美国社会的各个阶层中都盛行婚前同居、不结婚或晚婚,离婚率不断攀升,婚外生育子女的数量增加,此类现象比半个世纪前更为普遍。婚姻作为一种社会制度在那些低收入人群中比例更低,特别是在那些非洲裔美国人中。学者们注意到一个常被忽视的影响结婚率的因素,即妇女在少年和成年期 Prevailing cohabitation, non-marriage or late marriage prevailed in all sectors of American society, with the rate of divorce rising and the number of extramarital wedlock children increasing, a phenomenon more prevalent than half a century ago. Marital status as a social system is lower among those with lower incomes, especially among African-Americans. Scholars have noticed a factor that is often overlooked in affecting marriage rates, namely women’s age at adolescence and adulthood