Miller Amanda J, Sassler Sharon, Kusi-Appouh Dela
Department of Sociology and Substance Abuse Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Box 182, Edmond, OK 73034.
Fam Relat. 2011 Dec;60(5):602-616. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00671.x. Epub 2011 Nov 2.
Young Americans increasingly express apprehension about their ability to successfully manage intimate relationships. Partially in response, cohabitation has become normative over the past few decades. Little research, however, examines social class distinctions in how emerging adults perceive challenges to sustaining intimate unions. We examine cohabitors' views of divorce and how these color their sentiments regarding marriage. Data are from in-depth interviews with 122 working- and middle-class cohabitors. More than two thirds of respondents mentioned concerns with divorce. Working-class women, in particular, view marriage less favorably than do their male and middle-class counterparts, in part because they see marriage as hard to exit and are reluctant to assume restrictive gender roles. Middle-class cohabitors are more likely to have concrete wedding plans and believe that marriage signifies a greater commitment than does cohabitation. These differences in views of marriage and divorce may help explain the bifurcation of cohabitation outcomes among working- and middle-class cohabitors.
美国年轻人越来越担心自己能否成功经营亲密关系。作为部分回应，在过去几十年里，同居已变得很普遍。然而，很少有研究考察新兴成年人在如何看待维持亲密关系的挑战方面的社会阶层差异。我们研究了同居者对离婚的看法以及这些看法如何影响他们对婚姻的情绪。数据来自对122名工人阶级和中产阶级同居者的深度访谈。超过三分之二的受访者提到了对离婚的担忧。特别是工人阶级女性，与男性和中产阶级女性相比，对婚姻的看法更不乐观，部分原因是她们认为婚姻难以解除，并且不愿意承担限制性的性别角色。中产阶级同居者更有可能有具体的婚礼计划，并且认为婚姻比同居意味着更大的承诺。这些对婚姻和离婚看法的差异可能有助于解释工人阶级和中产阶级同居者在同居结果上的分歧。
