according to the pew research centre
TRANSCRIPT
Part B (30%)
According to the Pew Research Centre, study suggests that couples who marry early
have a greater likelihood of getting divorce. It was found that in Arkansas and Oklahoma
whereby couples married earlier have higher divorced rates compared to places like New
York whereby first-time married couple were much older and it had a lower divorce rate.
The Wall Street Journal had even once stated that early marriage is the No. 1 predator
of divorce. According to the column in the journal, sociologist in Penn mentioned that young
people aged 18 to 25 are expected to explore their identity, work and love by delaying
marriage and parenthood. If they fail to postpone these transitions would instead miss out on
better career opportunities, make poor choices on partners and may later experienced
problems.
Research has also mentioned that divorce rates are very high in couples who married
early especially in those who married in their teenage years. Studies showed that though they
are attracted to each other, it could be infatuation, and once they started living together, they
realized that they are not made for each other and divorce would be an option.
According to Dr. Intan Hasimah, (2010), “The first few years of marriage, are the
most challenging years, so couples who get married early may less likely succeed in their
relationship. It is challenging for a 20 year old to be married, what more if the couple is in
their teenage years.”
Pennsylvania Divorce Statistics states that the divorce rates had been falling over the
past two decades as sociologist and married counselors believed that people nowadays are
more cautious regarding jumping into marriage. They are more likely to wait to get married.
In the United States, it was found that 64 percent of women who married before the
age of 25 were divorcees, however only 16 percent of women who married in their late
twenties divorced. This shows that women who get married before 25 were four times more
likely to get a divorce. Men also show similar numbers with the only difference in the age.
Men are less likely to get divorce if they marry after the aged of 30 compared to women at
the aged of 25.
Various studies have been carried out, showing the relation between early marriages
leading to higher divorce rate. This is also due to various contributing factors.
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The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors in early marriage which leads
to divorce and to suggest some possible solutions to reduce this phenomenon. The researcher
would like to look into the contributing factors of marrying at an early age which lead to
higher divorce rates. After looking at the contributing factors, the researcher would then
suggest possible solutions in lowering the divorce rates among couples who married early.
The research question for this research are narrowed down to, early marriage, does it
really leads to higher divorce possibility? Why do couples who married young have higher
possibility of divorce? What are the factors contributing? How do prevent or lower the rate of
divorce for those who married early?
Sample
For this research, the researcher has decided to use the purposive sampling method as
it group participants according pre-selected criteria relevant to the particular research
question. In this case, the researcher will be selecting two interviewees from both genders
who married at a young age. The interviewees selected will be those whose marriage are
undergoing some difficulties and might have the intention of getting divorce as referring to
the research question, the researcher would like to find out the factors which lead to those
marrying young, getting divorce.
The sample sized are fixed prior to the data collection, however it also depends on the
resources and time available as well as the objective of the research.
The two samples selected are mostly due to convenience. The participants selected are
those who the researcher can have easy access to and people surrounding the researcher. The
argument behind this selection is due to the high sensitivity of the researcher’s topic
regarding marriage and divorce. Therefore the researcher believed that people who are closer
to the researcher will be more willing to talk about such personal and sensitive topic in detail
compared to strangers which the researcher picked at random.
Interview Protocol
The technique chosen for data collection in this research will be through interviews.
For this research, the researcher has chosen to use semi-structured interview whereby a set of
open-ended questions are set based on the research question and the research objectives. The
purpose of selecting a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions is to allow the
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interviewer to venture more in-depth on the research area. This allows the interviewees to
discuss in more detail on the questions asked and also on the topic concerned. Using open-
ended questions, the interviewees are given the opportunities to express their opinions and
also their viewpoints on the questions asked. The interviewees are also allowed to discuss on
certain topic with more details.
Furthermore, the researcher will be putting into used the probing technique, as the
interviewee might not completely understand the questions asked, or might be in doubts or
confusion at certain times, the researcher is then able to clarify to the interviewee on topic
asked. At certain times, if the interviewee touches on certain areas which interest the
researcher, the researcher can also probe the interviewee for more complete details. Among
the common types of probes, two will be used in this research by the researcher, the
elaboration probe and also the clarification probe.
The researcher had decided to record the hold interview using a recorder. The
participants will be informed about the recording. No notes will be taken during the
interview, as it might disrupt the participants which lead the interviewer to make a choice of
recording the whole conversation instead.
The interview will be carried out in a private place which is convenient and also
comfortable for the interviewees to share their opinions as the issue is a highly sensitive
issue. During the interview, only the interviewee and the interviewer would be present, no
third parties as this might prevent the interviewee from sharing his or her experienced and
they might not be honest when answering the interviewer’s questions.
No pictures of the participant will be taken and no video recording, this is to protect
the participants. The interview will take duration of 30 minutes to about one hour or more,
depends on the willingness of the participants to share their personal experience on the issue
with the interviewer.
Data Collection and Data Analysis
A semi-structured interview is conducted personally with each interviewee. During
this interview, the same set of open-ended questions will be used for both participants. It
consist of about 12 open ended questions whereby each participant are given the opportunity
to express their viewpoint on the subject questioned and to shared on their area of interest.
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The questions for the interview are enclosed in Appendix A. The answers from the
participants are presented below.
The interviewer started off by asking the participants the age which they had gotten
married. It was found that both participants married at a rather young age, the female
participant, known as Participant A married at the aged of 19, whereby the male participant,
better known as Participant B, married at the aged of 20.
The interviewer than went on further to asks the interviewees the reasons which lead
them to early marriage. Both participants had different answers. Participant A mentioned that
it was because of her parents’ strong objection regarding her relationship with her current
husband which leads her to her rebellious decision. She further added on that they were both
young and with their rebellious nature, they wanted to prove that they really loved each other
and they will get married to one another. This is the reason which made the both of them tie
the knot. As for Participant B, he mentioned that it was due to the fact that his wife had
gotten pregnant and he believed that it is his responsibility to marry her. Therefore, from the
viewpoint and answers of both participants, the researcher can say that Participant A married
due to her rebellious nature and without a deeper thought regarding marriage life and
consequences whereas Participant B married due to responsibility.
Both participants honestly shared that their family were not happy with their decision
as their parents and relatives believed that they were both too young and not ready for such
heavy responsibilities. The participants also further add on that in the process of preparation
for their marriage, heated arguments happened between the parents of the bride and the
bridegrooms. Each was not exactly happy with their decision and choice.
Next the interviewer went on to ask both the participants if they were financially
ready for married life at the tender age of 19 and 20 years old. Participant A mentioned that
both she and her spouse were working but jobs with lower status. They were both sales
assistants in small local retail stores with rather low salary. She also mentioned that both their
salary could hardly support their own living if it wasn’t for their family backing up some of
their expenses. This is because she is just a fresh school-leaver while he was a drop-out back
in secondary school. Participant B on the other hand mentioned that he does not have an
exactly stable income, but it was counted as a family business. He and his brother are
involved in doing ceiling plastering therefore their income depend on the projects they
manage to get. However, as it was a family business and he had his brother support things
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were on a brighter side. His wife was not working as she had just finished her Form 5 and
was pregnant.
The researcher then asked about their mental preparation regarding the challenges of
married life. Both participants honestly admitted that they were not prepared. Participant A
mentioned that she thought married life was a bed of roses, she thought it was like in fairy
tales where things were simple and sweet. Participant B said that both he and his partner were
not prepared, but they were not given much choice as it was due to pregnancy they had gotten
married. He also said that they got into a really terrible fight first week after their wedding.
In conjunction with the question above, the researcher ask their viewpoints regarding
life after marriage. Participant A stated that it was sweet at first, but as times passes by things
started to change, they were in a financial crisis and her husband started turning to the illegal
alternatives of earning more for the family, his temper changes as well, turning to a rather
hot-tempered guy and soon they had frequent fights and arguments. Participant B however,
reviewed the opposite, saying that it was bitter at first as he was not actually very willing to
give up his bachelorhood but he was left with no choice. However, he said that he is slowly
learning to accept the responsibilities so is his spouse, therefore things are slightly improving.
The researcher went on to ask if life was different before and after marriage.
Participant A answered that it was indeed different as her spouse no longer took the initiative
to give her surprise and life was rather boring and routine. Participant B also agreed that life
was different. He mentioned that after marriage, true colours were shown, his spouse was no
longer as sweet as a doll but daringly showed her temper and her dissatisfaction.
When asked about the time children started coming into their married life, Participant
A mentioned that it was within the first year of their married life. Participant B said that it
was after half year from their wedding date as his wife was about 4 months pregnant when
they had their wedding.
The researcher questioned if both participants were ready for the emergence of their
kids. Participant A mentioned that she was certainly not ready as she totally had no
experience of taking care of children, things were in a mess and her husband was of no help.
She mentioned that due to her carelessness, her son was admitted to hospital a couple of time.
Emotionally she was also not prepared. She and her spouse were too young and they were
more concerned with enjoying their life. Participant B on the other hand mentioned that since
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they knew about the arrival of their child before their wedding, they were force to be ready.
Furthermore his spouse was a fulltime housewife, making things a little easier to cope with.
On the surface, they seem prepared for the arrival of the child but emotionally they were not.
His wife was not happy having to stay at home, taking care of the baby while her peers were
just starting to enjoy life. Her self-esteem was very low and this made her very hot-tempered.
Personally, he also could not really control his emotion, when both the baby and his spouse
throw tantrums, which leads to the never-ending fights.
When asked if kids or married life affected their career advancement, Participant A
confirmed that it had. After her first child, very soon she had her second child and there was
no one who could help her babysit them, therefore she was force to stop work and take care
of her children herself. Babysitters were too expensive for both she and her husband. On the
opposition, Participant B mentioned that it doesn’t really affect his career advancement as his
spouse was in charge of the kids and other domestic concerns.
The researcher probed the two participants to share about the readiness of their
partners regarding married life and the emergence of their children. Participant A mentioned
that her husband was not at all ready; he showed little care to the child and was more
concerned bout enjoying life with friends and his wife. He would hit or spank the kids at
times when he was emotionally down. Participant B said on the surface, his partner seems
alright, but many times she would complain and whine about missing her single life. She has
also seem to lose her self confidence after married.
Before ending the interview, the researcher asked if both the participants regret
marrying at such an early age, Participant A confirmed that she regretted and it seems like an
on-going nightmare. Life is like a roller coaster after marriage. Participant B was not very
sure. At times he was happy but at other times he sort of regretted. It was a 50/50 decision.
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Coding System and Coded Data
Participant A
No. Answers Given Codes
1. I got married at the age of 19….. -Early marriage.
2. We decided to marry at such an early age partly due to the
strong objection of our parents. We wanted to show them
that we really do love each other and our love is strong and
eternal not like what they thought. We were also rebellious,
the more they objected, the more we wanted to prove our
love. We thought getting married would prove everything.
-Parents’ objection.
-Rebellious.
-Immature love.
3. They were not at all happy. Relatives were also not
supportive, thinking that we were too young….. but we
insisted. Throughout the preparation process, tons of fights
and arguments happened…..heated argument between both
of our family, they just can’t seem to come to an agreement
on anything…..
-Unhappy
-Lack of support
-Arguments and fights
4. We were both just sales assistants. I was working for a
goldsmith with a few hundred ringgit salary while he was
just a sales assistant at one of the local supermarket with
similar salary. We hardly had enough for ourselves and were
still mostly depending on our parents. I am just a form 5
leaver so would not be getting any high salary, he didn’t
even finish his lower secondary….I think that explains our
financial state.
-Financial problem.
-Uneducated.
-Dependent on family.
5. I thought married life would be sweet and wonderful just
like in the movies…….
-Unrealistic.
6. Things were great at first….we were so lovey-dovey but
then we started running low in cash and he started to get
involved in all kinds of illegal deal to earn more for the
family…he also gets angry easily and we started arguing at
times even fight….
-Financial problem.
-Illegal acts.
-Anger.
-Arguments and fights.
7. He don’t take the initiative to give me little surprises -No initiatives.
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anymore and everyday life was the same…it becomes rather
boring -Bored.
8. Our son was born about a year after we got married. -Entering parenthood.
9. I totally had no experience and no one helped me, he was
even worst…our son was admitted into the hospital a few
times as we were not aware that he had high fever….we
were not really concern about the child, we were more
interested in enjoying life….
-Inexperience.
-Selfish.
10. Definitely…I had to stop work after our second son as it
was just a year after we had our first, our parents could not
babysit them…babysitters were too expensive…
-Hinder career
advancement.
11. He was not ready… he does not even care about the kids…
his only concern was having a good time with me and his
friends. If the kids were slightly noisy he would slap or
spank them or even when he was in a bad mood, he would
hit the kids.
-Unprepared.
-Selfish.
-Violence.
12. I really regretted… married life is so unpredictable…. One
day it was good another it was terrible…..
-Regret.
-Missing bachelorhood.
Participant B
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No. Answers Given Codes
1. …got married at the age of 20… -Early marriage.
2. …she told me that she was about 3 months pregnant, so I
believed that it was my responsibility to take care of her and
the baby, so I asked her to marry me…
-Unplanned pregnancy.
-Responsibility.
3. My parents and my siblings were not very happy… relatives
also were not too supportive as they did not have a very
good impression of my wife…some arguments happened
when we were planning for the wedding…they were not
exactly glad with my decision… but still except it as she
was pregnant…
-Lack of support.
-Arguments and fights.
-Unplanned pregnancy.
4. My income is not exactly very stable as I am helping my
brother in his plaster ceiling business… it all depends on
how many projects we get… but at least I have my brother.
My wife she is a fulltime housewife… she was pregnant
right after she finish form 5…
-Financial problem.
5. We were both not… but we weren’t given much choice
either…it was more of a responsibility…and believe it or
not we got into a really bad fight just one week after we
wed…
-Responsibility.
-Arguments and fights.
6. Things were not exactly on the bright side at first, I envy my
friends who were still single…wish I could be one of
them…but I realized that I should learn to grow up and now
things are getting slightly better.
-Envy.
-Missing bachelorhood.
-Responsibility.
-Improvement in life.
7. Things were no longer the same, she was not as sweet and
angelic anymore…always getting angry and keep
complaining that she was not satisfied with the way things
are…
-Complaints.
-Dissatisfaction.
8. Since she was already about 4 months pregnant when we -Entering parenthood.
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wed, within half a year we had our first child….
9. It was because of the baby we got married…so we sort of
were force to be ready. Anywhere she is not working so she
took care of the baby n housework…seems ok…but soon
she started to be a little unstable emotionally…complaining
that she did not have a chance to enjoy life…lose her self
confidence and she became angry easily…as for me I just
can’t stand my wife throwing tantrums and the baby’s
constant crying…
-Dissatisfaction.
-Anger.
-Complaints.
10. For me it’s not really affecting, my wife is taking care of the
household things and the kids….I concentrate on my
career…
-Career advancement.
11. She might seem ok but she will used every chance she has to
complain and wished that she was single…she is no longer
confident with herself…
-Losing self confident.
-Missing bachelorhood.
-Dissatisfaction.
12. At times I am happy but at others I wished that I could be
single…I guess I am still feeling very unsure but I definitely
know that life was easier when I am single…
-Unsure.
-Missing bachelorhood.
After coding the items based on the interview questions for both participants, the researcher
would analyze the codes by putting them in a table for comparison and contrast also to see
the relationship between the two participants and the issue raised.
Interpreting coded data
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Participant A Participant B
-Early marriage.
-Parents’ objection.
-Rebellious.
-Immature love.
-Unhappy
-Lack of support
-Arguments and fights
-Financial problem.
-Uneducated.
-Dependent on family.
-Unrealistic.
-Illegal acts.
-Anger.
-No initiatives.
-Bored.
-Entering parenthood.
-Inexperience.
-Hinder career advancement.
-Unprepared.
-Selfish.
-Violence.
-Regret.
-Missing bachelorhood.
-Early marriage.
-Unplanned pregnancy.
-Responsibility.
-Lack of support.
-Arguments and fights.
-Financial problem.
-Envy.
-Missing bachelorhood.
-Improvement in life.
-Complaints.
-Dissatisfaction.
-Entering parenthood.
-Anger.
-Career advancement.
-Losing self confident.
-Dissatisfaction.
-Unsure.
Through coded data the researcher will do an interpretation regarding the participants’
challenges on married life and if they are prone to divorce. The researcher will also analyze
the contributing factors which lead to the participants to being prone to divorce.
Participant A
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Based on the coded data obtain from the interview, the researcher confirmed that
Participant A indeed married at a very tender age of 19. It is shown through her response that
she was not ready for the marriage and life after marriage. Getting married was just an
impulsive act done by both she and her spouse. It is partly due to their rebellious nature and
their parents’ strong objection. Participant A was still immature at that time and was not
aware of the challenges ahead, the same goes with her spouse. As mentioned, her parents
strongly objected her marriage, her relative were also not supportive, this shows that their
marriage was not build on stable grounds and both family even got into fights and argument
in the preparation process. Marriages build on unstable ground and without blessings were
indeed a factor to early divorce.
The researcher interpreted that financially, Participant A and her spouse were rather
unstable, as they both had low income and were not really educated. They depended on their
parents for financial support which shows that they are not ready to build their own family. It
was also due to financial problem, her spouse started getting involved in illegal acts and
arguments between them started which leads on to fights. Consequently, also due to financial
problem her spouse could no longer give her little surprises in terms of gifts which loses the
spark and chemistry in their marriage. The researcher believed that financial instability is
definitely one contributing factor to divorce in those marrying young as most were facing
financial difficulties.
Participant A was certainly not prepared for married life, not to mention parenthood.
Things were going too fast for her and her spouse. Through the interview, the researcher
realized that Participant A lack experience in handling difficult situations between her spouse
and her kids, her spouse was also unprepared which lead him to his violent acts. She had no
career after her married life, losing her self esteem and making her missed her bachelorhood.
This lead her to her want in getting divorce.
Participant B
By interpreting the coded data, the researcher found out that Participant B was also
married at a very young age, which is 20 years old and he was not prepared for the challenges
of married life, neither was his spouse. He thought that things was easy and simple and did
not realize that marriage will lead to emotional instability in his spouse. Furthermore, the
researcher realized that this marriage is build upon the unplanned pregnancy, if it was not due
to the pregnancy Participant B and his partner would not be considering the issue of marriage.
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They both were not prepared and not aware of the challenges ahead leading to constant
arguments and fights. This shows that early marriage leads to divorce partly because the
couple is not prepared physically and mentally for the commitment.
It was shown that Participant B was not prepared financially for married life, although
he is working for his brother and it is consider a family business, but he did emphasize that
his income was unstable and they were facing financial problems. These financial problems
lead on to fights and argument and also complaints and dissatisfaction from his spouse. As a
result, their marriage was on rocks. Therefore financial instability is also a contributing factor
to divorce in early marriage.
The researcher also went on to find out that Participant B’s family and his partner’s
family were not exactly supportive of their marriage, partly due to personal reason but partly
because they were consider too young to be building a family on their own. It was evident
that true enough their marriage were not as expected, things were not really blissful and
Participant B himself had let the thought of divorce cross his mind. This shows that
immaturity in those marrying young is also a contributing factor to higher rates of divorce.
Ethical Issues
The ethical issues in this research include informing both participants that the interview will
be recorded; however their identity will not be revealed. Their personal details including their
names, address, and contact numbers will be kept confidential. The only personal details
which will be reviewed were their age and also their gender. The participants were a little
reluctant on recording the interview at first but after assurance that their identity will be kept
confidential both agreed as the issue related is rather sensitive and personal. The researcher
also went on to inform the participants regarding the purpose of the research to let them have
a better understanding and a clearer picture of the whole situation. Lastly the researcher
provided her personal details and contact number for both participants as a symbol of
assurance for their participation as participants are more willing to participate when informed
about more in-depth information of the researcher and the purpose of the research.
Conclusion
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In conclusion, the researcher confirmed that some contributing factors to higher divorce rates
among those who married early are financial instability, immaturity mentally and
emotionally, impulsive decisions and also unpreparedness for the challenges of married life.
It was found that both participants expected things to be easy and simple after marriage, they
were not aware of the many issues which would need to be coped. The researcher further
confirmed that entering parenthood too early is also a contributing factor. It was evident in
both participants that the arrival of their children was more of a burden than joy to them.
They were not prepared and this make life even more difficult for them, making them
yearned to have their single life or life before marriage back.
Some recommendations or solution for this problem will be attending pre-marital course. Pre-
marital course is rather like a counseling session where couples are made aware regarding the
challenges which exist in married life and also to educate the couples on the correct approach
to be taken when dealing with problems which arise in life after marriage. Sex education and
religious education should also be introduced among school students to prevent unplanned
pregnancy and to let teenagers know their boundaries and limits. This is to prevent teens
getting married because of unplanned pregnancy whereby they are not prepared to face the
challenges emotionally, physically, mentally and also financially leading to higher divorce
rates. Parents ought to be spending more quality time with children, showing concern and
care to have enhance their relationship and to avoid youths marrying off early due to lack of
attention or possibly to escape their current family life. Lastly it is advisable for the youths to
marry after completing their tertiary education or after having a stable career in the job
market as financial problem is one of the main contributing factors in early marriage which
lead to higher divorce rates and also due to the fact that the youths would be adults and more
mature in their thinking after the completion of their studies or as they started putting their
food in the jobmarket.
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