I couldn’t open the link.
I would think part of the reason they get married earlier is because fewer go to college.
Some get married to have sex. I know someone who did that, but she wasn’t a southerner. Divorced within two years.
Also, if the men have that macho bullshit going on reinforced by their religion, marrying young, babies or not, is a risk, because the girls mature and get to a point where they say, “screw this.” Or, some of them do anyway. I’m not saying all religious men are macho idiots, I don’t think that at all. But, in some sects men are reinforced to be idiots to their wives.
@snowberry I wonder if it is different in your generation? If the stats of young people getting married and staying together are much higher, maybe they should divide the stats by generation. Also, I wonder if they look at the stats by race (there I go mentioning race) how it all rolls out. I thought you were from Utah? Or, am I confusing you with someone else?