In our research paper we looked at young marriages especially of those in college. This topic was of interest to us because of our college careers and upcoming marriage. Jeremy is currently a junior in chemical engineering and I am a junior in elementary education. We ourselves feel that a college marriage would work although it will be hard. We will now discuss the literature we looked at regarding young marriage. .
To begin our discussion we will first give a definition of an adolescent. The term adolescent "refers to the post pubertal population younger than twenty years of age who have a distinctive life-style; for those immediately younger the term young adults is used"(John and Pat Caldwell, 1998). Adolescence is socially defined. It is seen there as an instrument for social change and prepares you for adult life in societies where adolescence is found. Adolescence is associated with the following: going to school, trying to achieve occupational positions, and creating boy- girl friendships. Adolescence is associated with the moving away from agrarian society to full-time education which is needed in complex societies (John and Pat Caldwell,1998).
In the study of adolescence there has been a huge interest in adolescent marriage and childbirth. Marital instability has been directly linked to adolescent marriage and childbirth. When this occurs the adolescent is forced into the role of a parent and they are not able to fully develop their own identity or learn the importance of intimacy (Teti and Lamb, 1989). Adolescent marriage has been shown to have an effect on lowering their socioeconomic status and stability in the marriage. Adolescents that are married and have children with their new responsibilities now have less time for what is really important which is their education. Adolescence is a time that should be focused on education. Women who gave birth in adolescence completed less than eleven years of education.