The Effect of Socioeconomic Downturns on Marriages - Essay Example

? For Better or Worse:; The effect of Socioeconomic Downturns on Marriages My essay discusses how socioeconomic downturns can affect marriage and divorce. The road to marriage used to follow the traditional course of love, marriage and then babies, a generation ago. Today, many couples are focusing on their careers first, living together, and then, maybe, getting married in the future. More couples share similar educational and career statuses than in the past generations. There are also more women in the workforce than ever before. Well, what happens when the economy takes a turn like it has in the past few years? Current research has shown that 75 percent of women will not marry someone who was unemployed. Having a job is an important factor when meeting a future spouse! (Gannon) Unemployment can cause a couple to feel overwhelmed, powerless and frightened. Even if you have a job, research has shown that even the profession you choose and the length of your commute can have a positive or negative impact on your relationship. It was interesting to read that certain careers like dancers, choreographers, bar tenders and roofers had some of the highest divorce rates. The professions with the lowest divorce rates were people with careers in religion, optometry, nuclear engineering and public transit. Professions with high stress were also a source of marital discord. Some careers may put a marriage at risk when they are all-consuming. (Gannon) The economic downturn in 2007 caused strain on 29% of marriages, according to University of Virginia’s Survey of Marital Generosity. The economic downturn is putting stress on couple in every income level. Many couples are seeking financial, marital and spiritual counseling to help them through these difficult times. As study conducted on 134 married couples who were seriously depressed indicating 48% showing improvements that were clinically significant, five years following the reception of sessions of weekly therapy for 26 weeks. 27% ended up being separated or divorced. The remaining percentage either exhibited no change or deteriorated relationships. Unemployment can lead to depression, illness, alcohol, drug abuse, anger and violence. A wife may resent the fact that she must now be the family’s bread-winner when her husband loses his job. A husband may no longer feel that he has what it takes to “be a man,” when he cannot be the family’s main provider. On the other hand, when a woman loses her job and has to stay, she may develop the feeling that she has been brought down the level of merely ensuring that domestic chores are taken care of, and as such view this as going back to the stereotypic era in which men fended for the family, and women cared for it. I personally know some people that are postponing or avoiding marriage due to financial reasons. It is interesting to see how the economic downturn has caused a decline in marriage rates and how the work-life balance has an interesting effect on our love lives. Sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox believes some couples are simply postponing a divorce until the economy rebounds. Manhattan divorce lawyer Jacalyn F. Barnett said that “In the past year, I have seen how the dramatic changes in our economy have had a dramatic effect on married people, especially those who have been used to earning high salaries, and many of those couples can no longer handle the stress.” (Cohen). Currently, if a couple is planning to get divorced this is a good time if they want to get out cheap because the plunging real estate prices may give them a better chance to buy out his or her spouse. The will likely be able to keep the family home for much less money than it would have cost a few years ago. (“Crisis Cuts Divorce Rates”) Education level is also linked to unemployment rates. Studies have been shown that males with high school diplomas are twice as likely to be unemployed than males with college degrees. It has also been found that those with a high school degree also experience higher unemployment rates while married simply because they are much more likely to be married while in their early 20s. (“Crisis Cuts Divorce Rates”) Even though the economic downturn has placed many couples under stress, there are couples that look at the economic downturn as an opportunity to face adversity together. Many families have learned the value of being there for one another when a spouse has lost their job or home. Couples have learned to simplify their lives and spend time together doing things that don’t cost as much money. Many couples have been able to renew trust in God and in each other and ultimately build a stronger marriage for the future. The rates of both marriage and divorce tend to drop with an economic downturn and rise with the return of good times. As a matter of fact, this pattern has been observed so extensively in the past that Dorothy Thomas, the renowned demographer, once cited this as a finding that has one the firmest basis amongst the social sciences. There is a fairly simple and common explication for the tendency of family dissolution and formation to be inhibited by recessions; in one word, marriage and divorce are expensive. Consider a couple thinking about divorce. The main concern of the couple will be whether they have irreconcilable differences. They, however, must also weigh their capacity to shoulder the numerous costs ascribed to severing ties. Divorce involves payment of substantial court and attorney fees. One of the spouses may be obliged to pay alimony. In addition, following separation, the same income amount must cover two cars, two homes, microwaves, and cater for many other requirements. Financial stability, thus, emerges as prerequisite for divorce (Roberts). In the event that a couple has lost income as a result of spousal unemployment, they might lack the economic means to proceed with a divorce in a recession (Roberts). The situation is the same for marriage. A vast majority of couples hold the belief that a particular level of economic stability and income needs to be attained prior to tying the knot. Furthermore, owing to the fact that weddings have evolved into opulent affairs, they currently tend to impose pecuniary burdens to couples who are engaged. Economic downturns make it daunting for these couples to suffice these economic challenges. As such, many of them end up putting marriage on hold (Roberts). Works Cited Cohen, Philip. “Recession, Resilience, Divorce? Family Inequality. 18 Dec. 2009. Web. 25 Nov. 2012 http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/recession-resilience-divorce/ “Crisis Cuts Divorce Rates.” Economic Crisis, U.S. 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 25 Nov. 2012 http://economiccrisis.us/2009/11/global-economic-crisis-cuts-divorce-rates/ Gannon, Drew. “The Majority of Women Won’t Marry Someone Who’s Unemployed”. Business Inside. 19 April, 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-majority-of-women-wont-marry-someone-whos-unemployed-2012-4 Roberts, Alex. "Marriage and the Great Recession: The State of Our Unions 2009." The State of Our Unions 2011. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. http://stateofourunions.org/2009/marriage_and_the_recession.php Read More