ABSTRACT
Rather than it being strange that some people do not marry, maybe it is odd that so many people do. Th e vast majority of Americans agree, at least in theory, to spend the rest of their life living with, sleeping with, and being legally bound to one person. Perhaps some people fi nd the right person to do this with. But nearly everyone? It seems like actually fi nding a soul mate and agreeing to enter a lifelong union with them should be the exception rather than the rule. People do doubt if they should get married. In one sample of newlyweds, nearly half of men and 40 percent of women said they were, at some point, uncertain or hesitant about getting married. 1 Still they did.
