Love Isn’t the Main Reason Americans Get Married, According to Study
If we take Forbes’ word for it, love is better left for fictional movies. As hard as it may be to believe, love isn’t the most common reason Americans decide to get married.
Forbes organized a marriage survey of 1,000 Americans. The main goal of the survey was to study divorce, but they also asked why couples chose to tie the knot.
These are the top nine motivators survey participants cited for getting married, revealing many Americans choose to get hitched for reasons more practical than romance.
1: Financial Security
Just under half (42%) of the survey respondents said financial security was the main reason they chose to get married. Women were slightly more likely than men to give this response.
2: Companionship
Thirty-nine percent of respondents said the need for a companion was the driving factor in their desire to get married. Men were more likely to say this than women.
3: Love
Only 36% of survey respondents said love drove them to tie the knot. Women listed love more often than men, and for them, it came in second only to financial security.
4: Formal Commitment
Thirty-four percent choose to get married for the formal commitment. Some studies show that cohabitating without the commitment of marriage doesn’t bring the same life satisfaction that marriage can, perhaps because there’s less security within the relationship.
5: Starting a Family
Just over a third of respondents said they got married because they wanted to start a family. Studies indicate that married couples often provide more stability for children than cohabitating couples do.
6: Convenience
Getting married for convenience doesn’t sound very romantic, but a significant number of survey respondents (28%) said that was why they did it.
7: Medical Insurance
In a country where health insurance can be hard to find, or at least hard to find affordably, it’s not so surprising that a quarter of respondents said they married for their partner’s insurance.
8: Legal Reasons
Sixteen percent of respondents said they married their spouse for legal reasons. Legally, marriage provides many benefits. It could help with immigration, adoption rights, or estate inheritance.
9: Family and Societal Pressures
Only 7% of respondents said they married because of family and societal pressures. The U.S. is broadly accepting of couples who choose not to get married, but in some families and social circles, the pressure to get married can be huge.
Understanding the Results
Since the Forbes survey aimed to provide insights on divorce in the United States, all the survey respondents were either in the process of getting a divorce or recently divorced from their spouse.
Skewed Analysis
Some might argue that surveying recent divorcees or soon-to-be divorcees means this list of reasons is biased. Perhaps successful marriages use different criteria when picking their partners.
Same Reasons, Different Outcomes
Data provided by Pew Research Center shows that successfully married people give many of the same reasons that the Forbes list gives, including love, companionship, wanting to start a family, and financial security.
Anatomy of a Successful Marriage
If successfully married and recently divorced couples tied the knot for the same reason, what makes the difference? Why do some marriages make it when others don’t? Of course, there are many factors at play, but research suggests successful marriages share several common characteristics, such as one’s level of education, race, and whether or not a couple lived together before tying the knot.
Higher Education
Data shows that college-educated women are more likely to have long and successful marriages than those with some college or no college degrees. The same goes for men. Sixty-five percent of men who had a bachelor’s degree could statistically expect at least a twenty-year marriage.
Your Race
Asian women are more likely than any other group to have a lasting marriage, followed closely by Hispanic men. Researchers believe this may be due to emotional differences that stem from different ethnic backgrounds.
Lack of Cohabitation
Couples that live together before marriage are slightly more likely to divorce. While 57% of non-cohabiting couples can expect a marriage that lasts over twenty years, only 46% of cohabiting couples can expect the same.
First Marriage
The divorce rate for second marriages in the U.S. is significantly higher than the divorce rate for first marriages. Meaning if you’re getting married for the first time, it’s more likely to last.
Religion
Studies show that people who regularly attend religious services are less likely to divorce. Many believe this is because religion imparts a stronger belief in marriage as an institution.
Benefits of Marriage
A successful marriage comes with many benefits. Married people are often more financially stable, are less prone to depression, have a longer life span, and are more likely to survive a major operation.
A Declining Trend
Marriage is on the decline in the United States. Since 1970, Americans have experienced an almost 60% decline in the marriage rate.
Delay, Delay, Delay
Americans are also delaying marriage. The number of women waiting to get married until they are over 40 years old has significantly increased. With greater career and education opportunities, marriage often gets pushed back.
An Optional Step
Millennials perceive marriage differently than their parents and grandparents did. What used to be the gateway to adulthood is now an optional step. Marriage is something that comes after getting an education and starting a career, not before.
Perceived Risk
Millennials also see marriage as a financial risk. Many witnessed divorces, either of their parents or of close friends and family members, and know the financial impact a divorce can bring.
A Future Without Marriage?
Gen Z’s views on marriage seem to echo their millennial counterparts, which may mean marriage as an institution is in jeopardy. Still, the benefits imparted by a successful marriage are well-studied, and, for now, at least, many are still choosing to get married.
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