Young people in Australia : Values and beliefs concerning marriage and family: A review of the research
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September 1992
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Overview
To understand young people's values and beliefs concerning marriage and family the author first provides an overview of young people in Australia, including factors which affect their pathways to adulthood and impinge on values and attitudes towards marriage and family, and second, a brief description of recent marriage and family trends. The paper then reviews studies of young people's attitudes towards marriage and family, cohabitation, and children, with an emphasis on attitudes towards marriage. Studies carried out from the early 1980s are reviewed. Included are analyses of trends from national census and other Australian Bureau of Statistics data, findings from large-scale research projects using representative samples, and studies based on intensive interviews with small numbers of young people. The final section of the paper draws conclusions regarding young people's present attitudes to marriage and family, suggests possible future trends, and details directions for future research.
Paper prepared for the Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP), UNESCO