Highlights
Print Post- Marriage shapes adults'—and especially men's—behavior, emotional health, and financial well-being. Tweet This
- Marriage appears to transform men’s approach to work and the way employers treat them. Tweet This
It’s increasingly common these days for young people to regard marriage as “just a piece of paper.” A record share of Americans are postponing or foregoing marriage, and a growing share of young adults think marriage is obsolete or comparatively unimportant.
But Doug Taulbee, a 37-year-old from Maineville, Ohio is not one of those marriage naysayers.
At age 18, Taulbee was content to work a $16,000-a-year job operating a press at a factory in Indiana and live in his parents’ basement. “I really didn’t have a care in the world,” Taulbee said. “I didn’t really have any bills.”
After marrying at 19 and having kids, Taulbee’s perspective changed: “I had to step up and think about something besides myself and start taking care of them.”