De dalende huwelijksleeftijd: mogelijke oorzaken

Samenvatting

Since WWII, the marriage age in the Netherlands has dropped. From 1955-64 the average age at marriage for men was 28.4 and for women, 25.6. In 1966 these figures were 26.6 and 24.0, respectively. To some extent this may be due to the fact that there are presently more young people in the population, pulling the marriage age down. Despite this, there is an unmistakable trend toward earlier marriages, which may have a number of possible causes. The biological factor of earlier maturity, the economic factor that it is easier to start a marriage from a financial viewpoint, and the social factor that there are, in the present society, more contact possibilities, may all be of importance to the declining marriage age. Research in the Netherlands has demonstrated that there are greater opportunities to meet members of the opposite sex. Selection criteria are not as strict as they once were in regard to religion, race, and other social factors. The shortage of housing is no longer the problem it used to be, eliminating one of the reasons for the long engagements which were once prevalent. Men with specialized occupations tend to marry later than others. Psychological factors may also play a role, in that marriage is seen as less binding than it was formerly, although Dutch divorce statistics do not confirm that this is an option which is being used more frequently. M-f relations are characterized by earlier contact with the opposite sex, a shorter engagement, and earlier marriage than was formerly the case. P. Tiersma