SOC 101 Lecture 50: Relationships in Middle Adulthood

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: SOC
• Course: SOC 101
• Professor: Chenoia Bryant

Document Summary

By middle age, more than 90 percent of adults have married at least once. Married people often describe their marital satisfaction in terms of a u curve. people generally affirm that their marriages are happiest during the early years, but not as happy during the middle years. Marital satisfaction then increases in the later years after finances have stabilized and parenting responsibilities have ended. Couples who stay together until after the last child leaves home will probably remain married for at least another 20 years as long as their intent was not to wait until the last child leaves the home to divorce. Middle adults do not exhibit an immunity to problems in relationships. About 50 percent of all marriages in the united states end in divorce, with the median duration of these marriages being about 7 years. And of those that do last, marital bliss is not always a prominent feature.