美国年轻人：因恐惧离婚而不结婚

Divorce Fear Stops Young Couples Marrying

Fear of the trauma of divorce is stopping many young couples from walking down the aisle,1 a university report has found.

With the share of married adults at an all-time low in the United States, the latest research by demographers unveils clues why couples dont get married—they fear divorce.2

Among cohabitating couples, more than two-thirds of the studys respondents admitted to concerns about dealing with the social, legal, emotional and economic consequences of a possible divorce.3

Despite the concerns, middle-class subjects spoke more favorably about tying the knot and viewed cohabitation as a natural stepping stone to marriage compared to their working-class counterparts.4

Lower-income women, in particular, disproportionately expressed doubts about the “trap” of marriage,5 fearing that it could be hard to exit if things go wrong or it would lead to additional domestic responsibilities but few benefits.

The study also found working-class cohabitating couples were more apt to view marriage as “just a piece of paper,” nearly identical to their existing relationship.6

They were twice as likely to admit fears about being stuck in marriage with no way out once they were relying on their partners share of income to get by7.

The researchers hope that their findings could help premarital counselors to better tailor their lessons to assuage widespread fears of divorce and to target the specific needs of various socioeconomic classes.8

1. trauma: 心理创伤；walk down the aisle:〈口〉步入婚姻的殿堂，结婚。

2. share: 部分，份额；all-time: 空前的；demographer: 人口统计学家；unveil: 揭示。

3. 在该研究调查的同居情侣中，有超过三分之二的人承认自己担心如果离婚将要应对社会、法律、情感和经济等一系列后果。

4. favorably: 肯定地，赞许地；tie the knot: 结婚；cohabitation: 同居；stepping stone: 进身之阶，敲门砖；counterpart: 地位相当的人。

5. disproportionately: 不成比例地，不相称地；trap: 牢笼，困境。

6. apt to: 倾向于……；identical to: 相似的。

7. get by:（钱）勉强够花。

8. premarital: 婚前的；counselor: 顾问；tailor: 调整使合适；assuage:缓和，减轻；socioeconomic: 社会经济学的。