By age 25, the majority of
Americans born between
1940 and 1944 were
married (79.6% of women and
65.3% of men). Only 30.3% of
women and 20.3% of men born
between 1990 and 1994 were
married by the age of 25 about
fifty years later
According to data from the
U.S. Census Bureau, it was established
that Americans that
got married later on in their life
stood a greater chance of never
having to return to the alter
again. Either for a second or
third time.
We may examine trends in
marital patterns and contrast the
marital history by sex and birth
cohort, which refers to people
born during a particular period
of time, thanks to the 2021
Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP). We used
five-year birth cohorts for both
men and women in our research,
starting with those who
were born in 1940–1944 and finishing
with those who were born
in 1990–1994.
In particular, the analysis
comprises questioned men and
women who are 15 years old or
older and were born between
1940 and 1994. Both same-sex
and opposite-sex relationships
are covered by this.
Young adults continued to
see a historical fall in the proportion
of women and men who
have ever been married. In the
Southwest Florida region, it
seems like the decline is at an
all time high.
Between the birth cohorts
of 1940–1944 and 1985–1989,
the percentage of women who
had ever been married by the
age of 30 fell by 31.5 percentage
points. For men, the
decline was 36.4 percentage
points bigger.
The percentage of women
and men who were married by
age 35 fell by 18.6 and 21.7
percentage points, respectively,
between the birth cohorts of
1940–1944 and 1980–1984.
An individual has more time
and options as they age to get
married or remarry. It is therefore
reasonable to anticipate
that younger cohorts will have
a greater proportion of women
and men who have never been
married and a lower proportion
of those who have been married
twice or more.
The following studies do not
include adults in the 1985–1989
and 1990–1994 birth cohorts
since they have not had enough
time to marry even once, let
alone twice or more.
The first marriage may have
an impact on how frequently
men and women remarry.
Consider two 36-year-olds
who were married at different
ages one at 25 and the other at
32.
Each individual has had an
equal amount of time to get married.
However, the person who
married at age 25 would have
11 years to end their first marriage
and marry again, whereas
the person who married at age
32 would have only four years,
since they cannot get married
again until the first marriage dissolves.
Despite the fact that women
in younger birth cohorts are delaying
marriage for longer, the
proportion of singles across the
oldest and youngest cohorts is
the same.
In comparison to birth cohorts
that first married later in
life, those who entered their first
marriage before age 25 had a
higher fraction of the population
who had been married twice or
more.
Around one-fourth of all
women and men in the oldest
birth cohort—those who were
born between 1940 and 1944
were married by the time they
were 25 and eventually wed
twice or more. 3.2% of women
and 8.2% of males were married
at age 26 or older and had been
married twice or more.
Only 3.2% of the oldest and
youngest cohorts of women who
married later (age 26 or older)
and had two or more marriages
were found throughout all birth
cohorts.
Although the proportion of
men in this category was likewise
relatively low throughout
birth cohorts, it rose as the cohorts
aged, from 3.2% in the
generation born between 1975
and 1979 to 8.2% in the cohort
born between 1940 and 1944.
SIPP and Family Background
For the first time since the
Social Security Administration
Supplement Data of 2014, the
SIPP includes comprehensive
marital history information in
2021.
For all adults 15 years of
age and older, this new content
includes details about the first,
second, and third marriages,
or the most recent one, as well
as any associated separations,
divorces, or widowhood, if relevant.
Examining the ages at and
lengths of various marital events
is made possible by the availability
of detailed information on
marital history.
The data from the cohorts
align strongly with regions like
Southwest Florida where we’ve
seen a massive decline in the
rate of marriages and a rise in
first, second and third marriages.
This in turn has also spiked
up the divorce rate and reduced
the number of men and women
who only visit the alter once in
their lifetime.
