Research on the Marriage and Love Status of Rural Youth Groups

Abstract

Abstract Research on the Marriage and Love Status of Rural Youth Groups https://kdocs.cn/l/cqE6Gw8K1UWZ

       With the rapid development of the social economy and the continuous widening of the urban-rural gap, the issue of marriage and love among rural youth has increasingly become a hot topic of social concern. Rural youth face conflicts between traditional and modern concepts in their marriage and love choices, as well as multiple factors such as economic pressure, insufficient educational resources, and gender imbalance that profoundly affect their marriage and love decision-making process. Although the marriage and love concepts of rural youth are gradually shifting from traditional family responsibilities to individual freedom of choice, economic burdens and socio-cultural pressures still lead them into marriage and love difficulties. To alleviate this situation, efforts should be made from multiple aspects: strengthening marriage and love education, helping rural youth establish a rational view of marriage and love, and eliminating gender bias; Provide policies such as marriage subsidies and housing loan reductions to alleviate economic pressure; Increase investment in rural education and vocational skills training to enhance the social competitiveness of young people; Promote rural economic development, create more employment opportunities, and alleviate the marriage and love difficulties caused by gender imbalance. Through the above measures, it is helpful to achieve the modernization transformation of rural youth's marriage and love concepts, and promote the stability and harmonious development of rural society.            

As an important component of social culture, the concept of marriage and love not only affects individuals' life choices, but also reflects to some extent the evolution of social structure and culture. In recent years, with the rapid transformation of Chinese society, the issue of marriage and love among rural youth has gradually become an important topic in fields such as sociology and education. Research has shown that rural youth face conflicts between traditional and modern values in their marriage and love choices, and their marriage and love behaviors are greatly constrained by factors such as economic conditions, educational background, and gender imbalance.

The "Rural Revitalization Strategy Plan (2018-2022)" emphasizes the need to promote social participation and cultural change among rural youth, and facilitate the modernization of their marriage and love concepts. Studying the marital and romantic status of rural youth is not only an important dimension for understanding the current social transformation, but also of great significance for optimizing the country's population structure and promoting rural revitalization.

1. The main problems in the marriage and love situation of rural youth

The author conducted a questionnaire survey on the marriage and love status of rural youth, with a total of 1320 people surveyed, including 845 males and 475 females, aged between 18 and 30 years old, mainly distributed in the fields of agriculture, labor, and freelance work. The questionnaire covers multiple aspects such as marriage and love concepts, marriage and love decisions, and real-life challenges, and ensures data reliability through reliability and validity analysis. According to statistics, analysis, and summary, the main problems in the current marriage and love situation of rural youth are as follows.

1.1 Enhancing Marriage and Love Education and Gender Equality Awareness

Rural youth are facing a conflict between traditional and modern concepts of marriage and love. The education department should strengthen marriage and love education, especially in high school and university, to guide them to establish a scientific and equal view of marriage and love. Firstly, through marriage and love education courses, help young people establish a rational view of marriage and love, balance family responsibilities and personal happiness. Secondly, strengthen gender equality education, eliminate gender bias, and promote equal and respectful marriage and love relationships between men and women. Thirdly, change traditional rural concepts, encourage young people to pay attention to emotional compatibility and personal value realization, and avoid gender role solidification. Enhance marriage and love education and gender equality awareness, help rural youth break free from the constraints of traditional marriage and love views, and establish a more rational and free marriage and love view.

1.2 Policy support and social services

In order to alleviate the economic burden on rural youth, the government should introduce policies such as marriage subsidies and housing loan reductions, reduce the cost of marriage, and establish marriage and love service institutions. Firstly, the government should provide economic support, such as marriage subsidies and housing loan reductions, to alleviate the burden of marriage for young people. Secondly, establish marriage and love service institutions to provide marriage and love counseling and psychological counseling, helping young people make healthy marriage and love decisions. Thirdly, through policy support and social services, improve the marriage and love environment for rural youth and promote marital stability. Policy support and social services can effectively alleviate the economic pressure on rural youth and promote the healthy development of marriage and love decision-making.

1.3 Improving Education Level and Promoting Career Development

Educational differences are an important factor affecting the marriage and love expectations of rural youth. Improving education level and promoting career development can help improve their marriage and love choices and competitiveness. Firstly, increase investment in rural education, improve the quality of education and vocational skills training, and help young people enhance their employability. Secondly, encourage rural youth to receive higher-level education, provide scholarships and other support, and enhance their marriage and love choices. Thirdly, promote career development by providing entrepreneurial support and employment services to enhance the economic conditions of young people and improve their expectations for marriage and love. Improving education level and promoting career development can narrow the urban-rural gap and enhance the competitiveness of rural youth in the marriage and love market.

1.4 Rural Economic Development and Marriage and Love Support

The gender imbalance is a prominent problem in the rural marriage and love market, and economic development is the key to solving this problem. Firstly, increase support for rural economy, promote industrial development, create more job opportunities, and reduce male outflow. Secondly, provide support for returning to their hometowns for entrepreneurship and employment, attract young people to work in their hometowns, and improve gender imbalance. Thirdly, economic development will help alleviate the marriage and dating difficulties of low-income men and promote the balance of the marriage and dating market. Through economic development, improve the gender ratio in the rural marriage and love market, and promote the resolution of youth marriage and love issues.

Data category

具体数据

Difficulty in choosing a spouse for young people of marriageable age

47.3% of respondents consider finding a partner to be "relatively difficult", while 5.5% consider it to be "very difficult".

Competition ratio of rural male marriage and love market

In some regions, the competition ratio in the male marriage market is as high as 1.5:1.

Marriage cost

The average cost is 226500 yuan, which is about 10 times the per capita disposable income of local rural areas.

Rural wedding dowry expenses

Generally, it starts at 188000 yuan and can reach as high as 288000 yuan in some areas.

Coverage rate of rural marriage and love counseling services

Only 12.3% of rural areas provide marriage and dating counseling services.

Gender ratio of rural birth population

Between 2002 and 2020, there were 12 years where it was higher than 105, with 8 years exceeding 107.

Table 1: Marriage Issues among Rural Youth

1. 2.The significance and role of studying the marital and romantic status of rural youth

Studying the marriage and love situation of rural youth can reveal the deep-seated problems faced by rural society in the process of modernization, and provide scientific basis for solving the marriage and love dilemma of rural youth and promoting rural social and cultural changes This research not only has important academic value, but also provides support for the implementation of rural revitalization strategies and the long-term development of rural society in practice.

2.1 Deepen the understanding of the modernization transformation of rural society

The modernization transformation of rural society is accompanied by profound cultural and value system changes. The concept of marriage and love, as an important manifestation of cultural change, reflects the attitudes and confusions of rural youth in personal value choices and family responsibility. The issue of marriage and love among rural youth is not only closely related to the economic gap between urban and rural areas, but also influenced by the dual conflict between traditional culture and modern concepts. Professor Li Zi from Chongqing Technology and Business University pointed out that with the advancement of rural modernization, the concept of marriage and love among young people is gradually shifting from "family first" to "individual freedom", but this process shows significant lag and complexity in rural areas. By studying the marital status of rural youth, we can comprehensively reveal the cultural adaptation and reconstruction process of rural society in the process of urban-rural integration, providing important theoretical basis for understanding the modernization transformation of rural society. In addition, this study can also clarify the multiple challenges faced by rural youth in marriage and love issues, such as economic pressure, cultural conflicts, and lack of social resources, thereby providing support for optimizing rural governance and policy design. As scholar Pu Yongxian has pointed out, the transformation of rural marriage and love views is not only an important indicator of social modernization, but also a key window for observing the deep changes in rural society.

2.2 Mitigating the risk and challenges of imbalanced rural population structure

Rural areas have long faced problems of population loss and gender imbalance. In recent years, with the outflow of a large number of young and middle-aged labor force, the supply and demand structure of the rural marriage and love market has further deteriorated, and some low-income men have fallen into the dilemma of "marriage and love squeeze". According to the 2020 China Population Census Report, the proportion of men in rural areas exceeds 60%, and the gender imbalance is significant, which directly affects the stability of rural marriage and population reproduction capacity. At the same time, the high cost of marriage (such as dowries and housing pressure) has led some young people to postpone or even give up marriage, which exacerbates the instability of rural family structure and may further worsen the population aging problem in rural society. Zhai Zhenwu, a demography expert at Renmin University of China, pointed out that the gender imbalance in the rural marriage market is a typical manifestation of China's unbalanced population structure. Its impact is not only limited to personal marital happiness, but also involves the long-term development of rural society. By conducting in-depth research on the marriage and love situation of rural youth, we can scientifically analyze the profound impact of gender imbalance and economic pressure on marriage and love behavior, propose policy recommendations to improve the supply and demand situation of the rural marriage and love market, effectively alleviate the population structure imbalance in rural society, and reduce the long-term risks brought by population aging.

2.3 Enhancing the interpersonal communication and social adaptability of rural youth groups

The issue of marriage and love is not only related to an individual's life happiness, but also directly affects the social adaptation ability and psychological health of the youth group. Rural youth face multiple pressures in marriage and love decisions, including family expectations, economic burdens, and socio-cultural conflicts. These factors often lead to anxiety, confusion, and even self denial among young people, further weakening their adaptability and interpersonal skills in society. By studying the marriage and love issues of rural youth, guidance can be provided to education departments and relevant institutions. Through the construction of marriage and love education courses, psychological health counseling, and social support mechanisms, rural youth can improve their communication skills in love and marriage, and learn to balance personal happiness and family responsibilities in marriage and love. Sun Yunxiao, Deputy Director of the China Youth Research Center, proposed that rural youth urgently need psychological support and skill improvement in love and marriage, and marriage education should become an important component of rural basic education. This study can also provide support for promoting active participation of rural youth in social affairs, enhancing their sense of belonging and identity to rural life, and promoting the harmonious development of rural society.

2.4 Promote the modernization and equal transformation of rural marriage and love concepts

The transformation of marriage and love concepts among rural youth not only reflects changes in personal value choices, but also reflects the progress and shortcomings of rural society in gender equality, individual freedom, and other aspects. At present, traditional concepts still dominate in rural marriage and love, such as excessive dowries and fixed gender roles, which directly affect the happiness and social harmony of young people in marriage and love. Professor Pu Yongxian from Tianjin University of Commerce pointed out that the marriage and love life of rural youth not only has a traditional wedding customs atmosphere, but also has a distinct urban marriage and love color, showing the dual characteristics of tradition and modernity. Studying the modernization transformation of rural youth's marriage and love concepts can provide theoretical support for promoting the popularization of gender equality awareness and practical paths for changing the unequal phenomena in rural marriage and love. For example, by strengthening marriage and love education and public opinion guidance, we can help rural youth establish scientific, healthy, and equal marriage and love concepts, guide them to pay attention to emotional compatibility, personal value realization, and respect and support between partners. Ultimately, this transformation will promote the shift of rural society from traditional family responsibility to modern and personalized values, injecting new momentum into the construction of rural social civilization.

2.5 Comprehensively implementing the strategy of serving rural revitalization

The issue of marriage and love is not only one of the core contents of the personal lives of rural youth, but also an important social issue that cannot be ignored in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. By studying the marital status of rural youth, we can gain a deeper understanding of the profound impact of urban-rural disparities on individual lives, and design more targeted policy measures to meet the unique needs of rural society. For example, in 2017, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving Youth Marriage and Love Work", which clearly stated that the healthy development of youth marriage should be promoted through improving the marriage and love service system, popularizing scientific marriage and love concepts, and optimizing urban and rural marriage and love environments. Scholar Li Peilin from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that the solution to rural marriage and love problems is not only related to the adjustment of rural population structure, but also to the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. This research can also promote the reform of rural social culture and governance system, making the rural revitalization strategy more focused on the comprehensive development of people, thereby achieving dual progress of rural economy and society.

1. 3.Countermeasures to improve the marriage and love situation of rural youth

Improving the marriage and love situation of rural youth is of great significance for the stability and development of rural society. By enhancing marriage and love education, improving policy support, narrowing the urban-rural gap, and promoting economic development, we can effectively alleviate the marriage and love difficulties of rural youth and promote the harmonious development of rural society.

3.1 Enhancing Marriage and Love Education and Gender Equality Awareness

Rural youth are deeply influenced by the conflict between traditional culture and modern values in their views on marriage and love. A survey shows that 65.8% of rural youth hope to receive more guidance on marriage and love education and gender equality concepts, while the coverage rate of existing educational resources in this regard is less than 20%. To address this issue, the level of marriage and love education should be improved from the following aspects.

Firstly, establish specialized marriage and love education courses. Introduce scientific and systematic marriage and love education in middle school and university, and help young people establish a rational view of marriage and love through curriculum design, and learn to balance family responsibilities and personal happiness. For example, the "Marriage and Life" course piloted in some regions has achieved positive results. Secondly, strengthen gender equality education. Carry out gender equality themed publicity activities in rural schools and communities, eliminate gender bias in the process of marriage and love, and promote the formation of gender equal, respectful, and inclusive marriage and love relationships. Especially through role model education and new media dissemination, rural youth can have a more intuitive understanding of the concept of equal marriage and love. Thirdly, update traditional concepts. Promote modern marriage and love concepts through rural broadcasting, cultural propaganda, and other forms, guide rural youth to pay attention to emotional compatibility and personal value realization, break the constraints of traditional gender roles, and reduce the pressure of marriage and love caused by outdated concepts.

By strengthening marriage and love education and gender equality awareness, we can fundamentally help rural youth break free from the constraints of traditional marriage and love concepts, establish a more scientific and healthy view of marriage and love, and lay the foundation for the modernization transformation of rural society.

3.2 Policy support and improvement of social services

The marriage and love problems of rural youth are closely related to their economic burden. A survey shows that 72.4% of rural youth believe that the high cost of marriage and love is an important reason for delaying or giving up marriage. In response to this phenomenon, the government should provide multi-level policy support and social services.

Firstly, introduce marriage economic support policies. Provide marriage subsidies, reduce the impact of dowry culture, increase housing loan reductions, and other measures to help rural youth reduce the pressure of marriage costs. For example, the policy of capped dowries implemented in some areas of Henan has effectively alleviated the economic burden of young people in marriage and love. Secondly, establish marriage and dating service institutions. The coverage rate of marriage and love counseling services in rural areas is only 12.3%. The government should support the establishment of marriage and love service stations in townships, providing marriage and love counseling, psychological counseling, and marriage guidance to help young people solve the confusion and problems in the marriage and love process. Thirdly, strengthen the synergy between policies and social services. By combining economic support for marriage with social services, we can improve the marriage and love environment for rural youth, reduce resistance to marriage and love decisions, enhance their confidence and expectations for marriage, and promote harmony and stability in families and society.

3.3 Improving Education Level and Promoting Career Development

The scarcity of educational resources and limited career development opportunities are important factors affecting the marriage expectations of rural youth. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology, 2022, 4 (13). Research shows that rural youth who receive higher education are more inclined to delay marriage and prioritize personal development.

Firstly, optimize investment in rural education. Strengthen the construction of basic education infrastructure, increase vocational education and skills training resources, and provide more learning and employment opportunities for rural youth. Secondly, support rural youth to pursue further education. Encourage rural youth to receive higher education through scholarships, student loans, and other forms to enhance their competitiveness in marriage and love, as well as their ability to make independent choices. Thirdly, promote career development. Combining with the strategy of rural revitalization, increasing employment opportunities in rural areas, and improving the economic conditions and social status of the youth group through support for returning to their hometowns for entrepreneurship and vocational skills training. The improvement of education and career development will fundamentally narrow the gap in marriage and love expectations between urban and rural areas, and enhance the marriage and love competitiveness of rural youth.

3.4 Rural Economic Development and Marriage and Love Support

One of the root causes of rural marriage and love problems lies in the lagging economic development, especially the impact of gender imbalance on the marriage and love market. Research shows that in some regions, the competition ratio in the male marriage market is as high as 1.5:1, and due to income inequality, the marriage dilemma of some low-income men is particularly prominent.

Firstly, develop rural industries. Through policy support and financial investment, accelerate the development of rural industrialization, create more local employment opportunities, reduce the outflow of young and middle-aged men, and promote economic prosperity in rural areas. Secondly, support returning home to start businesses. Provide entrepreneurship subsidies and tax exemptions to attract more young people to return to their hometowns for development, optimize the structural problem of gender imbalance in rural areas, and alleviate the contradictions in the marriage and love market. Thirdly, enhance the level of marriage and love support for low-income men. By improving basic income security and conducting employment training, we aim to enhance the economic conditions of low-income men in rural areas and improve their competitiveness and attractiveness in the marriage and love market. Promoting rural economic development can not only directly improve the structural problems of the marriage and love market, but also lay a solid foundation for the long-term solution of marriage and love problems among rural youth.

1. 4.Conclusion

The issue of marriage and love among rural youth is an important topic for the development of rural society, which not only relates to individual happiness, but also directly affects the optimization of population structure and social stability. Through in-depth analysis of the current situation of marriage and love among rural youth, it can be found that their marriage and love choices are greatly constrained by factors such as economic pressure, insufficient educational resources, and gender imbalance. At the same time, the conflict between traditional and modern concepts exacerbates the dilemma of marriage and love. Therefore, comprehensive measures should be taken from the aspects of marriage and love education, policy support, economic development, and cultural guidance to help rural youth alleviate the pressure of marriage and love, and enhance the autonomy and rationality of marriage and love choices. In addition, strengthening systematic research from a multidisciplinary perspective to explore the underlying causes and solutions of rural marriage and love issues can provide theoretical support and practical solutions for the rural revitalization strategy, thereby promoting the comprehensive development and harmonious stability of rural society.