"Dating for a Decade"

USA Today has an article on how long many young-adult couples stay together before marrying. The article asks rhetorically if the new relationship pattern is "dating for a decade."

In some cases, the protracted pre-marital phase seems to stem from partners' having to live in different cities, for educational or occupational reasons. Only when the two partners are settled in the same location do they finally say their "I do's."

Physical separation isn't the only reason for delayed marriage, however. Among the ideas proffered by experts in the article are couples' desire to make sure their relationships can handle strains over the long haul, individuals' keeping their options open if a more attractive potential partner comes along, and the realization that couples don't have to marry young if they don't plan to have children (or only have a small number of them).

(Thanks to Sothy Eng for bringing the article to my attention.)

Good Basic Intro to EA in New York Times

The New York Times ran an article a few days ago entitled "Long Road to Adulthood Is Growing Even Longer" (link). Those of you familiar with the central ideas of emerging-adulthood research will probably find the article to be pretty rudimentary, as exemplified in the following overview statement:

People between 20 and 34 are taking longer to finish their educations, establish themselves in careers, marry, have children and become financially independent...

For those new to emerging adulthood, however, the Times piece provides a good introduction.