Understanding Marriage in the Twenty-First Century

Dear Colleagues,

In many countries, including virtually all OECD countries, marriage rates have declined over the past few decades. For example, in Portugal, the Netherlands, and Japan, the number of marriages per 1000 individuals fell from about 10 in 1970 to three, four, and five, respectively, in 2019.

Yet, marital decline is not the only story to tell about the current state of marriage. In fact, despite recent trends, millions of people continue to get married each year. And many others tell researchers that they want to get married someday. While marriage may never again be as popular as it was at its peak in the mid-twentieth century, the institution has not exactly become obsolete. Instead, marriage remains a way of life, albeit one of many, for people around the world.

This Special Issue seeks contributions from social scientists who are interested in understanding what marriage means today, how it operates, what difference being married makes in family and personal lives, and why the institution still appeals to people at a time when marriages are becoming less common and alternatives to marriage are proliferating. Contributors are encouraged to submit original research, reviews of the literature, and theoretical papers. We especially welcome work that challenges or complicates declinist narratives about the state of marriage in the twenty-first century.

Please submit your proposals and any questions to Prof. Dr. Chris Wienke by 1 June 2024. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 15 June 2024. Final papers are due on 15 August 2024 for peer review.

Proposals should be one page in length and include a title, an abstract explaining its relevance to the Special Issue topic, a description of the population, and the methods used (if applicable). Also include author names and affiliations.

Dr. Chris Wienke
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• marriage
• remarriage
• same-sex marriage
• marital relations
• marital status
• attitudes toward marriage
• social institutions
• deinstitutionalization
• social norms
• social change

The State of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century.

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