Is Covenant Marriage A Solution to the American Divorce Problem

这项研究将评估路易斯安那州的圣约婚姻。自1997年8月以来，路易斯安那州的夫妇有两种婚姻形式可供选择：一种是具有无过错离婚条款的传统婚姻形式，另一种是较新的圣约式婚姻，这种婚姻更难进入和退出。后者需要婚前咨询，如果出现问题，还需要额外的咨询，以及咨询证明和其他离婚或合法分居的限制性理由。1997-98年间，其他18个州引入了契约式婚姻立法。这项立法，以及类似的立法，是在我国一场更大的辩论中诞生的，辩论的主题是婚姻的意义，以及应该采取什么措施来应对高离婚率、同居率、生活安排的多样性和未婚生育。社会科学家、立法者和公民就国家是否可以显著改变实际婚姻和离婚的条款或后果展开辩论。与这些变化将促进更牢固的婚姻的希望相对立的是，人们担心限制性离婚可能会加剧妇女和儿童的经济问题，以及两种婚姻制度的存在通过引入契约因素削弱了婚姻的地位。该项目将建立在研究人员前一年由NSF支持的初步研究的基础上。首先，一项为期五年的纵向小组研究将跟踪选择每种婚姻类型的代表性样本。它将集中在选择一种婚姻类型和另一种婚姻类型的原因，两种类型正在进行的婚姻的差异，以及离婚率的差异。其次，定性研究将考察这两种婚姻中的性别角色和性别意识形态问题。通过这些方法，将有可能解决大多数离婚理论中的核心问题。特别是，这项研究将试图确定使更具限制性的婚姻对个人具有吸引力的因素，人力资本在择偶中的重要性，以及国家是否会影响离婚率。

This research will evaluate covenant marriage in Louisiana. Since August 1997, couples in Louisiana have had a choice of two forms of marriage: the conventional form with no-fault divorce provisions, and the newer Covenant marriage which is harder to enter and to exit. The latter requires premarital counseling, additional counseling if problems arise, and proof of counseling and other restrictive grounds for divorce or legal separation. Covenant marriage legislation was introduced in 18 other states in 1997-98. This, and similar legislation, was born of a larger debate in our country about the meanings of marriage and what, if anything, should be done to deal with high rates of divorce, cohabitation, diversity in living arrangements, and out-of-wedlock births. Social scientists, legislators and citizens debate whether the state can significantly alter the terms or consequences of actual marriages and divorces. Countered against the hopes that these changes will foster stronger marriages are concerns that restrictive divorce may exacerbate the economic problems of women and children, and that the existence of two marriage systems weakens the status of marriage by introducing contractual elements. The project will build on the investigators' prior year of preliminary NSF-supported research. First, a five-year longitudinal panel study will follow representative samples of individuals who select each type of marriage. It will focus on the reasons for selecting one versus the other type of marriage, differences in the ongoing marriages of the two types, and differences in divorce rates. Second, a qualitative study will investigate issues of gender roles and gender ideology in the two types of marriages. Through these methods, it will be possible to address central questions in most theories of divorce. In particular, the research will attempt to determine the factors that make more restrictive marriage attractive to individuals, the importance of human capital in mate-selection, and whether the state can affect divorce rates.