Marriage, Expectations About

Do Unmarried People Think They Will Get Married?

A growing number of adults in the United States are waiting until later ages to marry, consistent with recent trends in Canada and Europe. For example, U.S. Census data from 2006 show the median age of first marriage was 27.5 years for men and 25.5 years for women, representing a 5-year rise for both groups since 1959. At the same time, many adults are choosing to live with a partner before marriage, and a minority will not marry at all. As people spend a larger proportion of their adult lives as single individuals rather than in marital relationships, the chance that they will have a child outside of marriage during this time also increases. Because there are more alternatives to marriage today than in the past, researchers have been particularly interested in examining the marriage expectations of people who have chosen to live with their partners and who have had a child outside of marriage. Much of this research has examined how unmarried people who are already in relationships assess the likelihood of marrying their current partner to understand why delays in marriage are occurring. When people are not in relationships or do not expect to marry their partners, studies have also asked whether they expect to marry anyone else. This question is designed to assess whether people are rejecting marriage altogether rather than simply delaying it. In general, existing research shows that most unmarried adults expect to marry, even when they have chosen to cohabit or have a nonmarital birth. Studies also suggest that many people who live with their partner view cohabitation as a step [Page 1047]toward marriage. Almost 9 of 10 single women without children expect to marry their partner or someone else in the future, compared with about 7 of 10 single women with children. About three-quarters of cohabitors (or people living with someone) say they expect to marry their current partner. Similarly, most unmarried people who have had a child outside of marriage indicate a “pretty good” or “almost certain” chance of marrying the other parent at the time of their child's birth. Research suggests that most cohabiting partners and unmarried parents also agree with each other about their chances of marriage, with the majority sharing the view that marriage is likely. When partners disagree, men are more likely to expect to marry than are women.

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