Enduring Couples in Varying Sociocultural Contexts

• Author: M. Belinda Tucker,Ann C. Crouter
• Published date: 01 April 2008
• Date: 01 April 2008
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00487.x

Enduring Couples in Varying Sociocultural Contexts

Recent decades have witnessed vigorous scholarly

debate over the meaning and value of marriage in

this society overall and how they might differ among

the many groups and cultures that comprise the

richly textured fabric of present-day America. Much

of this debate has centered on the very significant

changes in family behavior that occurred after the

1950s, with particular emphasis on the rapid rise in

marital dissolution that characterized the 1960s and

1970s (Cherlin, 1992) and the increasing separation

of childbearing and childrearing from marital

unions (Ventura & Bachrach, 2000). Although the

divorce rate has stabilized, divorce has been accom-

panied by dramatic attitudinal shifts, including the

weakening of social pressure to marry or stay mar-

ried, even when children are involved, and a greatly

increased acceptance of divorce (Inglehart, 1997;

Thornton & Young-deMarco, 2001).

Clearly, the ‘‘upside’’ of these trends is that indi-

viduals no longer feel compelled to stay in relation-

ships that are neither satisfying nor healthy.

Eleanor Holmes Norton (a social scientist long

before she became the District of Columbia’s dele-

gate to Congress) made an especially astute observa-

tion when these societal changes first became

evident almost 40 years ago: ‘‘With children no lon-

ger the universally accepted reason for marriage,

marriages are going to have to exist on their own

merits. Marriages are going to have to exist because

they possess inherent qualities which make them

worthy of existing, a plane to which the institution

has never before been elevated’’ (Norton, 1970,

p. 404).

Cherlin (2004) argued further that during this

same period, there has been a weakening of the

social norms that define partners’ behavior in mar-

riage (the ‘‘deinstitionalization’’ of marriage), which

has led to greater variation in the structure of

unions, including increased cohabitation and same-

sex marriage. Likely in response to these trends, we

sense in recent times an inordinate emphasis on the

perceived decline in marriage and committed unions

more generally. Misleading statistics that inflated

the true prevalence of divorce served to promote this

fixation (Crosby, 1980; Hurley, 2005), possibly

evoking an attitude of pessimism about relationship

potential that may have contributed to the illusion

that a long-lasting marriage is very rarely attained.

Depending upon how the data are interpreted, the

cup is either half full or half empty. For example,

data from the 1995 National Survey of Family

Growth showed that about one third of U.S. mar-

riages ended in divorce within the first 10 years

(Bramlett & Mosher, 2001)—which means that two

thirds of marriages survived at least that long. The

divorce percentage increased to 43% at 15 years, but

well overhalf made it to that point. Indeed, most

Americans (even the divorced) view long-term mar-

riage as their ultimate goal; and, despite the odds, in

1998, 63% of young women and 57% of young

men participating in the nationally representative

sample for the Monitoring the Future Study

believed that they were ‘‘very likely’’ to stay married

to the same person for life (Thornton & Young-

deMarco, 2001). Hackstaff’s (1999) interviews with

distinct generations of diverse couples over several

decades led her to conclude that individuals are

hopeful that their marriages will last, though they

increasingly view marital survival as ‘‘contingent

rather than forever’’ (p. 3).

Taken together, these observations and findings

suggest that today, couples have been entering com-

mitted relationships with what might be termed

‘‘cautious optimism’’—with less guidance about

appropriate behavior within their unions, at greater

risk for dissolution (given the statistics), and with

more support for ending the relationship if neces-

sary. We expect to learn much from the couples and

individuals who manage to stay together in this

new context. Interpersonal relationship research has

increasingly focused on the identification of aspects

of couple dynamics that increase or decrease a

union’s chance for continuation (Karney & Bradbury,

1995). Although some studies have focused on

Family Relations, 57 (April 2008), 113–116. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2008 by the National Council on Family Relations.