Social Construction of the Reality of the Decision to Marry among the Youth of Tehran

The institution of the family is the cornerstone of a society and the decision to marry is one of the most crucial decisions that a person faces in life. The study is to investigate the social construction of the reality of the decision to marry and how girls and boys in Tehran decide to get married, what are the causal, contextual and structural conditions influencing the decision, what strategies are used, and what are the consequences of this decision. This research is a qualitative study with grounded theory method. The statistical population was married men and women living in Tehran in 1399 who were purposefully selected. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. The findings suggested that the romantic experience and decision to marry is not merely an individual matter but affected by the social reality. The "challenge of the politics of confrontation on the playground" has been chosen as a central phenomenon because in that arena, structures challenge individual's agency and influence their decisions, although actors are not considered as puppets. Girls face more restrictions on the playground than boys, however, compared to the past, they have more power of choice.