if it is not working for them (Kottak, 2008).

A family is a group of people who consider themselves related through kinship, while a household is defined as people who share a living space and may or may not be related (Miller, 2008). Most households consist of members who are related through kinship, although an increasing number do not. For instance, a group of friends sharing living quarters or a single person living alone constitute a household. Young adults in the United States usually live away from home when they go to college. In more complex societies, family members tend to live apart from one another, while in more simple societies, the family and the household are impossible to differentiate (Ember et al., 2006). Across most societies, a primary function of families is the socialization and protection of children so that the children can obtain the cultural behavior, beliefs, and values necessary for survival. The nature of the family inevitably shifts and reflects the social and cultural changes in economics, education, and political systems (Georgas, Berry, van de Vijver, Kagitçibasi, & Poortinga, 2006).

All societies have families, although family form and households vary from society to society. The nuclear household, still commonly referred to as the nuclear family, comprises one adult couple, either married or “partners,” with or without children. Most people belong to at least two different nuclear families during their lifetime. Anthropologists distinguish between the family of orientation, the family in which one is born and grows up, and the family of procreation, the family formed when one marries and has children of his or her own. Nuclear-family organization is widespread cross-culturally and varies in significance from culture to culture, but it is not universal. For instance, in the classic Nayar group, the nuclear family is rare or nonexistent (Kottak, 2008). In contrast, in North America, the nuclear family is the only well-defined kin group and remains somewhat of a cultural ideal (Ember et al., 2006). Such a family structure is thought to arise from industrialism and contributes to geographic mobility and isolation from extended family members. Many North American married couples live far away from their parents in locations generally determined by their jobs in communities (neolocality) and establish households and nuclear families of their own (Ember et al., 2006).

An extended household is a domestic group containing more than one adult married couple related either through the father-son (patrilineal extended household) or motherdaughter line (matrilineal extended household) or through sisters and brothers (collateral extended household). Extended families are the prevailing form in more than half of the world’s societies (Ember et al., 2006). For example, in former Yugoslavia, extended-family households, called zadruga, consisted of several nuclear families living together. The zadruga was headed by a male household head and his wife, considered to be the senior woman. Also included were married sons and their wives and children, and unmarried sons and daughters. Each nuclear family had their own sleeping quarters; however, many items were freely shared among members in the zadruga (e.g., clothes, items from the bride’s trousseau, and other possessions). The Nayar, a caste of southern India, provide another example of extended households. The Nayar lived in matrilineal extended-family compounds called tarawads (residential complexes with several buildings headed by a senior woman and her brother). The tarawads were home to the woman’s siblings, her sisters’ children, and other relatives of matrilineal descent. These compounds were responsible for child care and provided the home for retired Nayar men who were military warriors (Ember et al., 2006).

Expanded-family households (those that include nonnuclear relatives) also exist in some cultures. For example, in lower-class families of North America, expanded-family households are more common than in middle-class families. If an expanded-family household consists of three or more generations, then it is considered an extended-family household. Collateral households, another type of expanded family, include siblings and their spouses and children (Ember et al., 2006). Polygamous married people are considered to constitute complex households in which one spouse lives with or near multiple partners and their children. Descent groups including lineages and clans of people claiming common ancestry may reside in several villages, but rarely come together for social activities. These descent groups are common in nonindustrial foodproducing societies (Kottak, 2008).

Globalization, including technological advances and international migration, has increased the opportunity for interactions among different types of people and contributed to rapid changes in the structure and function of marriage and the family. The institution of marriage continues to retain popularity although many of the details of marriage are undergoing transformation. For instance, the Internet has provided new forms of finding a potential partner and courtship. Also, the age of first marriage is rising in most places due in part to increased emphasis on completing education and higher marital aspirations (e.g., owning a house). Marriages between people of different nations and ethnicities are another example, now increasingly commonplace and leading to pluralistic practices and customs of marriage and family. Coontz (2007) claims that marriage “has been displaced from its pivotal position in personal and social life” (p. 15) with many children being raised in alternative settings. The definition of marriage has also changed, given that most people today live in a global climate of choice with many options. This makes divorce and other relationship forms like cohabitation viable options for many people across the world.

In many societies, people choose to have children without being married, or being a single parent becomes a necessity, and thus one-parent families are becoming more common globally. Traditionally, single-parent families have been more common in Western societies, but there continues to be a large increase in one-parent families with the majority headed by women (approximately 90%). In the 1970s, of the Western countries, Sweden had the highest rates of single-parent families, but now the United States has the largest percentage. One-parent families occur for several reasons, including divorce/separation of two-parent families, births outside of marriage, deaths of spouses, and single people who decide to have children. Some parents may choose to remain single because of lack of suitable partners. For example, in the former Soviet Union, the ratio of women to men is much higher because males are more likely to have died from war, alcoholism, and accidents. In other countries, a common explanation is that one-parent families are able to manage because of support from the state; for example, in Sweden, unmarried and divorced mothers receive significant social supports, maternity leave, and educational leave (Ember et al., 2006).

Another family form that is making a comeback, at least in the United States, is the multigenerational family (three or more generations living together). According to the 2000 Census, there are almost 4 million U.S. multigenerational households; this represents about 4% of all households, and this number continues to rise. The majority of these households include grandparents living with their children and their grandchildren in the house of the grandparent. In about one third of these households, the grandparents live in the home of their children (or son- or daughter-in-law) and their grandchildren. A very small percentage of these households are comprised of grandparents and great-grandparents as well as children and grandchildren of the grandparents (Generations United, 2006).

Some of the reasons for the rise in multigenerational households include financial factors such as high housing costs, high cost of living, child care/elder care expenses, unemployment, parents returning to school, and parents working to save money to become independent. Cultural reasons such as immigration, value systems, importance of ritual and celebration of holidays and events, and desire to stay connected with one’s cultural group all are reported reasons for multigenerational households. Other reasons include individual beliefs that child care and elder care are family responsibilities or that age-integration within communities is important, and a desire to be involved and connected with offspring and elders. Situational factors such as the inability to live alone after being widowed, a divorce that requires moving to a parent’s home with children, an illness requiring regular care and assistance, single parenting, housing shortages, and extended life span also promote multigenerational households (Generations United, 2006). In the future, multigenerational families are expected to become more commonplace and continue to increase. By 2010 in the United States, it is expected that more children will know their great-grandparents, people in their 60s will be caring for 80- to 90-year-old parents, more children will grow up with the support of older relatives, and there will be an increase in four-generational households (Generations United, 2006).

Grandparenting in general is a relatively new phenomenon as of the last 100 years, due to increased life expectancy and good health. The number of grandparents parenting grandchildren has increased generally due to crisis situations involving drugs, divorce, desertion, and death (Glass & Huneycutt, 2002). Other factors contributing to the increase of grandparents raising their grandchildren include high teenage-pregnancy rates, more parents in prison (with some 80% having dependent children), more women using drugs, and parents dying from AIDS. All of these scenarios that lead to the number of grandparents raising their grandchildren are thought to be on the rise.

Increasing numbers of lesbian women and gay males are exploring parenting options (McCann & Delmonte, 2005) and taking on parenthood through donor insemination, surrogacy, fostering, and adoption. Although there appears to be no definitive research pointing one way or another, gay parenting has been a contentious issue for many because of the presumed damaging effects that gay parents can have on their children. Concerns have been raised regarding whether the child will become homosexual, whether the child will be bullied, whether the child will have appropriate opposite-sex role models, and more (McCann & Delmonte, 2005).

Another complexity for family structure is the challenge presented by international migration. Parents may still identify with their ancestral culture and children often become immersed in the new culture, quickly adapting to the language and customs. This can cause rifts in the relationship between parents and children and can contribute to disagreements about social issues like dating, clothing, and careers. Sometimes children also serve as cultural brokers for their parents, navigating complex and unfamiliar bureaucratic systems since their parents may not speak the language or be acculturated to the new country and customs. Immigrant children typically adapt to the dominant culture faster than their parents, which also contributes to conflict between parent and child—parents trying to hold on to previous traditions, while children are adapting to the new, dominant culture as their new way of life. Immigrant children frequently become masters of both cultures, easily adapting between both worlds (Suárez-Orozco & SuárezOrozco, 2001). Immigrant parents are often conflicted between encouraging their children to develop the cultural competencies of the dominant culture and trying to maintain their own traditions (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001). In addition, resettlement issues such as obtaining housing, food, and employment, and dealing with the bureaucracy of immigration and documentation, can overwhelm parents’ ability to attend to their children. Immigrant families may also experience stress due to adaptation to the United States, including such tasks as learning and/or enhancing English skills and finding employment, housing, and schools; these are difficult tasks for anyone, but especially for immigrants as they also deal with new and different social/cultural expectations and attitudes.

International adoption (sometimes referred to as transnational adoption) is becoming more common in the United States and European countries. Although still on a relatively small scale, international adoption represents a significant shift from historical adoption practices and constitutes an entirely different family structure (Conn, 2009). More than 20,000 internationally adopted children enter the United States each year from China, Russia, and Guatemala.

Marriage and family are universal forms of mating and relating; however, the forms of marriage and family are variable depending on social, cultural, and historical influences (Ferguson, 2007). Family arrangements are more diverse now than ever before, and relationships have shifted from having a biological emphasis to a social emphasis. In the future, there is likely to be increased diversity and transformation in the institution of marriage, along with family forms and households, across the globe (Miller, 2008).

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Nicholas Kristof

The Case for Saying ‘I Do’

A photograph of a circular mirror, hung on a wall with red and white wallpaper, showing a middle-age couple kissing.

By Nicholas Kristof

Opinion Columnist

With little notice, the United States may be crossing a historic milestone in family structure, one that may shape our health, wealth and happiness.

Historically, most American adults were married — more than two-thirds as recently as 1970. But the married share has crept downward , and today only about half of adults are married. Depending on the data source, we may already have entered an epoch in which a majority are not married.

“Our civilization is in the midst of an epochal shift, a shift away from marriage,” Brad Wilcox, a sociologist who directs the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, writes in his new book, “ Get Married .” “In place of marriage, many Americans are remaining single or simply living together without wedding rings. And to be clear, it’s more of the former than the latter.”

Wilcox believes that perhaps a third of today’s young Americans will never marry. As a long-married romantic myself, I find that troubling, but it’s not just soggy sentimentality. Survey data indicates that married couples on average report more happiness, build more wealth, live longer and raise more successful children than single parents or cohabiting couples, though there are plenty of exceptions.

“Fixing what ails America starts with renewing marriage and family life, especially in poor and working-class communities where the fabric of family life is weakest,” Wilcox argues.

He’s up against a counter view that one should dodge family responsibilities, relish freedom and play hard. Many boys and men flock to the online rantings of Andrew Tate , the misogynistic influencer facing human trafficking charges, who has argued, “There is zero advantage to marriage in the Western world for a man.”

Some women have likewise celebrated freeing themselves from an institution that often shackled them to cooking, laundry and second-class status at a cost to their careers. As women have enjoyed more economic opportunities, they’re less often forced to marry some oaf who gets violent after a few drinks — and, anyway, what self-respecting woman with independent means would want to marry, say, a fan of Andrew Tate?

Yet even as marriage has receded, the evidence has grown that while it isn’t for everyone, in many cases it can improve our lives more than we may appreciate.

“Marriage predicts happiness better than education, work and money,” Wilcox writes. For example, survey data indicates that getting a college degree increases the odds of describing oneself as “very happy” by 64 percent. Earning a solid income lifts the odds by 88 percent. Being “very satisfied” with one’s job raises them by 145 percent. And marriage increases the odds of being very happy by 151 percent — while a “very happy” marriage boosts the odds by 545 percent.

I’ve long been interested in family structure for two reasons. First, I believe the left made a historic mistake by demonizing the Moynihan Report, which 59 years ago this month warned about the consequences of family breakdown. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was prescient, for we now know that households headed by single mothers are five times as likely to live in poverty as those with married couples.

Second, loneliness and social isolation are growing problems. One poignant example: Perhaps 100,000 or more dead bodies in America go unclaimed each year, often because there are no loved ones to say farewell. It’s a topic explored in another recent book, “The Unclaimed,” by sociologists Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans.

Marriage doesn’t solve loneliness and social isolation, but it helps. And there is good news on the family front: The divorce rate has dropped to a 50-year low , and the share of children raised in an intact family with married parents has increased slightly in recent years. Today about 51 percent of American kids reach adulthood with the same two parents they started out with.

But it’s also true that the marriage rate has collapsed, particularly for working-class Americans. Of those without a high school diploma, more than two-thirds are unmarried.

Wilcox writes that “the American heart is closing,” but I wouldn’t put it that way. I think many Americans want to marry but don’t feel sufficiently financially stable, or they can’t find the right person.

I’m staggered by the interest in virtual boyfriends and virtual girlfriends. One virtual boyfriend app offers an assortment of possibilities such as “polite and intelligent Edward” or “romantic and cute Daniel.”

“Don’t be shy, he’ll definitely like you,” the app advises. “He knows how to cheer you up, so you won’t feel sad or lonely.”

Just reading that makes me achingly sad. Virtual mates feel like an elegy for civilization.

One reason for the decline in marriage in working-class communities may be a lack of economic opportunity, particularly for men, and another may be culture and changing norms. That’s worth pondering. In polls, majorities of college-educated liberals seem diffident about marriage, unwilling to criticize infidelity and disagreeing with the idea that children do better with two married parents. Perhaps this liberal lack of enthusiasm for marriage also accounts for the marriage penalties built into benefit programs like Medicaid, in turn disincentivizing marriage for low-income Americans.

Wilcox scolds elites for clinging to traditional values themselves — in the sense that they get married and have kids for the most part — even as they are reluctant to endorse marriage for fear of seeming judgmental or intolerant. Elites “talk left but walk right,” he says.

We are social animals, Aristotle noted more than two millenniums ago, and it’s still true. Spouses can be exasperating (as my wife can attest), but they also can cuddle, fill us with love and connect us to a purpose beyond ourselves. They are infinitely better, for us and for society, than virtual lovers on an app, and that seems worth celebrating openly.

Update: I have the final figures for my 2023 holiday giving guide , so I owe readers a follow-up and a “thank you.” More than 5,400 readers contributed a total of $7.2 million to the three nonprofits I recommended , and here’s what the donations will mean in practical terms: 12,150 girls in rural Africa will be supported for a year of high school through Camfed ; 1,645 young people in the United States will be supported for a year of instruction and mentoring to succeed in college or technical school through OneGoal ; and 4,218 low-income Americans will get free training in information technology through Per Scholas so that they can start better-paying careers in the tech world. All three organizations do excellent work. In addition, 671 readers volunteered to help refugees settle in the United States through my recommended volunteer opportunity, Welcome.US . Thanks so much to all who donated and volunteered: People are benefiting here and abroad from your generosity.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Nicholas Kristof became a columnist for The Times Opinion desk in 2001. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes, for his coverage of China and of the genocide in Darfur. @ NickKristof

The past shapes the present when it comes to Southern roots, race, and marriage trends

Family Tree Branches and Southern Roots: Contemporary Racial Differences in Marriage in Intergenerational and Contextual Perspective . Deirdre Bloome and Garrett T. Pace. American Journal of Sociology 2024 129:4, 1084-1135.

Faculty Authors

Deirdre Bloome

What’s the issue.

Black and white people with Southern lineages are more likely to marry, compared to people with lineages elsewhere in the United States. Understanding intergenerational and place-based patterns could help address racial inequality.

To address racial inequality today, it is important for policymakers to understand its historical sources. One aspect of racial inequality that is very historically contingent is how people form their families, including whether and when they marry. By investigating historical and social factors that influence marriage, researchers may contribute valuable evidence for social policy.

What does the research say?

Professor Deirdre Bloome and coauthor Garrett Pace from the University of Nevada have studied how southern family lineages contribute to marriage trends. They find that Black and white people whose grandparents grew up in the southern United States are more likely to marry than people with geographic lineages elsewhere in the United States. This is true for a number of reasons, including religiosity. More Black people than white people have southern roots. This is because of how slavery and Jim Crow impacted where Black families lived in the past. As a result, more Black people than white people are exposed to the intergenerational marriage pressures that come from southern lineages. However, over the course of the 20th century, millions of Black families moved out of the South to other parts of the country, through what became known as the Great Migration. This migration reduced people's exposure to intergenerational marriage pressures.

The authors write, “policies can be adopted to help people flourish across family forms. These policies can foster inclusion and citizenship by recognizing the legitimacy of many family forms and by helping people achieve their personal family goals. Policies may be especially effective if they recognize that people’s present actions reflect their family lineages. Our results suggest that even when circumstances change across historical time, the past shapes the present through intergenerational legacies.”

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Some women are rethinking marriage. Here’s why

I have always had a lot of respect for New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. His tireless work to get the world to pay attention to conflicts in places too often ignored — especially for women and girls — has made a great impact.

But I had to roll my eyes when I came across a post on Threads last week where Kristof wrote: “The reader comments on my column today about marriage are quite interesting, with lots of women pushing back at what I say; they suggest that marriage benefits men but not women. As a romantic, I disagree, but the comments are striking … ” He accompanied his post with a link to his NYT column titled “The Case for Saying ‘I Do,’” which laments the decline in marriage and argues married couples generally “report more happiness, build more wealth, live longer and raise more successful children” than single parents or cohabiting couples.

Instead of dismissing the column’s critics by saying, “As a romantic, I disagree,” it would have been so easy to say, “As a man, I didn’t take their perspective into consideration,” or “I am grateful these women took the time to educate me on what I missed.”

The post’s dismissiveness was quickly “ratioed,” which is social media parlance for when the number of likes is dramatically outnumbered by scathing replies.

One woman wrote: “Ignoring what women are saying about their experience isn’t being a ‘romantic’: it’s choosing not to listen to what they’re telling you.” And another, my personal favorite, wrote: “As a lesbian, I assure you that dismissing women’s own experiences is not what romantics do.”

They are right. And taken together, Kristof’s column and post unintentionally underlined what so many women were trying to say: In heterosexual marriages, women’s priorities and feelings are too often subsumed by the priorities and feelings of men.

That should not be surprising given the deeply inequitable foundation of modern marriage. Through a colonial practice known as “coverture,” wives were considered property of their husbands with no rights over their own bodies until the mid-19th century. At the same time, until the 1860s, most Black women were considered property, period. Having endured the brutal labor and sexual exploitation of slavery, they were not legally allowed to marry until 1866. It wasn’t until 1974 that women were assured the right to open their own bank accounts. It took until 1993 for marital rape to become illegal in all 50 states. This is not ancient history.

Despite Kristof and other writers’ scolding about the importance of preserving heterosexual marriage, women aren’t buying it.

If they get married at all, they are doing it later. Across the board, marriage rates have declined nearly 60% over the past 50 years, Axios reported last year. In Seattle, Seattle Times columnist Gene Balk recently reported an 83% jump in unmarried cohabitating couple households between 2010 and 2022.

While too few studies ask women why they do not find heterosexual marriage attractive, a 2023 Pew survey offers some clues.

In marriages Pew described as “egalitarian” — meaning women and men earned roughly the same amount — women still spent about five more hours a week on caregiving and housework while men spent about three and a half more hours on leisure activities.

In marriages where women earned more than their husbands, the man’s leisure time increased even further and his share of caregiving and housework did not.

As so many women futilely tried to point out to Kristof, even in 2024, marriage benefits men more than women.

And what about same-sex couples?

Not surprisingly, a 2015 survey found same-sex couples were more likely to share child care duties, with 74% sharing routine child care vs. 38% of heterosexual couples.

So as pundits wring their hands about the state of marriage, maybe they should put more of their energy into worrying about the state of heterosexual cisgender men.

If you believe marriage has such intrinsic value to society, what could men be doing to make themselves more desirable as partners? I would hazard to guess that listening when you are being told you are doing it wrong would be a good start.

The commenters on Kristof’s column had a lot of insightful things to say, such as a woman with the handle “AMinNC,” who wrote:

“Marriage is generally GREAT for men, who report being far happier in marriage than being single. Much research indicates the reverse is true for women. Single women report being happier, in general, than married women are.” She continued, “Literally every married female friend I have (and we love our husbands and have all been married for over 20 years) says ‘if something (God forbid) should happen to my husband I’d never marry again. Have men for companionship? Sure. Marriage? No way.’ None of the men feel this way.”

Bad Luck or Bad Decisions? Macroeconomic Implications of Persistent Heterogeneity in Cognitive Skills and Overconfidence

Business cycle models often abstract from persistent household heterogeneity, despite its potentially significant implications for macroeconomic fluctuations and policy. We show empirically that the likelihood of being persistently financially constrained decreases with cognitive skills and increases with overconfidence thereon. Guided by this and other micro evidence, we add persistent heterogeneity in cognitive skills and overconfidence to an otherwise standard HANK model. Overconfidence proves to be the key innovation, driving households to spend instead of precautionary save and producing empirically realistic wealth distributions and hand-to-mouth shares and MPCs across the income distribution. We highlight implications for various fiscal policies.

An early draft of this paper was titled "Heterogeneity in what? Cognitive Skills, Beliefs and the Liquid Wealth Distribution". We thank Eduardo Dávila, Greg Kaplan, Ralph Luetticke (discussant), Kurt Mitman, Peter Maxted, Matthew Rognlie, Johannes Stroebel, Hannes Twieling, Gianluca Violante, Michael Weber, Nathan Zorzi, and seminar and conference participants at the Bank of Finland, the 13th ifo Conference on Macroeconomics and Survey Data, EEA/ESEM 2023, the University of Zurich, the University of Virginia, the Bonn-Berlin PhD Workshop, the Swiss Economists Abroad end-of-year conference, the HeiTueHo Workshop, EWMES 2023, and the 5th Behavioral Macroeconomics Workshop for helpful comments and suggestions. Pfäuti gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) through CRC TR 224 (Project C02) and the Stiftung Geld & Währung. Seyrich gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Leibniz Association through the project "Distributional effects of macroeconomic policies in Europe". Zinman thanks the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth for funding. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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ENGL 1102 Worozbyt Spring 2024 : Assignment

Library Catalog
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Literature Research Assignment

Research Essay Topics

Compose in MLA format a research essay of at least 1000 words, using a minimum of four secondary sources. (The OED is a primary, not a secondary, source, but you are encouraged to use it.) Source material must be drawn from books and articles located in Galileo databases or the GSU library. Use secondary critical resources to support and complexify your arguments and points. The task is textual analysis, that and that alone. The supplemental lectures I have been posting are pretty good examples of what I am looking for. This is a research project, but I am most interested in seeing you display your own skill at critical thinking and analysis. Sources not found in Galileo or the GSU library will not count toward the research requirement, and you are discouraged from using them. That said, Wikipedia entries often have links at the bottom to legitimate, academic sources. Feel free to use Wikipedia as a launching point for research, even though Wikipedia entries themselves cannot be used, as they are not vetted. Do not summarize plots or provide biographies of the author. This essay is not to be about the author; it is to be about the text.

The Caveats:

You are obliged to familiarize yourself with proper MLA formatting and citation. This information is found in my Course Content, online at OWL, on Youtube, or simply by Googling “MLA citation.” By now I expect professionally clean and error-free copy, with no typos or mechanical errors. Papers not following these guidelines will be penalized accordingly. By now you have had a full semester of training in proper citation and format. Failure to format the body of your essay in MLA results a penalty up to twenty points, depending on severity. Failure to provide sufficient, relevant source material results in a fifteen-point penalty per missing source. Failure to properly acknowledge the use of secondary material constitutes plagiarism, whether intentional or not, and will result in no credit given, since I cannot distinguish between what writing is yours and what is not.. Make sure you quote and cite, both internally and in your works cited page.

Tennesse Williams, The Glass Menagerie:

1. Discuss the play’s presentation (and subversion) of traditional family and gender roles. How does the assumption and subsequent disruption of those roles define and control Laura’s destiny? How does having a brother for a father and a sister for a mother determine the outcome of Laura’s seduction by Jim?

2. Why does Williams’ reject conventional “realistic” stage drama? Analyze the stage directions and locate at least two echoes within the range of Tom’s dialogue and action. Are the lyrical and poetical qualities of the stage directions in (literary)/dramatic conflict with Tom’s desire to create a unified self, a “character” who characters, through writing poetry? Explain.

3. Consider the use of names and the function of naming in the play. How do names advance and complicate the major arguments and themes in The Glass Menagerie. Remember that a title is a “name” as well, and that to be a caller, gentleman or otherwise, is to be a namer. Needless to say, you should name the major arguments and themes.

4. Explore Williams’ concept of the stage as defined by the text of the play. How does our author manipulate the space and time of the stage? The first questions to wrestle with are: What is a stage? Where is the stage? When is the stage? Then: how does the playwright accomplish his redefinition of the conventional boundaries? Be specific, analyzing selected text passages.

5. Analyze the similarities and differences in the text of Williams’ play and the film of it you watched. This should not be simply a compare/contrast essay, but a thorough investigation of the way the two different media (reading and watching) are anticipated and dealt with by the play itself. The Production Notes and the corresponding echoes in the play would be a good place to start.

Alice Walker, Everyday Use:

1. “Everyday Use” presents us with the clash between personal and cultural history. Walker manages in this short work to interweave them and to produce a dialectic (a “conversation,” if you will) between the seemingly competing histories. Track this interweaving and explain how the story resolves the apparent contradictions between the two.

2. Consider Dee and Maggie as expressions of two sides to the mother’s character. Investigate and discuss how Walker creates these characters and how she makes them come so vibrantly alive in this story. Do not neglect in your analysis to discuss the significance of the mother’s dream.

3. Landscape and objects play a big role in this story. Discuss the idea of “inside” and “outside” in the story, paying careful and close attention to the way objects are depicted and used in the story to generate and facilitate the story’s major themes and ideas

Final Items:

Be generous with quotations, and never paraphrase the text or your secondary source material. Also, make absolutely sure you reproduce the text exactly as it appears in the original. When you change the words you change the meaning; when you change the meaning your argument fails. Likewise, it is always better to overquote than underquote. Analysis based on a brief, out of context phrase is much weaker than analysis of an entire paragraph or sentence.

Whether you choose Williams’ or Walker’s text to research, make sure you do the research before you start to write. Reading articles by vetted, published critics will help you deepen and organize your thoughts. Writing an essay and then going hunting for quotes that suit your wants will always lead to a poor research essay

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The keys to a good and lasting marriage: Exploration of Iranian couple's experiences

Parisa samadi.

Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Zahra Alipour

1 Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran, and Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Kobra Salehi

2 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Shahnaz Kohan

3 Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Maryam Hashemi

Background and aim:.

Marital satisfaction is a multidimensional phenomenon, which refers to the quality of marital relationship, or the general view of marriage status and reflection of happiness and marital performance. Repetition of certain positive behaviors can make a huge difference in the success of continued married life, and that awareness of such behaviors seems to be critical to recognizing certain warnings. Therefore, this study with qualitative approach conducted to promoting long-term marital satisfaction by exploring couple's experiences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This study was conducted using descriptive phenomenology method. The participants were 12 person (six couples) with a history of 20–30 years of married life expectancy and a marital satisfaction score of above 65. The data were collected by purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews, analyzed using Colaizzi method. By categorizing the codes, subcategories, and main categories were extracted.

An analysis of the experiences of the participants resulted in emergence of eight subcategories, and three main categories: “Strong Foundation For Living Together,” “Mutual Commitment To Protecting Marital Cohesion,” and “Striving To Improve Sexual Relations.”

CONCLUSIONS:

A long-term marriage associated with a variety of variables, including a strong foundation for living together, a mutual commitment to protect marital cohesion, and an effort to improve sexuality. And the results showed that the type of relationship will change during the years after marriage in a way that takes on certain meanings and concepts and can be interpreted in physiological, cultural and other specific contexts.

Introduction

The family formed by marriage and the union of men and women. As societies grow over time, families become more complex and classified, and the nature and quality of family life changes in different economic systems.[ 1 ] Despite many changes in the era of industrialization and the originality of individualism and hedonism, the first and most important institution that has been affected is the family, Which undergone serious changes in the process of global development, so that this long-standing human center disintegrated in many industrial societies.[ 2 ] Although marriage as a voluntary act is subject to individual desires, and views, human social life and its complex relationships with the environment place marriage about cultural, economic, social, demographic, and even political variables.[ 1 ] In the second half of the twentieth century, divorce replaced death as the endpoint of marriage. This new endpoint of marriage is due to the prolongation of human life, economic, social, psychological and biological improvement of women's lives and the emergence of new family relationships and values and laws in the Western world.[ 3 ] Statistics show a significant increase in divorce in the world.[ 4 ] Divorce rates varied widely from country to country in 2018, according to the Global Family Database. From 0.1 per 1000 population in Chile, which has the lowest divorce rate in world, to 2.3 divorces per 1000 population in the USA, which has the highest divorce rate in the world.[ 4 ] and According to National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran (2016), 11% of marriages ended in divorce (by calculating the ratio of divorce to marriage in a given year), of which 6% of divorces registered in the 1 st year of marriage.[ 5 ] Iran also has the highest divorce rate among Islamic countries in the Middle East and North Africa.[ 6 ] Given that among life events, marital change such as divorce considered the most stressful events[ 7 ] and has led to many studies on divorce and its causes. These studies tried to understand the divorce process by understanding the factors affecting the dissolution of marriage and the consequences of divorce.[ 8 , 9 ] Most psychologically oriented marital studies are focused on relatively young couples being divorced, while many marriages continue for decades.[ 10 ] Only in recent years have the scholars started to focus on sustainable and long-lasting marriages. The benefits of marriage seem to increase over time since the couples who have lived longer together have been more efficient, wealthier, and healthier and have had a longer life span than those who have not been married or have lived together for a short period.[ 3 , 11 , 12 ] In research as well as day-to-day life, the long-term and stable marriage is often seen as a major goal of life and a key indicator of not only marital success,[ 13 , 14 ] but also of well-being and health.[ 13 , 14 , 15 ] Although there are certain benefits to being together for a long time, the nature of the long time varies considerably. During this period, some participants reported a happy married life[ 16 ] and some reported fewer good experiences.[ 17 ] Recent studies suggest that long-term marriages are generally very heterogeneous.[ 18 ] In the last two decades, few studies have begun to address the long-term marriage and marital satisfaction.[ 19 , 20 ] Most studies have assessed the length of such relationships and the quality of the relationships has been neglected during this period.[ 21 ] The results indicate that the repetition of certain small positive behavior can make huge differences in the success of continued married life, and that awareness of the behaviors seems to be critical to recognizing the alarms, for it may lead the couples, coaches, and counselors be informed of that which makes a marriage successful, enabling us to increase the chances of a successful marriage and its durability, and reduce the number of divorces.[ 3 ] Therefore, more qualitative studies are needed to improve the understanding of long-term marriage.[ 3 ] Although the qualitative and phenomenological research provides us with a rich description and interpretation of the phenomenon for those who have experienced it, the phenomenological approach is the most appropriate method for this study.[ 3 ] In this study, the researchers sought to further understand the phenomenon of long-term satisfaction of married life and marriage durability. Moreover, this study sought to identify the factors leading to the durability of marriage within the framework of a satisfactory marriage. Therefore, the present study was conducted for promoting marital satisfaction by exploring the couples’ experiences about long-term marital life.

Materials and Methods

This study conducted using the phenomenological description method in 2016–2017. This approach is a subjective method used to describe the life experiences and understand their meanings.

Study design and setting

Pursuant to a permission obtained from the Ethics Committee at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (No. IR. MUI. REC.1395.3.021), a purposeful sampling was conducted from the volunteered couples with a history of 20–30 years’ married life experience, referred to receive Sama and Saba Services (National Iranian Men's and Women's Health Program) by Community Health Centers affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Study participants and sampling

The researcher introduced herself in person explaining the purpose and importance of the research to the couples, and sought to build the confidence of the individuals willing to participate in the study. Then, she made the arrangements necessary for the time and place of the interviews. The participants expressed their consent to participate in the study and were able to voluntarily provide the information needed. First, the degree of their marital satisfaction was assessed using the short version of ENRICH marital satisfaction scale. Then, the couples with a marital satisfaction score of above 65 were admitted to the qualitative phase of the study.

The place of interviews was determined by the willingness of the participants. Furthermore, prior to conducting the interviews, a written or verbal informed consent was obtained from each participant. The researcher further observed such ethics of research as confidentiality, anonymity, allowing the participants to quit the interview in case they so desired. The interview guide questions were provided by reviewing the texts and consulting with the field experts.

Data collection tools and technique

After obtaining a letter of reference and consent of participants, the researcher conducted a semi-structured and in-depth interview individually and privately with each of the male and female participants. In addition to digitally recording the interviews, the researcher made brief notes too. The interview opened with a general and open-ended question: “If you were to, how would you define marital satisfaction?” and then continued with such questions as: “What factors contributed to your marital satisfaction?” “What do you do to keep your partner happy and satisfied?”

Each interview lasted 30–45 min. Where necessary, the second and third interviews were conducted to verify the data and fill in the potential gaps. Data collection continued until there were no further new findings to add to the existing data (data saturation).

The data obtained from this study were analyzed using the Colaizzi method.[ 22 ] First, data analysis opened by repeated reading and re-reading of interview transcripts to help immerse the researcher in the data and find a general perception. Then, the texts were read word by word to extract the codes. The process continued steadily from code extraction to the stage of labeling. Next, the codes were assigned to subcategories based on the differences or similarities. The subcategories were converted to the main categories. Finally, The main categories were determined. Eventually, for each concept, evidence was quoted from the data text. By having the manuscript reviewed by experts experienced in qualitative methodology and study content, the researcher was reassured of the authenticity of the data. The researcher was further reassured of the reliability by recording fully and continuously her activities in collecting and analyzing the data and providing excerpts from the texts of interviews for each category. The texts of a number of interviews, the codes, and categories extracted were made available to the co-researchers literate, but not involved in, the qualitative research, whereupon a consensus of over 80% was obtained.

Ethical consideration

This study approved by the Ethics Committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, No. IR. MUI. REC.1395.3.021.

Twelve participants (six couples) attended in the study. The mean age of the female and male participants was 44.7 and 47.5 years, respectively. The average duration of the married life of the couples was 24 years. Other individual characteristics of the participants are given in Table 1 . The analysis of the participants’ experiences yielded 18 subsubcategory divisions, 8 subcategories, and 3 main categories, “strong foundation for living together,” “mutual commitment to protecting marital cohesion,” and “striving to improve sexual relations [ Table 2 ].”

Individual characteristics of the participants

Subsubcategory divisions, subcategories, and main categories resulting from the couples’ experience analysis

Strong foundation for living together

From the couples’ perspectives, appropriate beginning of marriage and couple good fit in marriage were among the most important factors for long-term marital satisfaction.

Appropriate beginning of marriage: the participants believed that easy marriage and respect for customs are among the factors that help form the proper foundation for marriage

Easy to get married

Most participants reported that the conditions should not be made difficult for marriage, and should be based on the ethical values of the couple, excessive demands, formalities, luxuries, costly customs should be minimized and the support of the couples should be attracted. However, basic resources such as having a job, income sufficient for living, independent accommodation should be available. In this context, Participant No. 7, a 46-year-old man, reports:

We started our married life in a room after a plain luxury-free wedding ceremony. It was so lovely. Unlike some other families, I wanted to hold our marriage ceremony without the otherwise costly traditional ceremonies.

Respect for the customs in the marriage

According to the participants, observing the ethnic and family traditions, customs, and the elderly's experiences are among the factors contributing to the marital satisfaction of the couples. In this respect, Participant No. 5, a 45-year-old man, reports:

I am a traditionalist, observe family and ethnic traditions. I did my best in the early days of our married life, both when I proposed and then later, to consider the family, relatives, and the traditions.

Couple good fit in marriage: Investigation of the findings indicated that the individual and family similarities, as well as providing informed choice for spouse were the factors to which the couples referred

Individual and family similarities

Honesty, cultural and religious similarities, as well as similar class families, similar lines of thought, and mutual understanding and consensus were the most important criteria that the participants considered when choosing a partner. Faith and moral commitments were the top priorities for the participants and that beauty was not the primary criterion of choice. Participant No. 1, a 41-year-old woman, reports:

It was just his honesty that mattered to me, and as far as same class family is concerned, his family class was almost the same as mine. It was important that we did not have many cultural differences, that is, we did not differ much in our line of thinking.

Providing informed choices wife

An analysis of the results indicated that the participants sought to know each other before marriage and had acquired the knowledge and understanding either individually by talking in person to each other about their interests, priorities, and telling their biography, or through their families by socializing with the family of the other party, or by marriage mediators, or even by local investigation. Couples reported that personal goals, values, restrictions, and shortcomings should be stated explicitly for marriage so that the couples could learn well enough about each other.

Participant No. 8, a 46-year-old man, reports:

I do exactly remember writing my priorities and questions on paper. Even now, my wife still has the paper. I even got down to such details by saying “What kind of food do you like?” and “What color do you like?” At that time, in our city, perhaps no one cared for these things, but I did. I had read books about it. I asked questions and she answered.

Mutual commitment to protecting marital cohesion

This category refers to the factors associated with the couple's mutual commitment to protecting marital cohesion. The analysis of the participants’ experiences indicated that modeling from others marital relations, deep emotional relationships between couple, desirable interaction with each other's families and having life skills leading to marital cohesion.

Modeling from others marital relations

According to the participants, learning was based on experience and influenced by the parents’ relationships and Learning from other couples’ experiences played a crucial role in the marital cohesion.

Being influenced by parents’ relationships

The participants believed that they modeled their parents’ married life and their treatment of each other, and were influenced by their parents’ mutual help, support, forgiveness, friendship, kindness, intimacy, positive interaction, and romantic relationships, and learned lessons from their mistakes, hardships, and living problems, trying not to repeat such mistakes as not understanding each other, ignoring their demands, not meeting their sexual needs, and comparing their partner with others’. Participant No. 6, a 54-year-old man, reports:

I learned about life and marital relations from my parents. I knew what my mother wanted and said, but my dad didn’t. They couldn’t understand each other. That's why I always tried to understand my wife.

Learning from other couples’ experiences

The participants pointed out that they tried to acquire the experiences from the marital problems and success stories of other couples, modeling certain successful individual relatives and learning lessons from their strengths, faith, proper raising of their children, modernness, studying and caring for continued education and avoided repeating inappropriate behaviors and socializing with couples with marital problems, who were constantly fighting each other in front of others. Participant No. 4, a 39-year-old woman, reports:

Early on in our marriage, we socialized with a relative. Every time we went to their house, they were arguing with each other in front of us.. We came to an understanding that we should socialize less with them, because we thought it might have an impact on our life; so we gradually ended our relationships with them and were very pleased with the decision.

Couples’ deep emotional relationships

According to the participants, loving each other and having a sense of belonging to each other lead to a deep emotional relationship between them.

Love each other

The participants perceived the love of the spouse as the factor for the stability of their life, saying that their love had not diminished or become boring over time; rather, it had even improved. They had a deep emotional relationship and did not care to verbally express their love even in front of others. Participant No. 5, a 45-year-old man, reported about verbally expressing love for his wife:

I don’t get embarrassed to say to my wife in front of her father: “Come here honey!” or when I come home and find her parents or my mom there, I don’t get embarrassed to hug, kiss, or shake hands with her. Now I love her more than ever before.

Sense of belonging to each other

The participants reported that they sought to instill their sense of belonging in their partners with such romantic behavior, as by embracing, kissing, and shaking hands with them. At the same time, they found themselves beholden to their partners, but they felt a sense of ownership over them and they couldn’t stand the attention of others to their partners; some women pointed out to their sense of jealousy aroused when their husband paid attention to another person, saying that they wanted their husband's attention drawn only to them. Participant No. 3, a 45-year-old woman, reports:

When a girl marries a boy, she thinks that he belongs to her and he should no longer be kind to anyone else. At that time, I was very sad because my brother had been martyred in the war. Until then, I had been in touch with no other boy. I didn’t like him to be kind to others and if he was, I would become jealous…

Desirable interaction between the couples’ families

Analysis of the findings suggested that the participants believed that mutual respect in family relationships and being accepted by each other's families were needed to create a favorable interaction between their families.

Mutual respect for family relationships

The results showed that, from the participants’ point of view, when the families respect the couple's privacy and do not interfere in their problems, the couple mutually respects their partner's family. This was expressed in a respectful addressing and attitude. Participant No. 5, a 45-year-old man, reports:

As she had great respect for my father, she would always call him “Sir,” and never by the name and would call my mother “Mother.” She still calls her so.

Being accepted by each other's families

The participants reported that the bride or groom should be accepted and loved as their own children by each other's families. The parents of the couple should treat each other alike, creating an intimate relationship with each other and their families. The participants believed that the bride and groom were able to grow with their partner's family, learning a lot about education and housekeeping from the elderly. Participant No. 3, a 45-year-old woman, reports:

My father would always tell my husband that he was like his son. Whatever my father wanted to do, he would tell my husband; they felt at home with each other; they were friends. When I was alone, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law would come over to take me to their homes. They took care of me. They were so kind.

Having life skills for marital issues

From the participants’ perspective, having life skills in marital issues like, respect to each other personality, supporting each other growth and promotion and endurance in debates and disputes results in marital cohesion.

Having respect to each other personality

The participants noted that they preserved the authority of their partners in the family, supported and respected them, took their orders, avoided despising them privately or publicly, addressed them by using respectful words, welcomed them on their arrival and venerated them by devoting a special place for them in the family. Participant No. 8, a 46-year-old man, reports:

I always keep telling my kid to respect their mother. “If your mom says something, she wants the best for you.” I never treat my kids in a way that makes them think I am against their mother. I will definitely protect their mother's place in the family. I have seen some men complain in disrespectful language in their family. It's terrible. I have never ever disrespected her either privately or publicly.

Supporting each other growth and promotion

Some participants noted that they cared for and encouraged the education of their partners, trying hard to downplay the effect that peripheral problems had on their family and created a relaxed atmosphere at home to help their partners better concentrate while studying. Besides, they tried to correct their improper behavioral patterns, thus supporting each other's individual growth. Participant No. 5, a 45-year-old man, reports on correcting improper patterns:

I had this inherited family pattern of improper consumption at the beginning of our married life. Fortunately, my wife, using a very tactful initiative, tried and managed to gradually change it.

Endurance in debates and disputes

The participants reported that they endured through hard times and helped each other, hard times like the days at the war front, waging war, getting wounded and sick, and then having financial problems and shortages, doing the house chores. They endured through hardships by empathizing and encouraging each other. Being patient, giving up on their demands, pacifying each other, not insisting too much on their demands, respecting each other's beliefs and opinions, and ignoring each other's faults were instances of their endurance. Participant No. 5, a 45-year-old man, reports:

In the course of life, we had the kind of failures that could have discouraged us but we didn’t waver and tough as we were, we faced problems with positive energy as though nothing had happened, and went on with renewed hope.

Participant No. 4, a 39-year-old woman, reports on ignoring each other's faults:

“The love between us is such that we see less of each other's bad qualities and we bring up each other's good works. For example, if I make a mistake, my husband will not tell me straight forward. Me, the same. We do not talk about it directly. He may tell me later what I did was wrong, that I shouldn’t have done that. I may be a little less patient than my husband, but he is not like me. He never mentions my faults as they happen. He controls himself and talks about it in due course of time.”

Striving to improve sexual relations

This category describes the factors that improve the sexual relations from the couple's point of view. An analysis of the participants’ experiences revealed that the couple cared for the quality of their sexual relations. They tried to Strengthen sexual intimacy and sexual education.

Strengthening sexual intimacy

According to the participants, Talking about sexual preferences, Trying to meet each other's sexual desires and Make themselves attractive to each other during sexual relation would lead to improved sexual relations.

Talking about sexual preferences

Participants expressed that they shared their sexual preferences with sincerity, honesty and far from compliments, and in this regard, they expressed their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with each other and expressed their expectations from each other in sexual intercourse.. Participant No. 1, a 41-year-old woman, reports:

From the very beginning (of our married life), we expressed our sexual demands on each other. Naturally, our demands were not carried to the extreme. I think this is very important because this would make your partner take a step that's to big for them. There is no end to such demands. If your partner is to take one huge step every day, they will fall. Demands should be kept proportionate to your partner's mental and physical capacity. They should be kept normal.

Trying to meet each other's sexual desires

The participants reported that they understood and cared for each other's emotional and sexual needs. They respected their partner's sexual demands and sought to meet them. They believed that sexual relations ensured the survival, peace, and happiness of the family, minimizing the differences. They emphasized expressing your love and devoting enough time to it. They cared for their partner's satisfaction with sex and the height of sexual pleasure (orgasm) on both sides and saw it as a factor for satisfaction in married life. Participant No. 7, a 46-year-old man, reports:

Unquestionably, when a woman is sexually satisfied, she becomes joyful. She gets up and attends further to her house and life. She would love her husband further and make the best of the opportunities that come her way. She would help realize the creativity in her genes. She would be motivated. Unfortunately, however, if she is not sexually satisfied, i. e. not reach perfect orgasm, she will be get disappointed. Even if she is provided with the best life and the best resources, she will not be happy.

Make themselves attractive to each other during sexual relation

Most of the participants reported that physical fitness, like taking a bath, putting on makeup and perfume, are effective in improving attraction during sexual relations. Participant No. 10, a 40-year-old woman, reports:

When I take a shower, dry my hair, wear a nice dress, put on makeup, I feel much fitter for sex! When my husband does the same, takes a shower and shaves, I get attracted more to him.

Importance of proper sexual education

From the participants’ point of view, Gaining sexual knowledge and get sexual training for marital life are necessary for improving sexual relation.

Gaining sexual knowledge

Many participants stated that they do not have enough knowledge about sexual issues, also they have not access to valid educational resources. Some of them tried to find a sexual counselor and specialists. No. 12, a 52-year-old man, said:

“I didn’t have enough information about sexual relation early in marriage and there was no where for me to go for training. I couldn’t ask anyone for shame. Until I found a family counselor and got some good information from him.”

Get sexual training for marital life

The participants referred to the need for proper premarital sex counseling using Iran-Islamic patterns, the necessity of sex education by studying authentic training courses and gaining information on the sex differences between men and women, learning about their attitudes, the role of hormones in the menstruation cycle of women and its effect on sexual matters, as well as the necessity of imparting proper marital education to the children getting married. Participant No. 8, a 46-year-old man, reports:

I think real education should be provided at junior or senior high school levels, informing the students besides observing the religious aspects. I think this is something that the university should work on, offer training courses on, and teach considering the scientific, religious and other conditions.

This study focused on the couple's experiences of long-term marital satisfaction, in which, data analysis led to the emergence of three main categories: Strong foundation for living together, mutual commitment to protecting marital cohesion, striving to improve sexual relations. In the following pages, I have discussed each factor.

From the participants’ perspective, an important factor associated with long-term marital satisfaction in this project was informed marriage, including creating a proper foundation for marriage and a good-match combined with gaining adequate information that would lead to continued marital satisfaction for the couple. The participants noted that an appropriate formation of an early marriage basis would be realized following an easy marriage combined with respect for traditions.

Furthermore, for the present study, the participants believed that good-match, being well-informed about their prospective partner, honesty, cultural and ethic similarities, shared intellectuality, similar lines of thought, similar education, moral commitment, faith, and religious commitment, and the fact that beauty is not a priority in choosing a partner were among the contributing factors to continued married life. A systematic review of the studies also indicates that the similarity in their education and majors can be a positive and effective contributor to their mutual understanding because it provides sufficient motivation and the proper cultural atmosphere for their verbal and spiritual communication, creating the ground for deep cultural and intellectual convergence.[ 23 ] Religion and religious commitment, too, lead to marital stability and satisfaction with such means as anti-divorce and sharing their religious beliefs.[ 23 , 24 , 25 ]

Another important factor related to long-term marital satisfaction is mutual understanding and compatibility, which comprises modeling the marital and deep emotional relationships between the couples, as well as desirable interaction between the partners’ families, harmony in the course life, and protection of cohesion of married life. The researchers suggested that the couple's similar attitudes, behavior, and beliefs could enhance the duration of marriage. Moreover, the similarity in personality traits is an important factor in the marriage stability and that such traits as neuroticism, loyalty, and agreeableness are closely linked to marital compatibility, which are among the effective contributors to the degree of marital satisfaction and continuation.[ 26 , 27 ]

From the participants’ viewpoint, modeling marital relationships, which comprises modeling the parent's married life, learning from the hardships and problems of the parents’ life, modeling the parents’ treatment of each other were considered as contributors to marital satisfaction. In this regard, Bandura's learning theory holds that a primary way to learn is to observe the behavior of others. People have mostly learned the negative communication patterns from their parental families. People can also learn better communication skills by observing patterns.[ 28 ] The results of some studies also indicate the relationship between the parental family health and satisfactory marital relations.[ 29 ] Evidence indicates that the effect of the parent's marital relationships is a variable that the couple bring from the past to their marital relationship, the kind that affects their marital satisfaction and intimacy.[ 30 , 31 ] Furthermore, experiencing or seeing violence and abuse at home is associated with the acceptance and further use of aggression in subsequent intimate relationships.[ 32 ]

The participants believed that the couple's deep emotional relationship is another important factor associated with long-term marital satisfaction, which includes loving each other, having a sense of belonging to each other, and enjoying companionship. In line with the present study, the evidence shows that intimacy, too, is a factor contributing to marital satisfaction. Intimacy has been introduced as a most valuable aspect of human existence and essential to the healthy functioning of human.[ 33 ] It is formed in the context of closeness, similarity to and a loving personal relationship with another person.[ 34 ] What strengthens the marital relationship is the close emotional relationship and intimacy between partners.[ 35 ]

The participants, too, believed that optimal interaction between the couple's families is another important factor associated with long-term marital satisfaction, which includes mutual respect in the family relationships and acceptance by the couple's families. The results of this study indicated that a contributor to the marriage stability is the parental families of the couple and the quality of the relationship between them. Families are an important role model for the couple in setting norms, beliefs, and values related to the relationships; therefore, they can affect the satisfaction and stability of the couple's relationships.[ 36 ] The positive family support, on the one hand, affects the couple's satisfaction with their relationships and is essential to marriage stability.[ 37 ] On the other hand, the negative interference of the couple's family members in the interpersonal relationships of the couple can lead to reduced family commitment, marital insecurity, and conflicts, and could have a negative impact on the marital satisfaction.[ 36 ] Being accepted by each other's families is another subcategory of positive interaction between the families, contributing to the couple's marital satisfaction. The evidence also indicates that non-acceptance of the bride/groom by the their families is a trauma that would disrupt the couple's and families’ relationships and could lead to their mistreatment of the bride/groom and the deprivation of the couple of the emotional and social support of their families.[ 38 ]

Another important factor associated with the long-term marital satisfaction includes harmony in the course of life, which includes compromising, accepting, and respecting each other's personalities, as well as supporting the promotion of each other's individual growth, and satisfaction with their abilities. The evidence suggests that there is a relationship between the family authority and respect for the couple and their satisfaction with the marital relationship. Men feel more powerful and more satisfied when they feel that they have love, concern, and care for their partners.[ 39 ]

Protecting marital cohesion is another important factor related to the long-term marital satisfaction, which includes endurance and giving up in conflicts, stress and tension management, having the living skills in marital relationships, and seeking help from a counselor. The research findings confirm the fact that among the communication interventions that effectively reinforce the emotional relationship between the partners, is tolerance and forgiving the faults, the source of hard feelings, which are potentially a very powerful intervention.[ 40 ] Therefore, one can conclude that training for living skills has been effective in increasing marital satisfaction and hopefulness.[ 41 ] In fact, individuals espouse beliefs on successful completion of a living skill training course that helps them cope with stress and increases their awareness, coping skills, and their cognitive abilities, thus helping them reach their life goals and boosting their hopes.[ 42 ]

An analysis of the experiences indicated that the majority of the participants believed that trying to improve sex is another important factor related to the long-term marital satisfaction, which included paying attention to desirable sex relations, physical and psychological fitness for sex relationship, and the importance of appropriate sex education. Analysis of the results of the study revealed that both in men and women, conversations about sexual preferences, trying to meet each other's sexual desires, physical and psychological fitness in sex, creating change in sexual relations, understanding the flaws in the existing sex education, the necessity of proper sex education when getting married, and trying to acquire sex education in married life increased marital satisfaction, contributing to continued married life. According to the studies, lack of proper education and sexual skills, as well as unrealistic demands on and performance in the marital relations between the partners played an important role in the development of sexual and marital problems.[ 43 ]

Also, most of the participants reported that physical fitness, like taking a bath, putting on makeup and perfume, are effective in improving attraction during sexual relations. A study by Johnson and colleagues on arousal-related factors in men found that one of the most common characteristics of a sexual partner that led to male arousal was the physical and physical characteristics of their sexual partner. In this study, men showed that unpleasant or pleasant odors played an important role in reducing or increasing arousal.[ 44 ] The difference between this study and the current study was that in this study, in addition to men, these points were also very important for women. Participants in this study stated that having positive mental imagery and that people feel good about their bodies to play a role in their sexual desire.

A study by Eric Johnson et al. Also found that women's self-esteem or feelings about their bodies could affect men's sexual arousal.[ 44 ] These findings are consistent with the results of Graham et al. That women who feel less aroused have unpleasant and negative feelings about themselves and their appearance.[ 45 ]

The research conducted indicated that sex is the highest priority in marital relations and the quality of marital relationships depends on the couple's degree of sexual satisfaction.[ 46 ] However, while sexuality is innate and involuntary, it could be said that sexual attitudes and behavior could be learned and the sexual health of individuals, too, could be improved by enhancing the education.[ 47 ] Educational programs improve marital satisfaction and happiness, which is associated with the increased knowledge of the couple on sexual matters and making adjustment to their unrealistic sexual demands.[ 48 , 49 ]

Limitations and recommendation

Given the nature of sexual and marital issues in Iranian couples, it was difficult to find couples who volunteered to express their experiences and expectations in the field of marital and sexual satisfaction. Also, some participants did not fully share their experiences and information about sex and marital life with the researcher, and the researcher tried to communicate effectively and conduct all interviews individually and respect for the privacy of individuals, to Gain the trust of the participants as much as possible. The present study was one of the first studies, that conducted in Iran in the field of long-term married life and the factors affecting it, which conducted to explain the experiences and expectations of Iranian couples from long-term married life. And the results of this study identified the factors affecting long-term married life in Iranian culture and society.

Conclusions

This study was conducted to explore a rich picture of the factors affecting marital satisfaction in a long-term marriage. Despite the limitations of the study, factors like strong foundation for living together, mutual commitment to protecting marital cohesion, striving to improve sexual relations that affect the long-term marriage. It can be concluded from the above that marital satisfaction is associated with various variables, such that the relationship would undergo change over the years after marriage, the kind that takes on specific meanings and concepts and could be interpreted in their own physiological, cultural, and other contexts.

Financial support and sponsorship

This study was supported by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: IR.MUI.REC.1395.3.021).

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

The researchers would like to sincerely thank the Research Deputy, Midwifery and Reproductive Health professors of Isfahan Department of Nursing and Midwifery, for their unwavering efforts and assistance in writing, editing, and conducting this study.

Using CO2 and biomass, researchers find path to more environmentally friendly recyclable plastics

Modern life relies on plastic. This lightweight, adaptable product is a cornerstone of packaging, medical equipment, the aerospace and automotive industries and more. But plastic waste remains a problem as it degrades in landfills and pollutes oceans.

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers have created a potential alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic that is made from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and lignin, a component of wood that is a low-cost byproduct of paper manufacturing and biofuel production. Their research was published in Advanced Functional Materials .

"Our study takes the harmful greenhouse gas CO 2 and makes it into a useful raw material to produce degradable polymers or plastics," said Hoyong Chung, an associate professor in chemical and biomedical engineering at the college. "We are not only reducing CO 2 emissions, but we are producing a sustainable polymer product using the CO 2 ."

This study is the first to demonstrate the direct synthesis of what's known as a cyclic carbonate monomer -- a molecule made of carbon and oxygen atoms that can be linked with other molecules -- made from CO 2 and lignin.

By linking multiple monomers together, scientists can create synthetic polymers, long-chained molecules that can be designed to fill all manner of applications.

The material developed by Chung and his research team is fully degradable at the end of its life without producing microplastics and toxic substances. It can be synthesized at lower pressures and temperatures. And the polymer can be recycled without losing its original properties.

Using depolymerization, the researchers can convert polymers to pure monomers, which are the building blocks of polymers. This is the key to the high quality of the recycled material. The monomers can be recycled indefinitely and produce a high-quality polymer as good as the original, an improvement over previously developed and currently used polymer materials in which repeated heat exposure from melting reduces quality and allows for limited recycling.

"We can readily degrade the polymer via depolymerization, and the degraded product can synthesize the same polymer again," Chung said. "This is more cost effective and keeps it from losing original properties of polymers over multiple recycling. This is considered a breakthrough in material science, as it enables the realization of a true circular economy."

The newly developed material could be used for low-cost, short lifespan plastic products in such sectors as construction, agriculture, packaging, cosmetics, textiles, diapers and disposable kitchenware. With further development, Chung anticipates its use in highly specialized polymers for biomedical and energy storage applications.

The FSU Office of Commercialization provided valuable foundational support for Chung's research. Support from an internal funding program helped previous work with lignin-based polymers, and with the help of the office, he has received patents for other polymer research.

The project was supported by federal funds awarded to the State of Florida from the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and support from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Postdoctoral researcher Arijit Ghorai was the lead author of the study.

Recycling and Waste
Sustainability
Environmental Science
Global Warming
Air Quality
Environmental Policy
Environmental Issues
Geoengineering
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide sink
Energy development
Fossil fuel
Alternative fuel vehicle
Climate engineering

Story Source:

Materials provided by Florida State University . Original written by Trisha Radulovich. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

Arijit Ghorai, Hoyong Chung. CO2 and Lignin‐Based Sustainable Polymers with Closed‐Loop Chemical Recycling . Advanced Functional Materials , 2024; DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202403035

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3. problems students are facing at public k-12 schools.

We asked teachers about how students are doing at their school. Overall, many teachers hold negative views about students’ academic performance and behavior.

48% say the academic performance of most students at their school is fair or poor; a third say it’s good and only 17% say it’s excellent or very good.
49% say students’ behavior at their school is fair or poor; 35% say it’s good and 13% rate it as excellent or very good.

Teachers in elementary, middle and high schools give similar answers when asked about students’ academic performance. But when it comes to students’ behavior, elementary and middle school teachers are more likely than high school teachers to say it’s fair or poor (51% and 54%, respectively, vs. 43%).

A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that many teachers hold negative views about students’ academic performance and behavior.

Teachers from high-poverty schools are more likely than those in medium- and low-poverty schools to say the academic performance and behavior of most students at their school are fair or poor.

The differences between high- and low-poverty schools are particularly striking. Most teachers from high-poverty schools say the academic performance (73%) and behavior (64%) of most students at their school are fair or poor. Much smaller shares of teachers from low-poverty schools say the same (27% for academic performance and 37% for behavior).

In turn, teachers from low-poverty schools are far more likely than those from high-poverty schools to say the academic performance and behavior of most students at their school are excellent or very good.

Lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that most teachers say the pandemic has had a lasting negative impact on students’ behavior, academic performance and emotional well-being.

Among those who have been teaching for at least a year, about eight-in-ten teachers say the lasting impact of the pandemic on students’ behavior, academic performance and emotional well-being has been very or somewhat negative. This includes about a third or more saying that the lasting impact has been very negative in each area.

Shares ranging from 11% to 15% of teachers say the pandemic has had no lasting impact on these aspects of students’ lives, or that the impact has been neither positive nor negative. Only about 5% say that the pandemic has had a positive lasting impact on these things.

A smaller majority of teachers (55%) say the pandemic has had a negative impact on the way parents interact with teachers, with 18% saying its lasting impact has been very negative.

These results are mostly consistent across teachers of different grade levels and school poverty levels.

Major problems at school

When we asked teachers about a range of problems that may affect students who attend their school, the following issues top the list:

Poverty (53% say this is a major problem at their school)
Chronic absenteeism – that is, students missing a substantial number of school days (49%)
Anxiety and depression (48%)

One-in-five say bullying is a major problem among students at their school. Smaller shares of teachers point to drug use (14%), school fights (12%), alcohol use (4%) and gangs (3%).

Differences by school level

A bar chart showing that high school teachers more likely to say chronic absenteeism, anxiety and depression are major problems.

Similar shares of teachers across grade levels say poverty is a major problem at their school, but other problems are more common in middle or high schools:

61% of high school teachers say chronic absenteeism is a major problem at their school, compared with 43% of elementary school teachers and 46% of middle school teachers.
69% of high school teachers and 57% of middle school teachers say anxiety and depression are a major problem, compared with 29% of elementary school teachers.
34% of middle school teachers say bullying is a major problem, compared with 13% of elementary school teachers and 21% of high school teachers.

Not surprisingly, drug use, school fights, alcohol use and gangs are more likely to be viewed as major problems by secondary school teachers than by those teaching in elementary schools.

Differences by poverty level

A dot plot showing that majorities of teachers in medium- and high-poverty schools say chronic absenteeism is a major problem.

Teachers’ views on problems students face at their school also vary by school poverty level.

Majorities of teachers in high- and medium-poverty schools say chronic absenteeism is a major problem where they teach (66% and 58%, respectively). A much smaller share of teachers in low-poverty schools say this (34%).

Bullying, school fights and gangs are viewed as major problems by larger shares of teachers in high-poverty schools than in medium- and low-poverty schools.

When it comes to anxiety and depression, a slightly larger share of teachers in low-poverty schools (51%) than in high-poverty schools (44%) say these are a major problem among students where they teach.

Discipline practices

About two-thirds of teachers (66%) say that the current discipline practices at their school are very or somewhat mild – including 27% who say they’re very mild. Only 2% say the discipline practices at their school are very or somewhat harsh, while 31% say they are neither harsh nor mild.

We also asked teachers about the amount of influence different groups have when it comes to determining discipline practices at their school.

67% say teachers themselves don’t have enough influence. Very few (2%) say teachers have too much influence, and 29% say their influence is about right.

A diverging bar chart showing that two-thirds of teachers say they don’t have enough influence over discipline practices at their school.

31% of teachers say school administrators don’t have enough influence, 22% say they have too much, and 45% say their influence is about right.
On balance, teachers are more likely to say parents, their state government and the local school board have too much influence rather than not enough influence in determining discipline practices at their school. Still, substantial shares say these groups have about the right amount of influence.

Teachers from low- and medium-poverty schools (46% each) are more likely than those in high-poverty schools (36%) to say parents have too much influence over discipline practices.

In turn, teachers from high-poverty schools (34%) are more likely than those from low- and medium-poverty schools (17% and 18%, respectively) to say that parents don’t have enough influence.

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Table of contents, ‘back to school’ means anytime from late july to after labor day, depending on where in the u.s. you live, among many u.s. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows, most european students learn english in school, for u.s. teens today, summer means more schooling and less leisure time than in the past, about one-in-six u.s. teachers work second jobs – and not just in the summer, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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Exogamy and Endogamy

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Gift Exchange

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ENGL 1102 Worozbyt Spring 2024 : Assignment

Literature Research Assignment

The keys to a good and lasting marriage: Exploration of Iranian couple's experiences

Zahra Alipour

Kobra Salehi

Shahnaz Kohan

Maryam Hashemi

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

CONCLUSIONS:

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Study design and setting

Study participants and sampling

Data collection tools and technique

Ethical consideration

Strong foundation for living together

Easy to get married

Respect for the customs in the marriage

Individual and family similarities