TheStateofMarriageTodayIstheresomethingseriouslywrongwithmarriagetoday？Duringthepast50years，therateofdivorceintheUnitedStateshasexploded：almost50%ofmarriagesendindivorcenow，andtheevidencesuggestsitisgoingto

　　The State of Marriage Today

　　Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today？During the past 50years，the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded：almost 50%of marriages end in divorce now，and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse，if this trend continues．It will lead to the breakup of the family，according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association．Some futurists predict that in 100years，the average American will marry at least four times and extramarital affairs（婚外恋） will be even more common than they are now．

　　But what are the reasons for this，and is the picture really so depressing？The answer to the first question is really quite simple：marriage is no longer the necessity it once was．The practice of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need．Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands as they usually didn't have jobs outside the home．But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs，this is no longer the case，so they don't feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage．

　　In answer to the second question，the prospects may not be as pessimistic as they seem．While the rate of divorce has risen，the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much，so marriage is still quite popular．In addition to this，many couples now cohabit（同居） and don't bother to marry．These couples are effectively married，but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics．In fact，more than 50%of first marriages survive．The statistics are unreliable because there is a higher number of divorces in second and third marriages than in first marriages．

　　So is marriage really an outdated practice？The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn't．And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people：they suffer less from stress and its consequences，such as heart problems，and married men generally consider themselves more sat