A big reason for the decline: Unemployed men are less likely to be seen as marriage material. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyAmericans across the income spectrum still highly value marriage, sociologists have found. When thinking about how to make families more stable, researchers debate whether the decline in marriage is an economic issue or a cultural one. As a result, the culture changed: Marriage was no longer the norm, and out-of-wedlock childbirth was accepted. Mr. Wilcox suggests a bigger emphasis in high schools and pop culture on what’s known as the success sequence: degree, job, marriage, baby.

Source: New York Times September 25, 2017 14:59 UTC