Marriage ceremonies and traditions vary across the globe, but if you’re traveling with your spouse, most people will likely intuit that the two of you are married. Our Virginia family law attorneys understand that marriage is not only a legal institution but also a cultural one.
Attitudes to the institution around the world are endlessly fascinating. Researchers writing in the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 41 (to be published later this year) recently examined marriage data from East Asia and discovered some surprising new trends.
As you might expect, in the West, people today are generally getting married and having children later in life than they did in previous generations. This practice is in fact even more pronounced and accelerated in many East Asian cultures. Young people in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan are choosing to wait much longer to get married and have children. They are waiting longer than their parents’ generation did and even longer than their counterparts in Western cultures do today.
These cultural trends can be difficult to analyze, because a number of factors come into play. One of the biggest factors is the economic situation. The recent “Great Recession” of 2008 hit East Asia hard. While most countries around the world are now in recovery, some pockets of East Asia are still struggling because of the slow down. East Asians in their early 20s are growing up in difficult economic times, and many remain unsure of their futures.
In the United States, the economic situation has caused a generational change in priorities. Young adults tend to be less interested in gaining wealth and buying property, having grown up in a time when money and property value were not dependable commodities. East Asian young adults have shifted their priorities in a similar manner. While they value marriage, childbearing, and family, they’re highly focused on finding their footing economically as an important first step.
If you need assistance with your case, contact our experienced Fairfax divorce attorneys today at (888) 530-4374 to schedule a consultation. We can provide compassionate, strategic help throughout the process and give you back peace of mind and the strength to rebound from your crisis.