Free Essay Example. Marriage and Parenting in Adulthood

Marriage and parenting in adulthood is a very challenging stage in life, especially for young parents. Everyone needs satisfaction whether in marriage or while cohabiting. Before marriage, couples should consider several factors for a successful relationship. This paper is going to discuss the issues and consequences of cohabiting, why people get married, factors that contribute to divorce, impacts of having children in a marriage, and decisions about childcare.

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Before cohabiting, young adults should be aware of the age of the partner because cohabiting early may lead to early marriage, which may end up in divorce (Perelli-Harris et al., 2017). Birth control, acquisition of shared belongings, the reason for cohabiting, and whether both partners have had children before should be discussed. The financial consequences of cohabiting include poor ways of saving money due to the accumulation of non-financial assets such as cars, decorations, and furniture to build a home. Emotionally, cohabiting before marriage leads to low satisfaction in marriage, negative communication, diminished confidence, and greater susceptibility to divorce (Rhoades et al, 2009). Socially, cohabiting couples may damage the relationship with siblings and parents, low behavior outcomes, aggression, and depression among children born of cohabiting parents thus having trouble bonding with the parents and society (Perelli-Harris et al., 2017).

People get married for different reasons. Many people marry because of love, financial benefits, and to have children. Family and societal expectations, parental and property rights, hospital visitation rights, and citizenship are other factors that make people tie the knot (Özyigit, 2017). Many scholars have researched marital satisfaction. For example, Ashrafizaveh et al. (2019) cite marital satisfaction contributors today as education, cultural consideration, age, and duration of the marriage. Similarly, Sorokowski et al. (2017) note that a lack of sexual dysfunction, better economic situation, and higher sexual self-efficacy, and lack of sexual dysfunction (dyspareunia) influence marital satisfaction. Also, economic problems affect the stability and quality of life and cause emotional distress patterns in married couples (Karney & Bradbury, 2020). According to Ashrafizaveh et al. (2019), conditions for marital satisfaction is created by economic prosperity and desirable income, which provides better access to resources and facilities while reducing anxiety. The ideal age for marriage varies depending on gender. According to Subranmiam et al. (2015), the ideal age for a man to marry is between 25-29 years as compared to 19-24 years for a woman, and 25-30 years for both men and women. The ages are because those in the bracket have reached maturity for an optimum balance between sociological, psychological, and biological elements.

The common reasons for divorce include growing apart, constant arguments, unfaithfulness, lack of children, domestic violence, and lack of respect among spouses (Gravningen et al., 2017). Divorce affects future relationships because once an individual is divorced, chances of a new relationship become slim since divorcees would rather live without a partner. According to Leopold (2018), women with previous experiences of divorce have their future preferences greatly affected, while divorced individuals have a higher possibility of divorcing again after remarriage.

Having children in a marriage leads to a decline in relationship satisfaction because the decline rate in a relationship is steeper for couples with children as compared to those without. Similarly, unplanned pregnancy results in profound negative impacts on a relationship, especially with the arrival of a baby which changes the usual interaction among couples (Jarnkvist, 2018). Factors that affect childcare decisions include the financial status of the family, the parents’ place of work, and the child’s age. Parenting affects men and women by altering social participation and their well-being as it encourages an increase in an extended family and intergenerational interactions (Graaf et al., 2018). On the other hand, the social and cultural participation of the mother is limited due to the commitment brought about by the arrival of children, unlike the man who can participate culturally and socially while taking care of the child.

In conclusion, cohabiting before marriage is common among young adults, which comes with financial, social, and emotional consequences. Despite these concerns, people marry between 25-30 years to have children and for love. Sometimes, the marriage institution is affected by constant disagreements, unfaithfulness, and growing apart ending in divorce. Couples who are satisfied in their marriage have children, which impacts the spouses socially and culturally, thus they sometimes choose to take care of the child separately or together considering factors such as a child’s age and the family’s financial position.

References

Ashrafizaveh, A., Taghani, R., Soodkhori, M., Azmoude, E., & Tatari, M. (2019). Marital satisfaction and its associated factors at reproductive age women referred to health centers. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8(1), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_172_18

Graaf, J. V. H. D., Hoogenboom, M., Roos, S. D., & Bucx, F. (2018). Socio-demographic correlates of fathers' and mothers’ parenting behaviors. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(7), 2315–2327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1059-7Gravningen, K., Mitchell, K. R., Wellings, K., Johnson, A. M., Geary, R., Jones, K. G., … Mercer, C. H. (2017). Reported reasons for breakdown of marriage and cohabitation in Britain: Findings from the third national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles (Natsal-3). Plos One, 12(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174129Jarnkvist, K. (2018). Childbearing and marriage: Investigating the importance of context for meaning-making of first-time marriage. Marriage & Family Review, 55(1), 38–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2018.1458002Karney, B. R., & Bradbury, T. N. (2020). Research on marital satisfaction and stability in the 2010s: Challenging conventional wisdom. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12635Leopold T. (2018). Gender differences in the consequences of divorce: A study of multiple outcomes. Demography, 55(3), 769–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0667-6Özyigit, M. K. (2017). The meaning of marriage according to university students: A phenomenological study. (2017). Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17(2), 679-711. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2017.2.0061Perelli-Harris, B., Berrington, A., Sánchez Gassen, N., Galezewska, P., & Holland, J. A. (2017). The rise in divorce and cohabitation: Is there a link? Population and Development Review, 43(2), 303–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12063Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2009). The pre-engagement cohabitation effect: a replication and extension of previous findings. Journal of family psychology: JFP: journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 23(1), 107–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014358Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Groyecka, A., Frackowiak, T., Cantarero, K., Hilpert, P., … Sorokowska, A. (2017). Marital satisfaction, sex, age, marriage duration, religion, number of children, economic status, education, and collectivistic values: Data from 33 countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01199Subranmiam, M., Mutyara, K., & Syam, H. H. (2015). Students’ perception on ideal age of marriage and childbearing. Althea Medical Journal, 2(4), 591–596. https://doi.org/10.15850/amj.v2n4.661