Dawne Marie Mouzon, Ph.D.

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and

Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

By far, the most important demographic change in the social institution of marriage over the past 50 years or so is the dramatic decline in the prevalence of marriage.  Roughly 72% of all Americans were married in 1960 but only slightly more than half (53%) of all Americans were married in 2008 (Pew, 2010).  This decline was also demonstrated among Whites; seventy-four percent of Whites were married in 1960 but only 56% were married in 2008. Latinos exhibit similar patterns (72% and 50%, respectively).  The marriage decline has been far steeper among Blacks than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Almost 61% of Blacks were married in 1960 but this figure dropped to 32% by 2008 (Pew, 2010).  Blacks also experience higher divorce rates and lower remarriage rates than Whites (Bramlett & Mosher, 2002).

Scholars and the public have understandably been concerned about the universal marriage decline.  After all, marriage historically provides myriad benefits to families. Individuals who are married have better physical and mental health, more social integration, have higher household incomes, accumulate more wealth, and raise children with more positive health and social outcomes than those who are unmarried (Waite & Lehrer, 2003; Dupre, Beck, and Meadows, 2009).  Because the marriage decline has been most amplified among Blacks, greater scrutiny has been directed toward this group in an effort to understand the accelerating marriage decline among Blacks. In this project, I weigh the empirical evidence regarding the relative roles of culture (value placed on marriage) and structure (social institutions that hinder marriage rates) on the Black marriage decline (Mouzon, 2014; Chambers and Kravitz, 2011).  I end with policy implications and suggestions for future research to address this oft-overlooked form of inequality in the United States.