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Marriage 'not always the answer'
29 January 2008
Following the publication of a national survey which found that most people do not differentiate between marriage and cohabitation, one relationship expert has been analysing the findings.
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The report by the National Centre for Social Research also found that 70 per cent of Brits see nothing wrong with pre-marital sex and a mere 28 per cent believe married people make the best parents.
Penny Mansfield, director of the relationship research organisation One Plus One, told the Times it was important not to simplify the data.
'The kind of people who get married may well be the kind who have the beliefs and attitudes that would keep them in a marriage, or the capabilities and skills to stay in a relationship,' she explains.
Therefore, marriage cannot be seen as a solution - it may just be one symptom of a couple already destined for happiness.
She added: "It's clear that getting married makes many people feel more secure. The act of marriage gives a public stamp to their commitment. But for other people, getting married can break them up because they feel bound in."
The Conservatives are currently considering incentives to marry such as allowing stay-at-home mothers to transfer their unused tax allowances to their husbands.
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