As with the previous countries my blogs have looked at, New
Zealand’s divorce rates have dropped over the years. When looking at this
statement alone many would think that this is a good thing for all countries.
The problem actually comes about when you begin to research why the rates are
dropping. Since 1982 New Zealand’s divorce rates have dropped from 17.1 percent
to 11.3 percent. Some of the main contributors to this drop are the decrease in
marriage rates, the increase in cohabitation rates, and the people’s views of
sex and marriage. The article explains how the views of sex have led to more
mature views of marriage and an additional step before marriage (cohabitation).
Being that cohabitation has become a step before marriage, people are waiting
longer to marry and view it as more of commitment. So this has now made
marriage a choice rather than an obligation.
After reading this article I see how cohabitation has its
positive sides. If people continue to be more patient in getting married and
understand the level of commitment it takes, this can continue to cause a
decrease in divorce rates which is great. On the other hand this additional
step of cohabitating and people now being comfortable having sex outside of
marriage, can begin to lead not only to people waiting longer to marry but also
some not marrying at all. Some may become comfortable not having such a high
level of commitment and responsibility to another person and stop at the level
of cohabitating. This can lead to an increase in the number of single parent
homes. It would be helpful if there were some sort of organizations that could
educate those who choose to cohabitate on the pros and cons so that everyone can
be more aware and make better decisions.
Article
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