The universality of marriage within different societies and cultures is attributed to the many basic social and personal functions for which it provides structu

The universality of marriage within different societies and cultures is attributed to the many basic social and personal functions for which it provides structure, such as sexual gratification and regulation, division of labour between the sexes, economic production and consumption, and satisfaction of personal needs for affection, status, and companionship; perhaps its strongest function concerns procreation, the care of children and their education and socialization, and regulation of lines of descent. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366152/marriage http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366152/marriage