Throughout this essay, I aim to discover whether cohabitation, being married, or being single (i.e., without a partner) are best viewed as distinct lifestyles and different, or simply as different phases within different contemporary relationship stories. To do this I will begin by discussing the second demographic transition (SDT) introduced in 1986 by Lesthaeghe and Van de Kaa to illustrate changes in family structures, the breakdown of relationships and the reorganization of families in the West. I will then consider Coleman's critique of SDT, where he states that SDT is neither a “second” or a “demographic” transition, but a limited examination of different lifestyles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Next I will explore singleness, including the trends and reasons why people live alone, and how the married couple with children is no longer paramount, allowing for a shift in postmodern ways of living. There is also discussion of how the meaning of being single has changed, yet for some individuals it continues to be negatively stigmatized. I will continue by examining cohabitation and how unmarried cohabitation has become more prevalent with most people having cohabited at some point in their lives. I will first consider two types of cohabitation, cohabitation in lieu of marriage and, secondly, premarital cohabitation, also observing the increase in births between cohabiting couples and how the increase in cohabitation and births outside marriage has led to a change in attitudes towards marriage, cohabitation and parenthood. Finally, I will discuss marriage trends by looking at how marriage rates have declined over the last quarter century. I will be using reports from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to look at how, although there was an increase in marriage rates between 2009 and 2012, marriage rates fell again in 2013. Also discussing the increase in rates of first marriages compared to the decline in new marriages interest rates and the trend whereby women tend to marry younger than men. I will then conclude by summarizing the body of my essay and explaining how best to consider cohabitation, being married, or living alone. I will begin by examining the second demographic transition (SDT). SDT was first introduced by Lesthaeghe and Van de kaa in 1986 to illustrate changes in family structures, relationship breakdown and reorganization of families in the West (Lesthaeghe, 1998). Visible changes in family structures result from delayed marriage, increased cohabitation, single living, and increased reproduction for cohabiting couples. Patterns of dissolution are distinguished by rising divorce rates and a surge in the dissolution of cohabitants, with the transfer of family reorganization structures from remarriage to post-marital cohabitation. Goldscheider (2000) believes that SDT is the consequence of the first demographic transition, with its main attribute being the increase in divorce and cohabitation, with the result that unions are less central and stable in the lives of both men and women. women. Goldscheider (2000) further observes that with the increase in divorce, men are now more likely to move in and out of the lives of both women and children and as a result parenthood is not an established part of a man's life compared to that of a woman. woman. The second demographic transition has received criticism, however. Coleman (2004) statesthat SDT is neither a “second” nor a “demographic” transition, but a limited examination of a different lifestyle. Coleman (2004) argues that SDT is not truly demographic as it pays more attention to marriage and its alternatives rather than mortality and population growth, and that SDT does not refer to internal or international migration compared to the first transition demographic. Coleman also argues that SDT is not a transition, stating that “a “transition” should be complete and irreversible, as the “first” is believed to be, not a transitory cyclical change but a permanent movement, shared by most individuals in a population, between one long-term sustainable demographic model and another". However, Lestaeghe (2010) defends SDT by stating that, during the first demographic transition, the decline in fertility was controlled by an immense emotional and economic investment in the child, while the rationale of SDT was the self-awareness of the adult in the position of parent. and an accomplished and happy adult. Believe that this change was supported by the invention of highly effective contraception. During the first transition couples used contraception to avoid pregnancy, in comparison the key decision during the SDT was to stop using contraception for the purpose of procreation. Lesthaeghe (2010) also discussed various contrasts between the first and second transitions to defend SDT. First, marriage regimes, describing how in Western Europe the trend towards late marriages deteriorated following the evolution of wage work, with a fundamental movement in the direction of early marriages lasting until the mid-1990s. 60, meaning the lowest average ages at first marriage since the Renaissance emerged by the mid-twentieth century. However, compared to 1965, the age at marriage began to increase, due to premarital cohabitation, leaving home later and living as a single person, a considerable number of never-married people began to decline. The increase in post-marital cohabitation and pregnancy within cohabitation was also highlighted in the SDT. Further marital conflicts included divorce and remarriage, during the first transition there was strict divorce legislation with an emphasis on strengthening marriage and family, consequently divorce rates for this period were low. In comparison, SDT has seen an increase in divorce rates, which is seen as a challenge to the moral order of church and state (Lesthaeghe, 2010). A final comparison on nuptiality was that of second marriages, comparing how during the first transition second marriages occurred only for widows and widowers. However, through cohabitation SDT and other living arrangements, including living alone together (LAT), are favored over remarriage. Next I will explore being single and the trends and reasons why individuals live alone. Over the last 30 years we have seen a substantial increase in the number of individuals residing alone in the UK, with the proportion of single-person households approximately doubling between 1971 and 2000. Roseneil & Budgeon (2004) argue that, “the heterosexual couple, and in particular the married and co-residential heterosexual couple with children, no longer occupies the center of Western societies, and cannot be taken for granted as the fundamental unit of society.” Roseneil & Budgeon (2004) continue to discuss the various reasons for this, including how over the last 30 years the increase in divorce, the increase in out-of-wedlock births, births to single mothers, the proportion ofSingle-parent families, the growing number of single-person families and the increase in women deciding not to have children have contributed to the change in postmodern ways of life. With recent changes in life and relationship trends, the meaning of single has also changed, it is now common practice to refer to someone as “single” rather than as “spinster” or “bachelor”. The way in which single women are viewed has also been subject to recent changes during the 19th century: women were characterized by marriage and motherhood, a woman who was not married tended to be known as an unmarried daughter, sister or aunt. married. The perception of single women began to improve as women began to enter the labor market through paid employment, and there was an increase in educational opportunities for women. As a result, women have become more independent by choosing to delay marriage, and as divorce rates have increased, women have chosen to live as singles. However, single women are still portrayed negatively and people feel that single women demand something more. Reynolds et al (2007) argue that single women experience a degree of stigmatisation, that they are marginalized due to their individualism and are often described as outside conventional relationships or family structures, stating that traditional family structures continue to be representative of the culture widespread in the West. Research conducted by Macvarish (2006) suggests that for women between the ages of 34 and 50, celibacy is more challenging than modern descriptions tend to indicate. Modern descriptions of single life imply that individuals are free from the responsibilities or demands of a relationship or motherhood. However, research participants felt that this was not an accurate representation and that there was an ambiguity between autonomy of responsibility and the fear of not having the opportunity to exit celibacy or enter motherhood. Most women who participated in the research suggested that although they felt satisfied with single life, it was not what they wanted for the future. Recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in the UK 7.6 million people resided alone in 2012, 4.2 million of these were aged between 16 and 64, with the largest number men, one reason may be that more men than women remain unmarried. However, among people aged over 65 and living alone, the majority were women, which may be due to the fact that predominantly women marry older men and also have a longer life expectancy. In comparison to single living individuals who may decide to cohabit, cohabitation is the term given to unmarried couples in a sexual relationship who reside together. In contemporary societies, unmarried cohabitations have become more predominant, with large numbers of people having cohabited at some stage in their lives. Due to the heterogeneity of cohabiting couples, different classifications of cohabitation coexist, albeit to varying degrees. There are two variants of cohabitation: the first is cohabitation in lieu of marriage, whereby individuals abandon marriage as an institution and consequently decide to cohabit. Secondly, in premarital cohabitation, cohabitation is considered preliminary before marriage, subsequently successful relationships will progress to marriage, while unsuccessful relationships will dissolve. The prevalence of cohabitation has seen notable growth from the late 1980s onwards. According to the investigationgeneral report on families (GHS) more than fifty percent of couples have cohabited before marriage, consequently cohabitation before marriage has now become a majority practice. Between 2004 and 2007, cohabiting unions lasted an average of four years before first marriage, more than double the length of cohabiting unions in the early 1980s. Beaujouan Ni Bhrolcháin (2014) indicates that life stages have been delayed, between 2004 and 2007 first marriages were postponed by five years, compared to first marriages between 1980 and 1984. They also state that as a consequence of growth in out-of-wedlock births, first marriages on average occur after the first birth, GHS estimates that in 2000-2007 approximately 30% of women who had their first birth were in cohabiting unions, a 24% increase. % compared to 1980-1984. After the modern increase in cohabitation and the growth of births within cohabiting unions, there has also been a visible change in people's attitudes towards parenthood and marriage. Reports from the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) show that in 1987 70% of individuals believed that marriage should come before parenthood, compared to 54% in 2000. However, these numbers change with age, e.g. ages 65 and older tend to agree that marriage should precede childbirth, while those aged 18 to 24 only 53% agree agree. Couples who have a child in cohabitation are less likely to marry than cohabiting unions that do. don't have children. According to the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) women whose first birth occurred in cohabitation are 67% less likely to end cohabitation in marriage than women without children. Morgan (2000) states that for individuals in cohabiting relationships with a limited level of education or who are subject to economic difficulties, the probability of having a child within the cohabitation is higher than that of couples with a higher level of education . Additionally, couples with higher education are more likely to transition their cohabitation union into marriage than those with limited education. It is said that the transition from cohabitation to marriage is linked to the economic status of the couple, cohabiting couples in which one or both are unemployed are more likely to dissolve their relationship, while cohabiting unions in which one or both parties are employed would most likely increase in marriage. To continue, I will discuss trends in marriage, over the last quarter century marriages have been in decline. Wilson and Smallwood (2007) argue that, as a result of individuals deciding to delay marriage or cohabit, marriage rates in the UK have fallen by over 30%. In exploring trends in marriage and marriage rates Wilson & Small (2007) also examine population statistics stating that, in 1851 more than 150,000 marriages took place, however, 5.5 million individuals over the age of 15 remained single, divorced, or widowed. By comparison, in 2005 there were 250,000 marriages and 2.4 million people remained unmarried. Although there were more marriages in 2005, marriage rates were lower than in 1851 as there was a higher population. More recent data collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that although there was an increase in marriages between 2009-2012, data for 2013 shows the first decline in marriage rates since 2009, with 240,854 marriages in 2013, a decline of 8.6% compared to 2012. Reports also suggest that there.