Monday, April 27, 2015

The M.Guy Tweet, Week of April 19, 2015

1. They Do: The Scholarly About-Face on Marriage, The Boston Globe
Recently, however, a wave of research from think tanks on the right and left, as well as scholars in social sciences like economics and sociology, has made a forceful new defense of the venerable institution.

2. Love at First Sight Is Real, If You Believe, Wall Street Journal
Romantic love’s intense desire for connection with the other person typically lasts 18 months to three years, experts say. Its evolutionary purpose is to help people pick one partner and bond in order to raise a child.

3. What I Learned About Love During My Years of Reporting on Weddings, The Washington Post
For 10 minutes each day, couples should “talk about something other than work, family, who does what around the house or your relationship.” . . . Anything that allows you to stop and connect and not just feel like business partners trying to make your way through a packed agenda.

4. Marriage Rates Keep Falling, as Money Concerns Rise, The New York Times
Though marriage was once a steppingstone to economic stability, young adults now see financial stability as a prerequisite for marriage. More than a quarter of those who say they want to marry someday say they haven’t yet because they are not financially prepared, according to Pew.

5. What Divorce Does to Women’s Heart Health, TIME
Women who divorced at least once were 24% more likely to experience a heart attack compared to women who remained married, and those divorcing two or more times saw their risk jump to 77%.

6. Sex, Race, Education and the Marriage Gap, Newsweek
There is a growing “marriage gap” in the United States. Marriage rates among the non-college-educated population have fallen sharply in the last few decades, and sharpest of all in the black population.

7. The Scientific Way Divorce Breaks Your Heart, Deseret News
"Marriage counseling is focused largely on younger couples. . . But these results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages, even when the couple has been married 40 to 50 years."

For more, see here.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The M.Guy Tweet, Week of April 5, 2015

1. Sex Education in Europe Turns to Urging More Births, New York Times
Christine Antorini, the Danish education minister, said in a statement that the government was now seeking “a stronger focus on a broad and positive approach to health and sexuality, where sexual health covers both joys and risks associated with sexual behavior.”

2. A Classic Prep For Parenthood, But Is The Egg All It's Cracked Up To Be?, National Public Radio
"It's just one of those assignments that really sticks with them. They remember how hard it is and the amount of care and responsibility involved."

3. The Sexually Conservative Millennial, The Atlantic
A majority of young people consider random sex morally wrong in some circumstances, and many of them consider it always wrong. So much for hookup culture.

4. More U.S. Women Are Going Childless, Wall Street Journal
Some Americans may now prefer life without children, though most still report in surveys that they want two kids. Others may be struggling to have children, or can’t afford expensive fertility treatments.

5. How to Avoid a Post-Wedding Letdown, New York Times
“If the couple’s primary focus is on the wedding day itself rather than the marriage, then a crash is inevitable,” Dr. Charnas said. “However, if the emotional investment can be shifted from the wedding to the marriage and the couple’s partnership, then the perspective changes and the wedding is cast in a new light.”

6. The 8 Most Common Reasons for Divorce, MSN
Seventy-three percent of couples said a lack of commitment was the main reason their marriage didn’t work. . . Thirty-five percent of men and 21 percent of women said they wished they, themselves, had worked harder in the marriage.

7. Don’t Be a Bachelor: Why Married Men Work Harder, Smarter and Make More Money, The Washington Post
Marriage has a transformative effect on adult behavior, emotional health, and financial well-being—particularly for men.  (Parenthood is more transformative for women.)

[Note: And if parenthood is notably transformative for women, we women should note that the optimal environment in which to raise our child, according to the research, is marriage. Marriage matters for us too.]

For more, see here