Our first topic of study includes who marries whom. In general, American people tend to marry individuals of the same social and economical class. Some marriages do occur outside this class, however they usually do not move very far. Women are more likely than men to marry for the purpose of attaining a higher social status (Collins and Coltrane 265). Religion and race also determine who people tend to marry. During the 1960's, there was a tendency in America to marry within your own religion. For example, 79% of Catholics, 91% of Protestants, and 92% of Jews married someone within their religion. Today, religious intermarriages in America are more common. For instance, 40% of Jews marry non-Jews (268). Likewise, 98% of all marriages take place within the same race. Interracial marriages have been a recent development. Until 1967, 17 states declared interracial marriage illegal. The most common in

There are other perspectives to help explain what effect marriage is having on a national level. According to Mary Otto of the Knight Ridder Newspapers, marriage may have a positive effect on individuals in this country. A new Florida law compels high schools to offer "marriage and relationship" skills classes. Louisiana and Arizona couples can now opt for stricter "covenant marriage vows". She goes on to write last year lawmakers in Ohio and 16 other states also pushed for covenant marriage. (Otto p1of4). In addition to these positive reforms, Katrina Woznicki reports that married couples are happier than cohabits. Based on data from a 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, "women with children were more likely to feel depression if they were cohabiting long term, but do not have plans to marry". Likewise, Dr. Susan Brown, a sociology professor at Bowling Green State University studied 404 married couples and 137 cohabitors. The cohabitors had a depression score of 17.2 compared to 13.3 for married people. Dr. Brown explains her findings by saying that cohabitors may be more depressed because their relationships tend to be less stable than those of married people (Woznicki, "Cohabitors" p1of1). A second study suggests that marriage has an effect on your blood pressure. Research led by Brian Baker of the Toronto Hospital evaluated effects of 5 marital characteristics on blood pressure. The characteristics evaluated were: conversation, engaging in outside interests together, laughing together, having calm discussions, and working together on a project. The results revealed a consistent 6 mm. per mercury increase in men and women who showed low participation in these activities (Woznicki, "Marriage" p1of1). In other words, their blood pressure went up.

Although the marriage rate has gone down, the divorce rate has gone up. The Rutgers National Marriage Project researches why the rate of marriage is at such a low. Th

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Approximate Word count = 1329
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)