I caught that old line in a Maureen Dowd column a week or so ago about “modern contradictions” and it pointed to Rutger’s University’s National Marriage Project which published two studies last month… intriguing, since I have three twenty-something sons who fit the demographic. There’s a lot to chew on with each of these studies so I’ll take a bite several times in the upcoming days.
Why Men Won’t Commit: Exploring Young Men’s Attitudes About Sex, Dating and Marriage (Text or PDF)
A special essay on young, not-yet married men’s attitudes on the timing of marriage finds that men experience few social pressures to marry, gain many of the benefits of marriage by cohabiting with a romantic partner, and are ever more reluctant to commit to marriage in their early adult years.
Should We Live Together? What Young Adults Need to Know about Cohabitation before Marriage (Text or PDF)
Cohabitation is replacing marriage as the first living together experience for young men and women… But a careful review of the available social science evidence suggests that living together is not a good way to prepare for marriage or to avoid divorce. What’s more, it shows that the rise in cohabitation is not a positive family trend. Cohabiting unions tend to weaken the institution of marriage and pose special risks for women and children.