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Fear of the trauma of divorce is stopping many young couples from walking down the aisle, a university report has found. With the share of married adults at an all-time low in the United States, the latest research by demographers at Cornell University and the University of Central Oklahoma unveils clues why couples don't get married - they fear divorce. Among cohabitating couples, more than two-thirds of the study's respondents admitted to concerns about dealing with the social, legal, emotional and economic consequences of a possible divorce. The study, "The Specter of Divorce: Views from Working and Middle-Class Cohabitors," is published in the journal Family Relations and is co-authored by Sharon Sassler, Cornell professor of policy analysis and management, and Dela Kusi-Appouh, a Cornell doctoral student in the field of development sociology. Roughly two out of three - 67 percent -of the study's respondents shared their worries about divorce. Despite the concerns, middle-class subjects spoke more favorably about tying the knot and viewed cohabitation as a natural stepping stone to marriage compared to their working-class counterparts. Lower-income women, in particular, disproportionately expressed doubts about the "trap" of marriage, fearing that it could be hard to exit if things go wrong or it would lead to additional domestic responsibilities but few benefits. The study also found working-class cohabitating couples were more apt to view marriage as "just a piece of paper," nearly identical to their existing relationship. They were twice as likely to admit fears about being stuck in marriage with no way out once they were relying on their partners' share of income to get by. The authors hope that their findings could help premarital counselors to better tailor their lessons to assuage widespread fears of divorce and to target the specific needs of various socioeconomic classes. (Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
一項大學(xué)研究發(fā)現(xiàn),許多美國年輕情侶不結(jié)婚是因為怕遭受離婚的創(chuàng)傷。 眼下美國已婚人士的比例降到了史上最低點,康奈爾大學(xué)和中央俄克拉荷馬大學(xué)的人口統(tǒng)計學(xué)家做的最新研究揭示了為什么美國情侶們不結(jié)婚——他們怕離婚。 接受調(diào)查的同居情侶有超過三分之二的人承認自己擔(dān)心如果離婚將要應(yīng)對社會、法律、情感和經(jīng)濟等一系列后果。 這一研究名為《離婚的陰霾:工人階層和中產(chǎn)階層同居者看婚姻》,發(fā)表在《家庭關(guān)系》雜志上,由康奈爾大學(xué)的政策分析與管理學(xué)教授莎倫?薩斯勒和發(fā)展社會學(xué)方向的博士生德拉?庫西-阿坡共同撰寫。 約三分之二(67%)的被調(diào)查者吐露了他們對于離婚的擔(dān)憂。 盡管年輕人怕離婚,但中產(chǎn)階層的年輕人相對于工人階層的年輕人還是比較贊成結(jié)婚的,他們把同居視為自然地走向婚姻的墊腳石。 擔(dān)憂婚姻會成為“牢籠”的低收入女性比重尤為突出,她們害怕如果婚姻不如意將難以持續(xù),或認為結(jié)婚會帶來額外的家庭負擔(dān)而卻沒多少好處。 研究還發(fā)現(xiàn),工人階層的同居情侶更傾向于認為婚姻“只是一張紙”,和他們現(xiàn)有的關(guān)系幾乎沒什么兩樣。 他們承認自己害怕一旦要依靠另一半的收入過日子便無法從婚姻牢籠中逃脫,有這種想法的工人階層年輕人是中產(chǎn)階層年輕人的兩倍。 作者希望他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)可以幫助婚前咨詢師更好地調(diào)整課程,以舒緩人們對離婚的普遍恐懼,并能針對不同社會經(jīng)濟階層的特定需要進行授課。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: walk down the aisle: 結(jié)婚 specter: 幽靈;恐怖之物 tie the knot: 結(jié)婚 disproportionately: 不成比例地;太大或太??;不相稱地 tailor: 修改;使合適 assuage: 緩和;減輕 |