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Episode 11: married students - what research says and why it matters

Written by CHR | Apr 29, 2024 8:24:23 PM
Episode 11: what research says and why it matters
 
Kendra interviews Kristin about her research on married college students, Kristin's personal experience, and
why it matters to have this conversation, whether you are married or not!
 
Be sure to check out all our resources below and leave a 5-star review if you like what you're hearing!
 
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Discussion Questions with your friends:

1. What word or phrase comes up for you when you think about being married in college?


2. Why if at all do you think this is an important conversation both for students who are married, and who are not?


3. What stands out to you most about the needs assessment themes Kristin discussed? Why do you think that stood out to you?


4. What positives can you think of related to being married in college?


5. What could you do to support your friends who are married? What could you do to support your friends who are not married?


6. How can you seek to understand your neighbor first before seeking to be understood?


7. What does it look like to be a catalyst for change in your own community regarding this conversation?

 

For further resources on this topic check out:

Get involved with Married Student Life on campus

Needs Assessment Themes Discussed:
 
  • Not knowing how to balance all the different expectations and responsibilities one may have (i.e. Student, wife, husband, employee, family member, etc.)  
  • Student Time Balance - Time Management  
  • Social/Community needs  
  • Balancing Household Responsibilities  
  • Familial Relationships/Homeostasis  
  • Benefits of Being Married, and Having a Spouse to Process/ Learn with  
  • Financial Dependence/Independence  
  • Keeping your individuality while also growing together

 

Quotes shared about the positives of being married young and in college:
 
“We get to learn together and mature together and make some big choices together.” 
 
“I think having a built-in best friend who has completely like different… different disciplines.”
 
“...we balance each other really well with some of those things, but it's nice kind of knowing even if I only see him an hour in the day I will go to bed next to him and I wake up next to him which is really, really nice to have that person around…” 
 
“I always have unconditional support, no matter what…” 
 
“It's been nice, how easy and natural it's felt to live with someone…” 
 
“...when you're just on your own and you're making all these mistakes, it's easy to just, like, hide them under the rug and move forward. But like when you're married, you have to be like so I did this today. probably wasn't the best thing. And there's that accountability, but it's also harder and so that's probably better for maturing purposes…” 

Research cited: 

Allred, C. (2018). Marriage: More than a century of change, 1900-2016. Family Profiles, FP-18-17. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-18-17

Bloome, D., & Ang, S. (2020, October 1). Marriage and union formation in the United States: Recent trends across racial groups and economic backgrounds. Demography. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/57/5/1753/168376/Marriage-and-Union-Formation-in-the-United-States

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). About. CCCU. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.cccu.org/about/

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). CCCU 2019-2020 Annual Report. 

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). 2021 Fall Advance by the Numbers

Fry, R. (2017, October 11). The share of Americans living without a partner has increased, especially among young adults. Pew Research Center. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/11/the-share-of-americans-living-without-a-partner-has-increased-especially-among-young-adults/

Graff, N., Horowitz, J., & Livingston , G. (2020, August 27). Marriage and cohabitation in the U.S. Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation-in-the-u-s/

United States Census Bureau. (2021, November 20). About Educational Attainment. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.census.gov/topics/education/educational-attainment/about.html

United States Census Bureau. (2011) Marital Status of the Population by Sex and Age: 2009. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0057.pdf.

United States Census Bureau. (2021, October 8). Marital status in the United States. Census.gov. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/marital-status-in-united-states.html

United States Department of Education. (2014). Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2011-2012. Retrieved on February 11, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015167.pdf

 
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