Sociological Analysis of Divorce

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Sociological Analysis of Divorce as a Social Problem and Proposed Solutions
Every year approximately 2.4 million marriages occur.Out of those,2.1 millionwill file for divorce in the United States. These marriage and divorce rates have significantly increased since the years past(Coltrane and Adams, 364).According to Schoen, in the 1950’s, 15 out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce.In the 1970’s, the rates of divorcedoubled,increasing to 40 per 1,000 marriages. Currently, the rate of marriages resulting in divorce remains the same. Most marriages are ending within seven years ofthemarriage for multiple different reasons. Sociologists haveestablisheddivorce as a social problem from the rise in divorcerates due to the early year of marriages (2006).
Functionalism is when society is stable and running as anorderly system with interrelated part. At this point, this type of society is considered to be the example of a perfect functioning society. However, when aspects of society are functioning incorrectly, this is when social problems occur.Divorce is very controversial issuewhen addressing it as a social problem due to the many different beliefs. Many people in society believe that divorce often has negative effectson the family intuition that affects society as a whole. Meanwhile, others believe marriageand divorce does not affect society as a whole and divorce is a part of life and only affects the individuals involved. Today, functionalists often see divorce as a major failure in society.It is a general notion that institutions are causing divorce rather than the individual. An institution should not establish how a marriage operates. Instead, the individuals are expected to conform to a higher societal standard. Functionalist ...

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...eek to maintain the status quo.

Works Cited

Schoen, Robert, and Vladimir Canudas-Romo. "Timing Effects on Divorce: 20th Century Experience in the United States." Journal of Marriage and Family 68 (2006): 749-58.
Coltrane, Scott, and Michele Adams. "The Social Construction of the Divorce "Problem": Morality, Child Victims, and the Politics of Gender." Family Relations 52.4 (2003): 363-72. Print.
Hanson, Richard R. "Optimizing Marital Success: The Conscious Couple Uniting Process." Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 32.1, TRANSLATIONAL APPLIED SOCIOLOGY (2009): 158-83. JSTOR.Web. 11 May 2014.
Chalmers, Jennifer H. "Romantic Love: Is It a Realistic Goal for Marriage Therapy?" Romantic Love: Is It a Realistic Goal for Marriage Therapy? N.p., 2013. Web. 11 May 2014.
Leckey, Robert. "Cohabitation and Comparative Method." Modern Law Review 72.1 (2009): 48-72. Print.

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