The monograph points to the consequences of a process of changes in demographic behavior that affect the value of the family in society and people’s attitudes towards marriage. The monograph summarizes the theoretical and empirical knowledge of what partnership the young generation prefers today and what attitudes they hold towards marriage and premarital sex or cohabitation.
The monograph is based on research to determine the attitudes of young people aged 20-40 to marriage and premarital sex using the MAES questionnaire. Attitudes towards marriage are examined in relation to demographic indicators, opinions on cohabitation or in the context of parenthood and ways of division of housework. The basic research tool was a standardized MAES questionnaire consisting of three dimensions: 1. Willingness to marry; 2. General attitudes to marriage and 3. Aspects of marriage. The research sample consisted of 648 young people aged 20-40 who are not married. Data collection was performed in 2018-2019, then the data were statistically processed by SPSS 17.0 program. Grades 1 and 2 were performed, pivot tables were created and hypotheses were tested based on Pearson correlation coefficient and Chi quadratic test.
In line with the argument about family deinstitutionalisation, it has emerged that although the number of non-marital cohabitation is increasing, the value of marriage and family is of a high standard among the young generation. 89% of respondents in our sample plan to marry in the future. Research has not shown a significant relationship between attitudes to marriage and religion, social status and education.
The research results showed a significant relationship between the willingness to marry and age (p = 0.000), gender (p = 0.05) and premarital sex (p = 0.002). In the field of cohabitation, respondents reported high scores in the statement that marriage is not important for cohabitation. A greater tendency to cohabitate has been shown with increasing age and in people with a younger age average (p = 0.048). People over the age of 35 are less willing to marry.
There is no doubt that new forms of partnership are emerging, but most respondents think that marriage makes people happier. On the other hand, they point out a number of barriers that do not motivate them to marry, which include low state support for young families, the desire for financial security and career development or mistrust in the long-term relationship and unreliability of the partner. Although they accept the planning of marriage life, they postpone it and prefer cohabitation either as a definite state or as a precursor to marriage.