CHFD 340 Assignment 2 Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay

Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
CHFD 340 Assignment 2
Marriage plays a significant role in life as one of the central aspects of an adult life’s organization. Despite demographic shifts, marriage enhances social organization for individuals, families, and even in society. Considerably, marriage is a socially sanctioned institution rather than a free-standing concept. In most communities, matrimony embraces predictable, legal, and traditional virtuous assumptions concerning acceptable behaviors (Talalyan, 2020). Despite recognizing the social role of marriage in society, a dramatic increase in divorce rate and premarital cohabitation has resulted in significant traditional family structure changes. Therefore, the marriage institution, the backbone of society, is under intense threat. Although marriage was central to adult life, fewer people choose to get married in the 21st century based on demographic trends and increased divorce rates.
The onset of the 21st century has resulted in dramatic changes in the marriage institution. For instance, cohabitation has emerged as an alternative to marriage. Notably, the trend of couples living together before getting married has normalized cohabitation. In most instances, lovers cohabit for financial reasons and sexual convenience (Malek, 2016). Although most people perceive that cohabitation will reinforce their marriage in the future, the couples who cohabit prior to marriage have higher divorce rates. Equally, cohabitating lovers are less committed to a relationship with the likelihood of dissolving their union more readily. In the contemporary world, more people have accepted cohabitation as an alternative to marriage.
Besides, the divorce rate in marriage has increased tremendously, despite the marriage being a life-long commitment. If divorced couples remarry, the marriage is likely to be less stable and results in divorce. Normalization and individualization are factors that have contributed to an increased rate of divorce in society. In the 21st century, most communities have perceived divorce as an acceptable trend, while individualization makes it easier to dissolve unions. Most individuals deem happiness as more important, thus the efforts of preserving marriage being of less value. Notably, infidelity in monogamous relationships has become a widespread occurrence. Peer groups, individual characteristics, and the media are vital contributing factors to committing adultery. The normalization of infidelity has resulted in the prominence of divorce culture in society.
Considerably, working women have changed marriage structure resulting from changing gender roles within the family setting. Currently, women are empowered in the workforce and their roles and working hours have increased demand. Equally, a decline in women’s traditional gender roles as family caretakers has had ambivalent results in the workforce. For instance, an increase in the division of household responsibilities for couples affects the quality of marriage. However, more women joining the crew has resulted in inequality of decision-making power and more financial stability within the family setting. Despite the economic benefits of labor division, increased pressures for wives hav...