22SP_SO205A-Sociology of the Family

As it relates to the United States, I do think that increasing divorce rates are attributed to changing social norms. It is not that couples are suddenly fighting more, suddenly cheating more, etc,.. Rather our society has completely transformed its view of marriage. The first reason that comes to mind is the liberation of Women, and the second reason that comes to mind is the decrease in religious affiliation. Women can be financially independent, attend post-secondary education, dominate the work-force, have access to birth controls, etc,. They are no longer dependent on men based upon the confines of the law. Second, decrease in religious affiliation in the United States has a lot to do with the changing statistics of marriage and divorce. Divorce is heavily stigmatized in certain religious groups. For example, couples used to get kicked out of Catholic Church for getting divorced (some still do). Religious attitudes have become more accepting of divorce. They have had a sort of "of you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality to divorce because 50% of married couple experience divorce. Also, Americans are overall straying away from religion.

To your second question, it is hard to choose one overarching influence over the cause of increasing divorce rates. The intersectionality runs too deep here, as all of these are related/depend on another. However, I think legal changes had the most influence because in many cases before the law changed, plenty of women wanted to get divorced but knew they could not open their own bank accounts, credit cards, etc,. However, one could argue for the Supreme Court to decide these cases and out them into law, the culture of society had to have already been changed. I could agree with that. Once women gained equal financial means under the law, the independence they wanted was much more attainable. In turn, marriage became a mutual choice rather than a way for a woman to survive.

I do not believe that increased divorce rates are due to social norms or what is seen as normal by society. I think divorce rates are higher due to the change in marriage values. I think that our society is growing more independent, and that people are beginning to realize that marriage isn't necessarily needed in order to live a happy life. Our society has also made things that wouldn't have been deemed normal back in the day such as cheating more of a normal thing. That dynamic has caused divorce rates to skyrocket because or society is fixated on instant gratification and some marriages don't provide them with what they "want" in that moment. The ideal marriage as of right now in our society is still one that is predicated off love to one partner and wanting to build a family, but I would not be surprised if more people start to move toward open marriages in the future because it would allow them to be independent while still "married" as well as satisfy that instant gratification ideal I spoke about earlier.

I do not think that social changes surrounding marriage have had an impact on divorce rates. Although the ideals and periods in ones life for marriage have shifted, the reasoning for divorce in my opinion can be seen as situational to the individuals and not on the society. While societies ideals on gender roles and women have shifted over the years, the impacts these changes can have on marriages and divorce rates are dependent upon the individuals and their abilities and desire to conform, sympathize, adjust and overall compromise with one another to make the marriage work or not. The current "ideal" marriage in the US will most likely differ depending on certain parts of the country, but also differ between who is asked. The ideal marriage in the United States in my opinion can be seen as financially stable, having a fair distribution between domestic work and child care between the two parents (if children are had), and quality of life is good. "The ideal" marriage in 10-20 years will most likely look the same, potentially having a higher majority of marriages be between older adults, with a greater emphasis on the quality of life and happiness within it, due to the increasing importance for individuals currently to focus on individualistic happiness before happiness with someone. Additionally, the most influential cause of divorce in my opinion can stem from a mixture between financial and psychological issues due to ones quality of life that stems from financial stability. Financial stability, although not the most important aspect in life, can be seen as a main factor that can potentially stem into higher rates of arguments, unhappiness, infidelity, and many other variables that factor into ones marriage due to lower incomes.

I think the most influential cause of divorce is due to the social changes that are continuously changing in the United States. It is more socially acceptable to get a divorce now. Infidelity, growing apart, individualism, gender roles, etc. are all reasons people are getting a divorce, but in my opinion, they are all centered around the social and cultural changes taking place. I think the "ideal" marriage is constantly changing and evolving. For most, I think the ideal marriage is a partnership, having a partner who makes you better, supports you and loves you through all of the hard and good times. Marriage is not easy and it takes a lot of commitment and work and I think it is crucial to keep that in mind when marrying someone. I think the image of what an "ideal" marriage looks like will continue to shift and change in the next 10-20 years, but the foundation of an ideal marriage will stay relatively the same.

I do feel like the high social acceptance of divorce nowadays is because of social change. With the acceptance being so high, I think that divorce is a viable option for a lot of couples going through hard times. This may be the reason that 50% of couples in the US are getting divorced. I think the ideal marriage looks like a couple who stays together and communicates, and actively works together to keep their love strong. Of course there are other aspects to it but these 3 things are what I imagine an ideal marriage would be, even in 10-20 years. I don't think one stands out to me the most about what causes divorce, however, I do feel like legal changed are the reason for a lot of divorces occurring in the 1970-1980s. This is because legal change made divorce possible, and people could finally get out of their marriage. If I had to pick one, I would pick financial strains being the main cause of divorce. Accompanying this would be SES status, and the data clearly shows low SES couples have a higher chance of getting divorced than higher status SES couples.

I feel that the ideal marriage in America is one where both the husband and the wife work and bring financial stability to the household. They both try to split the domestic household work and childcare evenly. Because I think the domestic work can be evenly divided and the same with childcare and financial stability. I feel/ hope the ideal marriage does not change in the future.

Divorce is becoming a much more common thing and I believe that the reason for that stems from the changes in our society as a whole. Women are much more involved in the work force so getting married in the first place isn't one of the top priorities. However, The ideal marriage in the United States is still a loving dual income relationship between people who may not be the happiest all the time but are willing to work through the problems they come across together because they still enjoy each others company. 10-20 years from now i believe marriage will look some what the same but i do believe that the age of marriage will still rise.

The power balance in each family is one of the changing why people divorce a little bit easier than before. I am not sure about the US cases but in Japan, females started to earn much money that is enough to take care of themselves these days.
It means that they do not have to depend on their husband financially. About 10 years ago, it was hard to choose divorce as a way of going away from their partners for women. However, they have a chance to get a job and enough social security to get support after their break up today. It makes people more likely to choose devotion than before. Moreover, few couples have their children can be also one of the reasons for it.

I think a big reason for people divorcing is a lack of communication between partners as well as inexperience. In our society, the goal is to get married, but after that, most couples do not learn effective tools to maintain that relationship. Over time, these small miscommunications will eventually boil over and leave couples frustrated and isolated in their marriages. I think it is prudent for couples to attend therapy sessions, even if the relationship is going well. This can allow couples to better communicate and allow them to learn to better allot time for their partners.

With this in mind, I do think that divorce rates will decline. There are more resources now than ever before, and couples are starting to use these resources to their benefit. Furthermore, the average age of marriage is increasing. This is because people are solidifying their careers and earning their educations. These factors can contribute to a successful marriage by alleviating economic stressors. In addition to this, there is an added amount of maturity as both partners know themselves better and know (in theory) how to communicate their needs and wants to their spouse.

I definitely think that the past increases in divorce rates are due to social changes. For one, as it has gradually gotten more popular, divorce is becoming more acceptable in our society. In the past I think the idea marriage looked like getting married young, having kids, and having the husband and wife stick to their gender roles, Nowadays I think it can look a lot different, and I don't know if Americans are still on the same page as to what an "ideal" marriage looks like. I think in 10-20 years the divorce rates will continue to decrease, as their is less societal pressure to marry, the people who truly want marriage will stay together longer than those who conform just off of what they beleive is expected of them.

I think social change has been a huge influence on divorce historically. At one point women were not allowed to divorce their husbands without permission. As a result of societal views around women’s rights changing, women were allowed to divorce their husbands which caused the divorce rate to rise. In modern day times, the reasons for divorce have shifted due to similar societal changes. When something become more widely accepted, it increases. It has become much more normalized recently which in turn, has allowed more people to feel comfortable filing for divorce. This may also cause people to see why other people are filing for divorce and then look at their own marriage and see similar problems.

In the US the ideal marriage looks different for every couple. While some people still latch onto the idea of the nuclear family and that idea, other couples are starting to take a new approach. In 20 years I think people will feel even more comfortable doing what is best for their relationship instead of upholding traditional societal norms. I think for divorce, it is common that it is the result or problems over time. That lends itself to the idea that it is a combination of the reasons.