(Press-News.org) Reaching adulthood certainly takes longer than it did a generation ago, but new research shows one way that parents are contributing to the delay.
A national study found that college students think 25 years old is the "right age" to get married, while a majority of parents feel 25 is still a little too soon. So it's no coincidence that when Justin Bieber said he'd like to wed by 25, Oprah Winfrey urged him to wait longer.
"The assumption has been that the younger generation wants to delay marriage and parents are hassling them about when they would get married," said Brian Willoughby, a professor at Brigham Young University and lead author of the study. "We actually found the opposite, that the parental generation is showing the 'slow down' mindset more than the young adults."
Willoughby and his co-authors in BYU's School of Family Life gathered info from 536 college students and their parents from five college campuses around the country (BYU was not in the sample). As they report in The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,the scholars found the hesitation is consistent across gender.
"Initially we thought that this might be dads wanting their daughters to delay marriage," Willoughby said. "Moms and dads trended together – gender wasn't a factor."
One of the driving forces behind parents' restraint is the feeling that their children should get an education first. While they generally feel marriage is important, parents think the "right age" is one year older than what their children say. Excluding teen marriages, research doesn't support the notion that there is an optimal time to tie the knot.
"I think parents have a lot of fear for their kids that makes them want to delay the transitions to adulthood," Willoughby said.
According to Census data, the median age for first marriages is 27. Willoughby says that what people say is the "right age" generally comes a few years before the actual marriage age.
"What happens is that someone thinks that 25 is when they want to get married," Willoughby said. "So at age 25, they start changing their patterns around dating, and it takes two or so years to make the transition."
Though BYU students weren't in Willoughby's sample, the university's own records show about 25 percent of its students are married. Willoughby said that Mormon young adults typically marry about two years younger than their peers nationally and have risen in sync with national trends.
###
Chad Olsen, a graduate student in BYU's School of Family Life, is a co-author on the new study. Professors Jason Carroll, Larry Nelson and Rick Miller are also co-authors.
College students more eager for marriage than their parents
Oprah's exchange with Justin Bieber a familiar conversation in American families
2012-11-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Studies from 2012 Quality Care Symposium highlight findings in improving quality of cancer care
2012-11-28
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five additional studies to be presented at the 2012 Quality Care Symposium provide insight on how oncology practices can improve the quality of care they provide. The Symposium will take place November 30 – December 1, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.
Note to Media: Statements from ASCO Communications Committee Member, Jyoti Patel, MD, can be cited throughout can be used in part or in their entirety.
Abstract #69
Rates of diagnostic imaging in long-term survivors of young adult malignancies
Corinne Daly, BSc, MSc
Institute of Medical ...
Researchers report first success of targeted therapy in most common non-small cell lung cancer
2012-11-28
BOSTON - A new study by an international team of investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists is the first to demonstrate that chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer.
Published online today in The Lancet Oncology, the combination of chemotherapy and the targeted drug selumetinib was more effective than chemotherapy alone in a clinical trial involving patients with a form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that carries a mutation ...
Joslin researchers increase understanding of genetic risk factor for type 1 diabetes
2012-11-28
BOSTON – November 28, 2012 – As part of their ongoing research on the role of genes in the development of type 1 diabetes, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Würzburg, have demonstrated how a genetic variant associated with type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases influences susceptibility to autoimmunity. The findings appear in the upcoming issue of Diabetes.
Recent studies of the human genome have identified genetic regions associated with autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes. Joslin scientists in the ...
Record-setting X-ray jet discovered
2012-11-28
A jet of X-rays from a supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth has been detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is the most distant X-ray jet ever observed and gives astronomers a glimpse into the explosive activity associated with the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.
The jet was produced by a quasar named GB 1428+4217, or GB 1428 for short. Giant black holes at the centers of galaxies can pull in matter at a rapid rate producing the quasar phenomenon. The energy released as particles fall toward the black hole ...
Banking Industry Veteran Michael Sanchez Addresses Conference at IMPACT 2012 Venture Summit
2012-11-28
Savana Inc CEO Michael Sanchez, was one of several financial services industry executives invited to speak at the recently held IMPACT 2012 Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT). Sanchez joined a panel to share his insight on trends in Fin-Tech and how the financial services industry is changing to support new business models through the use of software-based innovation.
Over a thousand attendees participated in the two day summit which featured speakers including former AOL Chairman Steve Case, former ...
4 common antipsychotic drugs found to lack safety and effectiveness in older adults
2012-11-28
In older adults, antipsychotic drugs are commonly prescribed off-label for a number of disorders outside of their Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications – schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The largest number of antipsychotic prescriptions in older adults is for behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, some of which carry FDA warnings on prescription information for these drugs.
In a new study – led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Stanford University and the University of Iowa, and funded by the ...
The hungry caterpillar: Beware your enemy's enemy's enemy
2012-11-28
When herbivores such as caterpillars feed, plants may "call for help" by emitting volatiles, which can indirectly help defend the plants. The volatiles recruit parasitoids that infect, consume and kill the herbivores, to the benefit of the plant. However, such induced plant odours can also be detected by other organisms. A new study published November 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology shows how secondary parasitoids ('hyperparasitoids') can take advantage of these plant signals to identify parasitoid-infected caterpillars, and duly infect the primary parasitoid, ...
Studies examine whether therapies for heart failure are associated with improved survival
2012-11-28
CHICAGO – An analysis of two heart failure therapies finds differing outcomes regarding improvement in survival, according to two studies appearing in the November 28 issue of JAMA.
In one study, Adrian F. Hernandez, M.D., M.H.S., of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, N.C., and colleagues examined the clinical effectiveness of aldosterone antagonist therapy and associations with long-term outcomes of older patients discharged from a hospitalization for heart failure.
"Aldosterone antagonist therapy [a diuretic drug] for heart failure and reduced ejection ...
Heart failure drug less effective in real world
2012-11-28
DURHAM, N.C. – A large study addressing the effectiveness and safety of aldosterone antagonist therapy for older heart failure patients has found notable differences between the drug's results in clinical trial vs. what occurs in actual practice, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
Those differences have been noted anecdotally by doctors, and likely contributed to the slow adoption of aldosterone antagonists in clinical practice, but they had not been confirmed in a large study examining the drugs in real-world situations.
The Duke-led research, published Nov. ...
Risk of pertussis increases as time since last dose of DTaP vaccine lengthens
2012-11-28
CHICAGO – In an examination of cases of childhood pertussis in California, researchers found that children with pertussis had lower odds of having received all 5 doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) vaccine series; however the odds increased as the time since last DTaP dose lengthened, which is consistent with a progressive decrease in estimated vaccine effectiveness each year after the final dose of DTaP vaccine, according to a study in the November 28 issue of JAMA.
"Pertussis remains a poorly controlled vaccine-preventable disease ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults
Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds
Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds
Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics
Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima
AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk
New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs
MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health
Working together, cells extend their senses
Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution
Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking
Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure
Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage
University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources
Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change
Measuring the quantum W state
Researchers find a way to use antibodies to direct T cells to kill Cytomegalovirus-infected cells
Engineers create mini microscope for real-time brain imaging
Funding for training and research in biological complexity
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: September 12, 2025
ISSCR statement on the scientific and therapeutic value of human fetal tissue research
Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury
Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows
Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior
OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google vary widely in identifying hate speech
Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia
Childhood loneliness and cognitive decline and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults
Parental diseases of despair and suicidal events in their children
Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults
Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults
[Press-News.org] College students more eager for marriage than their parentsOprah's exchange with Justin Bieber a familiar conversation in American families