In early 1986, a demographic study from a team of Harvard and Yale researchers, who looked at the odds of women getting married at various ages, was published. It was picked up by the media and Newsweek did a feature article. In their recent June 5th issue, Newsweek did a 20 year followup. An abbreviated version of the article from the Newsweek website is attached here.
Some interesting snippets from this article:
" In "The Marriage Crunch," the magazine reported on new demographic research from Harvard and Yale predicting that white, college-educated women who failed to marry in their 20s faced abysmal odds of ever tying the knot. According to the research, a woman who remained single at 30 had only a 20 percent chance of ever marrying. By 35, the probability dropped to 5 percent. In the story's most infamous line, NEWSWEEK reported that a 40-year-old single woman was "more likely to be killed by a terrorist" than to ever marry. That comparison wasn't in the study, and even in those pre-9/11 days, it struck many people as offensive. Nonetheless, it quickly became entrenched in
pop culture."
"Statistically, people who marry at much higher-than-average ages don't have lower odds for divorce. But some experts are starting to think that
later-in-life marriages may have better chances of survival."
"In a shift from the earlier studies, done in the mid-'80s, however, the newer studies conclude that nowadays, a college degree makes a woman more likely to marry, not less. The Princeton paper suggests that for female college graduates born between 1960 and 1964, 97.4 percent will eventually marry."
View attachment Marriage by the Numbers.txt
Some interesting snippets from this article:
" In "The Marriage Crunch," the magazine reported on new demographic research from Harvard and Yale predicting that white, college-educated women who failed to marry in their 20s faced abysmal odds of ever tying the knot. According to the research, a woman who remained single at 30 had only a 20 percent chance of ever marrying. By 35, the probability dropped to 5 percent. In the story's most infamous line, NEWSWEEK reported that a 40-year-old single woman was "more likely to be killed by a terrorist" than to ever marry. That comparison wasn't in the study, and even in those pre-9/11 days, it struck many people as offensive. Nonetheless, it quickly became entrenched in
pop culture."
"Statistically, people who marry at much higher-than-average ages don't have lower odds for divorce. But some experts are starting to think that
later-in-life marriages may have better chances of survival."
"In a shift from the earlier studies, done in the mid-'80s, however, the newer studies conclude that nowadays, a college degree makes a woman more likely to marry, not less. The Princeton paper suggests that for female college graduates born between 1960 and 1964, 97.4 percent will eventually marry."
View attachment Marriage by the Numbers.txt
