End of 'traditional marriage' culture?

Finding long-lasting commitment is more important to single people than marriage, according to new research.

A survey conducted in the US by Chemistry.com has found that 63 per cent of the single adult questioned said that a long-term relationship was necessary for a happy life, while just 55 per cent said that marriage was an important part of being happy.

Moreover, 85 per cent of respondents agreed that a person could be happy without ever getting married.

Dr Helen Fisher, chief scientific advisor at Chemistry.com, said: "Marriage has changed more in the last 50 years than in the past 5,000. The fact is we no longer live in a 'traditional marriage' culture.

"Today, for example, most men and women experiment with sex and love long before they wed. Many live together before they tie the knot. Some have children first, and then marry. And many have two or three spouses across their lives. It's time to embrace what we see around us - men and women following their own paths in their primordial drive to love."

"The results from this survey show that, to some, it's marriage, but to many more, it's a long-term, committed relationship or partnership," added Thomas Enraght-Moony, chief executive officer of Match.com.