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Single and Happier? A Comparative Study of Marital Status, Socioeconomic Security and Wellbeing of Women in Hong Kong and Taiwan

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The Family and Social Change in Chinese Societies

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 35))

Abstract

In spite of regional differences in marriage traditions and social norms, marriage is nevertheless one of the most significant social institutions in East Asia. However, for some women in the region, the universality of marriage has now been replaced by a trend of marriage postponement or even a flight from marriage. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, although most women will eventually marry, the average age for their first marriage is rising steadily. Between 1971 and 2001, the median age at first marriage of Hong Kong women increased by 4.6 years, from 22.9 to 27.5 years (Hong Kong Census and Statistics 2002). In 2011, the median age at first marriage for women in Taiwan was 29.4 year-old and 28.9 for women in Hong Kong. This phenomenon is also accompanied by a plummeting fertility rate which could result in irreversible demographical, social and economic damages in the near future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Wen Shan Yang

  2. Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Pei Chih Yen

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  1. Wen Shan Yang
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  2. Pei Chih Yen
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Correspondence to Wen Shan Yang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Dudley L. Poston, Jr.

  2. Academia Sinica Inst. Social Sciences & Philosophy, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan

    Wen Shan Yang

  3. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama, USA

    Demetrea Nicole Farris

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Yang, W.S., Yen, P.C. (2014). Single and Happier? A Comparative Study of Marital Status, Socioeconomic Security and Wellbeing of Women in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In: Poston, Jr., D., Yang, W., Farris, D. (eds) The Family and Social Change in Chinese Societies. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7445-2_5

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