Social work research methods and applications

Social Work Research

Marriage is a serious institution that many people do not take seriously anymore. However, there is a growing trend among more highly-educated individuals to marry at high rates but do so later in life once they have completed all of their education (Goldstein & Kenney, 2001). By doing this they establish careers for themselves and they also tend to marry others that are highly educated. This helps the economic stability of the family and also works to help the economy of the country in general, as more people that are in higher socioeconomic classes are generally believed to contribute more to society. Those that are more highly-educated marry later and have fewer children overall than their younger counterparts. Those that marry at a younger age, in addition to having more children, also tend to have a lower education level and keep that lower education level throughout their life. In other words, those that marry at a young age often do not go back to school and seek out a higher level of education (Gayle, Berridge, & Davies, 2002).

Studies have shown that education and marriage apparently only mix if the education comes first (Gayle, Berridge, & Davies, 2002; Goldstein & Kenney, 2001). When an individual marries young, the economic constraints and the pressures of family life, children, and jobs often prevent these individuals from pursuing a continuing level of education. This is unfortunate for those that desperately want to return to school but simply cannot. With the advent of more online University options, more of these people can return to school, but the education level of people that marry young is still lower than those that do not marry until they are older, and this is true of both men and women. Gender differences do not seem to pay a large role in whether young-married individuals attend school or whether older, highly-educated people get married (Gayle, Berridge, & Davies, 2002.

Annotated Bibliography

Gayle, V., Berridge, D., & Davies, R. 2002. Young people's entry into higher education: Quantifying influential factors. Oxford Review of Education, 28(1), 5-20.

This article addresses the factors that are most prevalent when young individuals move into higher education. Among these factors are social status, economic issues, marital status, and gender issues. For this study, the researchers examined many different individuals at a higher education institution and determined their demographic characteristics. They then gave weight to these characteristics and, through a scientific and statistical analysis, determined to what degree each one of these demographics affected the individual and whether they were involved with higher education. The results of the study indicated that a marriage age of 19 had a significant effect on whether someone would be attending an institution of higher education in the future, with those that married early attending higher education institutions at lower rates.

Goldstein, J.R. & Kenney, C.T. 2001. Marriage delayed or marriage forgone? New cohort forecasts of first marriage for U.S. women. American Sociological Review, 66(4), 506-519.