MARITAL

and NON
MARITAL
Marital-relating to the state of
marriage; marital status.
Commuter Marriages(living apart together)-
is a voluntary arrangement where dual-career
Nonmarital-unmarried but they
live together.
Single Life
Why do people remain single?
-Some young adults stay single because they have not
found the right mates, others are single by their choice.
-More women today are self-supporting and there is less
social pressure to marry.
-Some people want to be free to take risks, experiment and
make changes.
-Some enjoy sexual freedom.
3.Telling family and friends- many
homosexuals cannot bring themselves to do this
for a long time-if ever. The revelation can bring
disapproval, conflict, and rejection; or it may
deepen family solidarity and support.
4.Complete openness- this include telling
colleagues, employers, and others. Homosexuals
who reach this stage have achieved health
acceptance of their sexuality as part of who they
Long-term gay and lesbian relationships are more common
in societies that tolerate, accept or support them(Gardiner
& Kosmitzki, 2005). The ingredients of long-term
satisfaction are very similar in homosexual and
heterosexual relationships(Patterson,1995).
The factors that predicted the quality and stability of a
relationship-psychological adjustment, personality traits,
perceptions of equality between the partners, ways of
resolving conflicts and satisfaction with social support- also
 Cohabitation-status of an unmarried
couple who live together and maintain a sexual
relationship.
Types of Cohabitation
1. International Comparisons-Surveys in 14 European
countries, Canada, New Zealand and the United States
found wide variations in the probability that woman will
cohabit at least once before age 45.

A British demographer (Kiernan, 2002) suggest that the

various types or functions of cohabitation reflect successive
stages in it’s acceptance .
In stage 1, cohabitation is fringe or avant garde
Consensual or informal unions,
almost indistinguishable from marriage , where
cohabitating couples have practically the same
legal rights as married ones.
2.Cohabitation in United States. According to one
analysis appears to be in transition from stage 2 to stage 3,
as cohabitation becomes a lifestyle in itself rather than a
transition to marriage.

Cohabitating relationships tend to be less satisfying and

less stable than marriage. Some researchers suggests that
cohabitating couples have unhappier marriages and greater
likelihood of divorce than those who wait to live together
until marriage. Couples who conceive a child during
cohabitation are more likely to marry and less likely to split;
but those who bear a child during cohabitation are more
likely to break up after marriage.
Marriage- is a social, spiritual,
or legal union of individuals.
 Monogamy- marriage to one mate-is the norm in
most developed societies.

Polygyny- a man’s marriage to more than woman

at a time-is common in Islamic countries, African
societies and parts of Asia. In polyandrous societies,
where women generally wield more economic
power, a woman may take several husbands.
Benefits of Marriage
In most societies, the institution of marriage is
considered the best way to ensure orderly raising
of children. It allows for a division of labor within
a consuming and working unit. Ideally, it offers
intimacy, commitment, friendship, affection,
sexual fulfillment, companionship and an
opportunity for emotional growth, as well as new
sources of identity and self-esteem.
Today, the important benefits of marriage, such as
Entering Matrimony
Catholic marriage, also called matrimony, is an
"indissoluble bond between a man and a woman, created by
human contract and ratified by divine grace."

The transition to married life brings major changes in sexual

functioning, living arrangements, rights and responsibilities,
attachments and loyalties. Among other tasks, marriage
partners need to redefine the connection with their original
Sexual Activity after
Marriage.
Married couples report more emotionally satisfaction
from sex than single or cohabitating couples. It is hard
to know just how common extramarital sex is, because
Marital Satisfaction
-Married people tend to be happier than
unmarried couple, though those in unhappy
marriages are less happy than those who are
unmarried or divorced.
-Marital happiness was positively affected by
increased economic resources, equal decision
making, nontraditional gender attitudes and
Factors in Marital Success or Failure
*Success
-Age at marriage is another major predictor whether a union
will last.
-People who wait until their twenties to marry have a better
chance of success.
-People who attach high importance to religion are less likely
to experience marital dissolution than those to whom
religion is relatively unimportant.
*Failure
 PARENTHOOD
For many adults, the parental role is well planned
and coordinated with other roles in life and is
developed with the individual’s economic situation
in mind. The prospective parents may have mixed
emotions and romantic illusions about having a
child. Husbands and wives’ may bring different
viewpoints of parenting practices to the marriage.
Parenthood as a Developmental
Experience
A first baby marks a major transition in
parents’ lives. This totally dependent new
person changes relationships. As children
Men and Women Involvement in
Parenthood
Both women and men often have mixed feelings about
becoming parents. Along the excitement, they may feel
anxiety about the responsibility of caring for a child and the
commitment of time and energy entails. Becoming a parent
had a much stronger impact on the lives of married women
than of married men. Married mothers complained of more
How Dual-Earner Families Cope
Dual-earner families take diverse forms. In most
of these families, traditional gender roles prevail,
with the man as the main provider and the woman
as secondary provider, but this is changing. In
Benefits and Drawbacks of a Dual-Earner
Lifestyle
Combining work and family roles is generally beneficial
to both men and women in terms of mental and physical
health and strength of their relationship. Contributing to
family income makes women more independent and gives
them a greater share of economic power and it reduces the
pressure on men to be providers. Less tangible benefits may
include a more equal relationship between husband and
BENEFITS
-the time demands of each role
-the success or satisfaction the partners derive from their roles
-the extent to which couples hold traditional or non-traditional
attitudes about gender roles

Working couples may face extra demands on time and energy,

Division of Domestic Work and Effects on a Marriage
The effects of a dual-earner lifestyle on a marriage may
depend largely on how husband and wife view their roles. Unequal
roles are not necessarily seen as inequitable; it may be a
perception of unfairness that contributes most to marital instability.
What spouses perceive as fair may depend on the size of the wife’s
financial contribution, whether she thinks of herself as a co
provider or merely as supplementing her husband income and the
meaning and importance she and her husband place on her work.
Whatever the actual division of labor, couples who agree on their
assignment of it and who enjoy a harmonious, caring, involved
family life are more satisfied than those who do not.
WHEN MARRIAGE
ENDS
Divorce or Dissolution of
Marriage is a legal process in which a judge or other
authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing
between two persons, thus restoring them to the marital
- When the couple’s economic resources are about
equal and their financial obligations to each other
are relatively small. Instead o0f staying together
“for the sake of the children”, many embattled
spouses conclude that exposing children to
Adjusting to Divorce
Divorce is not a single event. It is a process-”a sequence of
potentially stressful experiences that begin before physical
separation and continue after it”. Ending even an unhappy
marriage can be painful, especially when there are children.
Divorce tends to reduce long-term well-being, especially for the
partner who did not initiate the divorce or does not marry.
Especially for men, divorce can have negative effects on physical
or mental health or both.
Women are more likely than men to live poverty after separation or
divorce.
Remarriage and Step parenthood
Remarriage, said the essayist Samuel Johnson, “is the
triumph of hope over experience.” the high divorce rate is
not a sign that people do not want to be married. Instead, it
often reflects a desire to be happily married and a belief
that divorce is like surgery-painful and traumatic, but
necessary for a better life.
Step families are formed not only by remarriage but also by
cohabitation. The adjustment to living in a stepfamily can be
stressful for both adults and children. In combining two
family units, each with its own web of customs and