Marital Status 1

Running head: MARITAL STATUS OF POPULATION

Exercise #2

Marital Status of the Population by Age, Sex and Race

Lenthina Delaire

SOWK 300- 02

Tuskegee University

September 21, 2010

Ms. McArthur
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Abstract

In my report, I will be discussing, the steadily decline in marriages and the increasing rates of
divorce of the past several years. Details of how this problem affects everyone and their families
but particularly the African American Culture. I will also discuss how the age, sex, and education
play a major role. In the report I will give suggestion for the problem the American people face. I
will be using facts and statistics from the United States Census Bureau, to provide my report.
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Problem Identification
The idea of marriage is something that most people dream of but as time has shown us the
American people are not getting married anymore. Marriage rates are steadily decreasing as time
goes on and the divorce rates are through the roof, so more people are getting divorce than
married. Among the people that are not getting married; women aren’t getting married anymore
and the older they get the least likely they will get married.

Women are become the head of the household due to the lack of male presents. This affects all
races and age groups. The marriage rate among the African American race is lower than other
races. African American people over the years have been getting divorced more than married
compared to other races. African American women are suffering from the divorce rates and are
least likely to get married and if they do get married they have the highest divorce rates.

Problem Description

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. It is a relationship that is viewed as one of the
main aspects of family values; to have a man and a woman take care of the family, under the
same house together. But when a marriage is end with divorce the family becomes divided. In
the United States marriage has lost its value. In the past 10 years people have been getting
divorce 49 percent, so this means as much as people are getting married they are getting divorce.
Although women are still getting married more that men, in 2008 it showed that 11 percent of
women had a divorce compared to the 9 percent of men. With the divorce rates so high among
women they usually find themselves the head of the household.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008, women
from the ages of 30-39 get married and then after 45 and older they have a lower chance of
getting married. Men on the other hand get married when they are older, the table showed that
men from 35 years and older get married and continue getting married well into their 60s. Most
men are waiting till their older to get married compared to women.
Among the women who are getting married and the divorce African American women find
themselves at the bottom of the marriage rate but at the top of the divorce rate. In 2008 37
percent of African American women are married compared to the 58% by white and Hispanics.
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Even African American men are getting or are married compared to the women, about 42%.
African American women are getting divorced at a higher rate than everyone else. It is more
difficult to be a black woman and trying to get married. All of this has affect on the African
American culture and can damage their survival.
One of the problems goes back to family values; having a man and a woman taking care of the
home and showing stability. The lack of a males presents can cause instability in the home, a
power struggle amongst the children and the mother, because the woman now has to play to roles
(mom and dad). The woman has to become the provider as well as the caregiver and because of
the strain that society plays on gender roles the woman is not considered strong enough mentally
and physically to play both roles. It is more difficult in society to be a single black female taking
care of her family because of the stigma that is placed of African American. Another problem
divorce and the lack of marriage have on the African American culture decrease in the black
population. Less and less blacks are having children. Some people would say it the fear of having
to the children on their own and repeating generationally mistakes. African American has yet to
break the cycle of single parent homes. The divorce rates keep increasing so there is no picture of
a stable and happy home. But for every problem there is a solution.
I believe that as American, marriage should be taken more seriously. The traditional aspect of
marriage isn’t the same anymore because people just want to see how much money they can get
after the divorce. We need to have good examples of family values and teach our children the
reasons for marriage. We need to continue to educate ourselves and others of a union and
togetherness. In the African American community we need to let our children know that it is not
appropriate to just have children everywhere without being married. To teach children that
marriage is secrete and important in becoming an adult.

Findings
A. Magnitude
The fact people are choosing not to get married or stay together, causes an issue. The divorce
rate is increasing every year that means there are going to be more broken home and more
dysfunction among American society. This means more misbehavior in schools, more disorderly
conduct in the work place and more crime in the streets. Marriage is the first major contact
people will have to obey and if the contacts aren’t taken seriously than how are we as adults take
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anything else seriously. The divorce rate in the country is embarrassing; it shows the lack of
commitment to family so how can we the people commitment to our country.

Man often times pay for the divorce. The man may have been the provider for the family because
no matter if a man and woman are equal on educational level; men tend to make more money.
Even if the man is the one paying for the divorce, women are the ones left with the emotional
and financial burden. A woman if she granted custody of the children she now has to become the
provider for the family. Since the woman no longer has the man financial support, she now has
to make up the income that was lost, which can cause a strain on the family. Most times the
father of the children would have to pay child support to assist the mother with the children.

No matter how old men get they have a higher chance of remarrying which is unlikely for
women. Men may get married a lower rate than women and that might be because a man would
want to make sure is financially ready to get married. He want to climb up the cooperate ladder
to ensure he will be able to take care of his family. So by doing this a man may wait till he is in
his late 30s to get married and have a family. Women feel that they need to start a family earlier
than a man because of their biological clock. Because women are natural caregivers a family is
always part of their plans. Some women will even sacrifice their careers for a family. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau both men and women have high divorce rate between the ages of 45 to
55 years old. But after a woman has been married and got a divorce, it is more difficult for her
to get married. After the age of 40 there is a low percentage a woman will get married and her
chances will decrease with time.

B. Scope

This social problem affects everyone; it affects all races, some more than others. Whites and
Hispanics have both seen an increase in the divorce and marriage rates over the years. Hispanics
rank number one of races that get married. African Americans are rank last when it comes to
marriage. Black women suffer the most with this people because there is a lack support and
stability from black men. The statistics are from the U.S Census Bureau, which proves that this is
a problem that affects the entire nation. It affects the people by race, sex, and age and education
level. At the age of 45 and older when a time when a woman should be secure in her marriage; in
the U.S. she would be getting a divorce and a man would be looking for a wife.
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C. Changes

The problem of marriage and divorce has been decreasing and increasing steadily over the years.
One of the changes would be that men are getting married at a later age in life, where as women
are getting divorced. The divorces rates over the past several years have just been increase, but
there was a slight decrease in divorce among African American males between 1990 and 2005.
There is still a higher rate of divorce among women but a difference among African American
women and other races. Another change would be the high number of people not married, over
the years that number has continued to increase, people aren’t getting married and having
families like how they use to. People may have but are not keeping to traditional standards and
get married first.

D. Disparities

Marriage and divorce affect everyone; there may be some differences among the races, sex, age
and even education. But problem remains the same. In the case of race, one of the big issues was
that more African American was getting divorced than married. Whites and Hispanics rank at the
top of races that do get married. African Americans are at the bottom of races to get married but
rank number one to get divorce at an increasing rate over the years.

It’s no better when it comes to the sexes. Men get divorced at a lower rate than women. Women
are getting divorced a high rate and its increasing every year. In 2008 women were getting
divorced at 11% rate and men were at 9%. And when it came to African American women and
men there was a big difference. African American women got divorce at 13% compared to
African American man which was at 10%. The men are not getting divorced as often.

Another difference was the age factor among men and women. Men had a higher rate of
marriage at an older age than women did. 79% of men got married at the age of 65 to 74 and
assuming they married younger women. Women on the other hand got married at high rate of
71% at the age of 35 to 39. Between the ages of 45 to 54 men got divorce at a high rate of 14%
and women 55 to 64 years old getting divorced at a high rate of 18%. So my table showed that at
the time when men were getting married it highest was when women were getting divorced at
their highest.

Another difference in terms of the problem was that both educated men and women got married
at a high rate. Educated people are more likely to get married. Both educated and undereducated
women got divorced at the same rate, so women in general get divorced at a high rate. One other
difference was that both men and women with a low income got divorced at the same high rate.
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References
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad351.pdf

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/marital_status_and_living_arrangemen
ts.html

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0057.pdf

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0056.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.t05.htm