Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing © 2015 Indian Association of Health,

2015, 6(1), 53-56 Research and Welfare

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Attitude of Indian youth towards marriage and family relations

Mamta Chaturvedi and Dinesh Singh
Scientist-F (DRDO), Selection Centre Central, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Throughout the world, marriage behavior and family life are changing. Young people are waiting later to marry,
couples are having fewer children, and more married women are working outside the home. In view of the same
this study was carried out to investigate into the attitude Indian youth toward marriage and family relations. The
study was conducted on 240 subjects including 140 males and 100 females. The age range varied from 18 to
32 years. Altogether 12 items from social change attitude scale (Rekha, 1996) were used to measure the attitude of
the subjects toward marriage and family relations. The data were analyzed with the help of suitable statistics. The
findings of the study revealed a positive change in the attitudes among the youth in terms of decision making at
home, sharing of household work by both partners, acceptance of wife’s decisions by husband, need for economic
independence of wife and obsolescence of purdah system. Hence also, positive attitudes towards the female child,
and significance of parents’ consent in marriage is indicated. Sexual satisfaction is still seen as the primary aim of
marriage in significantly larger number of males than females.

Keywords: attitude, family, marriage

Marriage is one of the most important family formation variables.
The institution of marriage and the event of child bearing are
considered so essential for family life that couples staying together
without marriage, single parent families, and childless families
are not accepted as complete or normal families (Tata Institute of
Social Sciences [TISS], 1993). Marriage involves the union of two
individuals who decide to live in an intimate relationship for the
major portion of their life. It is said to be one of the deepest and most
complex forms of human relationships. Landis (1954) observes,
“marriage and family are not optional; they are necessary. They
meet man’s deepest needs.” It provides for the reliable satisfaction
of certain vital personal needs both physical and psychological.
Throughout the world, marriage behavior and family life are
changing. Young people are waiting later to marry, couples are
having fewer children, and more married women are working
outside the home (Leete 1994; Retherford et al., 2001).
The study by Parker and Vassallo (2011) examined attitudes of
young Australians towards marriage. The findings from his research
suggest that young Australians see marriage as a part of their future.
The majority of them expect to marry. However it seems to be a
short to medium term goal for many young women and a longer
term goal for many young men. Overall, these young people did
not associate happiness and financial security with marriage, nor
did they think that it is better for a couple to marry than to just
live together or that there are more advantages to being single than
to being married. Marriage was not seen as the being the same as
cohabitation, and there was little support for the view that its main
purpose is having children. Young women appear to have somewhat
stronger views of marriage, although these views were generally
less positive. Where there was a significant difference in responses
between male and female participants, females tended to be more
likely to have disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement.
The findings of the Eleventh Japanese National Fertility Survey
(1997) on the attitude of Japanese youth toward marriage indicate
that most of the unmarried think they will marry someday, but the
Correspondence should be sent to Mamta Chaturvedi
Scientist-F (DRDO), Selection Centre Central, Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India. Email: mamtarameshpsych@yahoo.co.in
proportion of those intending to marry has tended to decrease slightly.
Those concerned about the age of marriage are decreasing, and those
willing to wait for an ideal partner are increasing. The unmarried
subjects who consider that marriage has no merits are tending to
increase for ages 25 and over. The most attractive part of the single
life is “freedom.” Among those who have been dating their boyfriend/
girlfriend, 66.7% of males and 63.2% of females want to marry their
partner. 60.1% of unmarried males and 50.5% of unmarried females
answered that they had experienced sexual intercourse.
Research on family decision-making in South Asia’s strongly
patriarchal societies has also revealed patterns that are seriously
detrimental to women’s and children’s health. One study in
two communities of rural Bangladesh found that women were
extremely restricted in terms of decision-making on health issues
and associated physical mobility (Balk, 1997).
A comparative study of women’s roles in family economic
decision-making further highlights restrictions on women’s
independence and authority in the patriarchal families of South
Asia. Among five Asian countries, women in Pakistan report the
lowest levels of economic power, with Indian women a close
second. Women in Thailand and the Philippines report the highest
levels, and Malaysian women are in an intermediate position
(Mason & Herbert 1999).
In India studies from different parts of the country indicate
that the cases of marital disharmony or estranged marriages are
increasing, but divorce as an alternative to marital problems is
not widely put into practice in the Indian urban and upper caste
(Mullatti, 1995). The increased participation of women in paid
employment outside the home is another factor that has affected
family values in urban areas (Ramanujam et al., 1990).
Jensen (2008) explored the effect of the introduction of cable
television on women’s status in rural India. Using a 3-year, individual-
level panel dataset, it was found that the introduction of cable television
is associated with significant decreases in the reported acceptability
of domestic violence toward women and son preference, as well as
increases in women’s autonomy and decreases in fertility.
The study by Patel and Johns (2009) examines gender
differences in gender role attitudes and attitudes to abortion in a
sample of 141 undergraduate students found that females have