Also mentioned is the fact that men are not as monogamous as women, and that marriage can be seen as a socially imparted sanction on males to remain in one family unit. Sociologist Margaret Mead once said "There is not society in the world where men will stay married for very long unless culturally required to do so" (Popenoe 1996: 323).
Although marriage is often viewed as something a woman is more enthusiastic about than a man, studies have shown that "married women have poorer mental health, less happiness, and more passive attitudes toward life than single women do" (Macionis 2002: 346). This perceived unhappiness is a factor in the lifestyle of "single-by-choice": the decision of single women who have not found the right man to have a child anyways. However, it has also been shown that "marriage could be healthful for women if husbands did not dominate wives and expect them to do almost all the housework research confirms that the wives and husbands with the best mental health are those who share responsibilities for earning income, raising children, and keeping the home" (Macionis 2002: 346). .
Unfortunately, marriage is not what it used to be. Popenoe says " the institution of marriage once legally bound a couple with a high degree of permanence, marriages can now be broken unilaterally on a whim" (1996: 323). Today, the divorce rate is around 50 percent, and in some surveys as high as 60percent; with mothers getting custody the majority of the time, this leaves many children with limited (if any) access to their father. According to Macionis, there are several causes for divorce, but in particular one reason is that women have become less dependent on men. "Women's increasing participation in the labor force has reduced wives" financial dependency on husbands. Thus, women find it easier to leave unhappy marriages" (Macionis 2002: 347). But not only is the skyrocketing divorce rate a factor in the dwindling number of marriages, but the amount of people getting married in the first place is dropping.