Cohabiting couples’ economic circumstances and union transitions: a re-examination using multiple imputation techniques

This study examines how sample attrition and missing partner data influence studies of cohabitors’ union transitions. We rely on data from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH). Cohabitors with missing partner information or who were lost-to-follow-up have significantly fewer years of schooling and lower yearly earnings than cohabitors with complete data. Multiple imputation techniques are used to construct missing partner information and outcomes. Relying on prospective data from both waves of the NSFH that has not been corrected for selective data loss misrepresents cohabiting couple’s outcomes by: (1) overstating the extent to which cohabiting couples marry; (2) underestimating the amount of time spent in cohabiting unions; and (3) misrepresenting the effects of men’s economic characteristics on union transitions. Our results suggest that theories regarding how economic characteristics shape marriage transitions among singles may not be appropriate for those already living together.     

The adolescent family environment and cohabitation across the transition to adulthood

This study draws upon a sample of men and women from Waves I and IV of Add Health to examine the linkages between the adolescent family environment and cohabitation behavior across the transition to adulthood. Using event history modeling the current paper considers the association between a variety of family factors and both the timing of first cohabiting unions and their outcomes (marriage, break up, still cohabiting). This paper also considers whether the impact of predictors for cohabitation timing and outcomes varies depending on the age of individuals. Results indicate that exposure during adolescence to family instability, parental cohabitation, lower parental SES, and low family belonging were associated with an elevated likelihood of entering into cohabiting unions, but primarily during adolescence and early adulthood. Family factors, including family belonging and parental relationship history, were also associated with the outcomes of first cohabitations.     

Extradyadic sex and union dissolution among young adults in opposite-sex married and cohabiting unions

This study investigates extradyadic sex (EDS) among contemporary opposite-sex married and cohabiting young adults and examines how EDS is associated with union dissolution. By analyzing data from 8301 opposite-sex spouses and cohabiters in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we estimate the prevalence of self-reported EDS, reports of partners' EDS, and reports of mutual EDS (i.e., both partners' engagement in EDS). Roughly 1 in 4 respondents reported that either they, their partner or both engaged in EDS. Young men were more likely than women to self-report EDS, while young women were more likely to report partners' EDS. Relative to no EDS, partners' EDS was associated with union dissolution, but self-reported EDS and mutual EDS were not. A partner's EDS was also associated with union dissolution relative to self-reported EDS. Associations between a partner's EDS and dissolution were consistent among spouses and cohabiters and among men and women.     

Dissolution risks in first and higher order marital and cohabiting unions

More and more people enter multiple unions during their lives, and then they may choose to either cohabit or marry. We examine the implications of this diversity in partnership trajectories by assessing dissolution risks in first and higher order marital and cohabiting unions. We use recent Norwegian survey data that contain complete retrospective union histories. We find that, when selectivity is accounted for, higher-order unions are not less stable than first unions. When dissolution risks for all possible partnership trajectories are compared, we find that former cohabitants who cohabit in a second union are as likely to break up as they were in their first cohabiting union. As soon as they enter marriage in their second unions, however, they do slightly better than first married persons. The previously married experience higher dissolution risks in their second union compared to their first, regardless of their current union type.     

‘What about the couple?’ Interracial marriage and psychological distress

We explore the association between racial composition of couples—that is, whether they are interracial or homogamous—and the psychological distress of their members, as measured in a screening scale for non-specific psychological distress. We use a pooled 1997–2001 National Health Interview Survey sample of the married and cohabiting population of the United States. We compare the odds of distress for interracial vs. same race married/cohabiting adults. There are several key findings. Interracial marriage is associated with increases in severe distress for Native American men, white women, and for Hispanic men and women married to non-white spouses, compared to endogamous members of the same groups. Higher rates of distress are observed for intermarried persons with African American or Native American husbands or wives, and for women with Hispanic husbands. Lower socioeconomic status explains approximately half of the increased distress experienced by white women, while higher socioeconomic status partially suppresses increases in distress for Hispanic men and women.     

Doubling up when times are tough: A study of obligations to share a home in response to economic hardship

This study uses a factorial vignette design embedded in an Internet survey to investigate attitudes toward an adult child and parent living together in response to economic hardship. Over half of Americans said the desirability of intergenerational co-residence depends on particularistic aspects of the family, notably the quality of family relationships. Support for co-residence is greatest when the adult child is single rather than partnered. Support is weaker if the adult child is cohabiting rather than married to the partner, although groups with greater exposure to cohabitation make less of a distinction between cohabitation and marriage. Presence of a grandchild does not affect views about co-residence. There is more support for sharing a home when a mother needs a place to live than when the adult child does. Responses to open-ended questions show that individuals invoke both universalistic family obligations and particularistic qualities of family relationships to explain their attitudes.     

The differential impact of discrimination on health among Black and White women

Despite a large body of research examining the impact of discrimination on health, the ways in which perceived discrimination may lead to disparate health outcomes through a sense of self and system consciousness is less understood. The current paper is concerned with both mental and physical health consequences of discrimination, as well as mediating pathways among African American and White women. Indirect effects analyses examine mediating paths from discrimination to health outcomes via structural awareness and self-esteem, using data from the Women's Life Path Study (N = 237). Our findings suggest that discrimination is both directly and indirectly associated with health outcomes for both Black and White women, mediated by individual (self-esteem) and group-level (structural awareness) processes. Evidence from this study indicates that discrimination is associated with heightened structural awareness, as well as lower self-esteem – both of which are related to poorer health. Discrimination negatively affected health across three domains, although the mechanisms varied somewhat for Black and White women. Broad implications of this research for interdisciplinary scholarship on the effects of discrimination on health and health disparities are discussed.     

Scientific consensus,the law,and same sex parenting outcomes

While the US Supreme Court was considering two related cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, one major question informing that decision was whether scientific research had achieved consensus regarding how children of same-sex couples fare. Determining the extent of consensus has become a key aspect of how social science evidence and testimony is accepted by the courts. Here, we show how a method of analyzing temporal patterns in citation networks can be used to assess the state of social scientific literature as a means to inform just such a question. Patterns of clustering within these citation networks reveal whether and when consensus arises within a scientific field. We find that the literature on outcomes for children of same-sex parents is marked by scientific consensus that they experience “no differences” compared to children from other parental configurations.     

试论古代犹太妇女的婚姻地位

古代的犹太妇女没有婚姻自主权,在离婚的问题上,也完全处于被动的地位。其财产限于自己的嫁妆及获得的礼物与"婚娶赠与",丈夫用其财产投资所得以及她们本人的工资收入都不属于自己。与其他民族不同的是,犹太教高度赞美婚姻家庭制度,从而使得犹太律法赋予了犹太妇女婚姻生活中应有的人性化待遇,而且从《塔木德》时代开始,犹太妇女的婚姻权益开始受犹太婚约的保护,它不仅使得犹太妇女在离婚或丧夫守寡之后的经济生活有一定的保障,而且对丈夫单方面休妻的行为也有所限制,犹太妇女的婚姻地位因而在附属中有所改善。     

Non-standard work schedules, work-family conflict and parental well-being: A comparison of married and cohabiting unions

Although a growing number of American parents work non-standard schedules, evidence on the consequences of such working patterns is inconsistent and limited to married samples. This study highlights the importance of considering potential differences between cohabiting and married parents in terms of the relationship between non-standard work schedules and parental well-being. Based on pooled data from the 1997 and 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (n = 2346), we find that in contrast to married parents who experience some positive associations of non-standard schedules and parental well-being, cohabiting parents are more likely to experience a negative relationship between non-standard work schedules and parental well-being. Additionally, for cohabiting parents (but not married), non-standard work schedules are related to increased work-family conflict, which is in turn associated with lower levels of parental well-being.     

Religion, politics, and support for same-sex marriage in the United States, 1988-2008

We examine how religious and political factors structure support for same-sex marriage in the United States over the last two decades. Using data from the General Social Surveys, we show that respondents who identify more strongly with the Republican Party, sectarian denominations, and those who subscribe to biblical fundamentalism and political conservatism are substantially more opposed to same-sex marriage than are other Americans. Heterogeneous ordinal logistic regression models show that these religious and political factors have become more important over the last two decades. Cohorts born after 1945 became substantially more supportive of marriage rights between 1988 and 2008, but shifts in support for marriage rights were less sizeable for persons affiliated with sectarian denominations, religious fundamentalists, Republicans, and political conservatives. Estimates from structural equation models show that religious factors influence political conservatism and Republican identification, yet both religious and political factors have significant and substantial independent direct effects on support for same-sex marriage.     

孔多塞与启蒙时代的妇女观

启蒙运动时期,知识分子就妇女本性、社会地位、教育以及婚姻和家庭等问题展开激烈争辩。孔多塞有力地介入到这场争论中。孔多塞是人权的有力倡导者和捍卫者,信奉自然权利学说,认为自然权利适用于所有人,指出妇女应当拥有与男子相同的权利,积极为妇女争取选举权、担任公职、平等受教育以及家庭和婚姻上的平等权利。他的女权思想是对妇女运动的巨大贡献。     

Parental same-sex relationships, family instability, and subsequent life outcomes for adult children: Answering critics of the new family structures study with additional analyses

The July 2012 publication of my study on the outcomes of young adults who report parental same-sex relationship behavior raised a variety of questions about the New Family Structures Study and my analyses and interpretations of it. This follow-up article seeks to address a variety of the more common criticisms that have been raised, to offer new commentary and analyses, and to pose questions for future analysts of the NFSS and other datasets that are poised to consider how household dynamics are associated with youth and young-adult outcomes. The new analyses I present here still reveal numerous differences between adult children who report maternal same-sex behavior (and residence with her partner) and those with still-married (heterosexual) biological parents. Far fewer differences appear between the former and several other groups, most notably never-married single mothers.     

Women's age at first marriage and postmarital agency in Egypt

Early – or child – marriage (before age 18) may diminish women's ability to exercise agency, or their capacity to act upon their goals. Using a propensity score adjustment approach, we analyzed data from 2394 married women ages 35–49 years who participated in the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS). We examined whether women's first marriage at age 18 or older was associated with their post-marital agency, measured in terms of their influence in family decisions, freedom of movement in public spaces, and unfavorable views about intimate partner violence against wives. In bivariate analyses, women's age at first marriage was positively associated with their decision-making and more equitable gender attitudes. However, once we controlled for selection into age-at-first-marriage groups, there were no significant differences between the two age-at-first-marriage groups in any dimension of women's agency. We examined the sensitivity of the non-significant age-at-first-marriage effects to possible violations of the strong ignorability assumption and the results did not alter our conclusions. The assumption that women's age at first marriage is a proxy for their post-marital agency, as defined here, warrants further study.     

Unemployment scarring by gender: Human capital depreciation or stigmatization? Longitudinal evidence from the Netherlands, 1980–2000

Using longitudinal data from the Dutch Labor Force Supply Panel (OSA), this article examines how unemployment scarring (i.e., wage setbacks following unemployment) and its underlying mechanisms operate across gender in the Netherlands over the period 1985–2000. A series of fixed effect panel models that correct for unobserved heterogeneity, reveal a notable disparity in unemployment scarring by gender. Interestingly, while unemployment scarring is short-lived and partly conditional upon human capital differences among women, it is strongly persistent among men and contingent upon old age, ethnicity, and tight economic conditions. Our findings provide new evidence regarding unemployment scarring by gender while they support the hypothesis that among women the effects of unemployment scarring are predominantly driven by human capital depreciation, while among men stigma effects dominate.     

Later first marriage and marital success

The research reported here used measures of marital success based on both marital survival and marital quality to assess how well first marriages entered at relatively late ages fare in comparison with those entered younger. Analysis of data from five American data sets indicated that the later marriages fare very well in survival but rather poorly in quality. The greatest indicated likelihood of being in an intact marriage of the highest quality is among those who married at ages 22-25, net of the estimated effects of time since first marriage and several variables that might commonly affect age at marriage and marital outcomes. The negative relationship beyond the early to mid-twenties between age at marriage and marital success is likely to be at least partially spurious, and thus it would be premature to conclude that the optimal time for first marriage for most persons is ages 22-25. However, the findings do suggest that most persons have little or nothing to gain in the way of marital success by deliberately postponing marriage beyond the mid-twenties.     

论男女社会地位及婚姻家庭伦理变迁的经济根源

蒙昧时代母权制的形成是自然的,群婚与对偶婚条件下的婚姻家庭伦理还没有被打上私有经济利益的烙印。野蛮时代生产力的发展和生产方式的改变,引起父权制代替母权制家庭革命,推动对偶婚制向一夫一妻专偶婚制转变。文明时代的小农生产方式决定了男权社会成为这一历史时期的基本特征。工业时代生产方式的革命带来了妇女解放的曙光,但男女完全平等与真正性爱实现的前提条件是对财产私有制的扬弃,这只有在未来的共产主义社会才能够实现。     

Who is banked in low income families? The effects of gender and bargaining power

We use data from the U.S. Survey of Consumer Finances and a framework that accounts for intrahousehold dynamics to examine bank account ownership for low-income couples. We find that even among families who are banked, some family members are not. Those without accounts may lack access to financial services, be at a disadvantage within their families, or face financial risks if their partnerships end. Our results indicate that men and women are equally likely to be banked, but the factors predicting whether or not they have accounts differ. Women with more bargaining power are more likely to hold bank accounts and their families are more likely to be banked. Moreover, individual characteristics of male and the female partners have different effects on the chances that they, their partners, or their families are banked.     

I wouldn’t, but you can: Attitudes toward interracial relationships

Using the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), we study Whites’ attitudes towards dating, cohabiting with, marrying, and having children with African Americans and Asian Americans. We find that 29% of White respondents reject all types of relationships with both groups whereas 31% endorse all types. Second, Whites are somewhat less willing to marry and bear children interracially than to date interracially. These attitudes and behaviors are related to warmth toward racial outgroups, political conservatism, age, gender, education, and region. Third, White women are likely to approve of interracial relationships for others but not themselves, while White men express more willingness to engage in such relationships personally, particularly with Asians. However, neither White men nor White women are very likely to actually engage in interracial relationships. Thus, positive globalattitudes toward interracial relationships do not translate into high rates of actual interracial cohabitation or marriage.     

"女儿国"的传说与史实

传说中的"女儿国"、"女子国"在正史中也有记录。"海东""女国"和"西方""女国",以及"剑南西山羌女国"、"东女国"、剑南"女国"、南海"女人国",都被理解为保留明显母系氏族社会特征的文化存在。在"女国"之中,一种是"有女自王"的"女国",一种是"产男不举,致国中纯女无男"的"女国"。关于"女国"风习,《隋书》所谓"其俗贵妇人,轻丈夫",《旧唐书》所谓"俗重妇人而轻丈夫",以及《新唐书.西域列传上.东女》所谓"俗轻男子,女贵者咸有侍男","子从母姓","以女为君……官在外者,率男子为之;凡号令,女官自内传,男官受而行",均体现出女权的独尊。历史上的"女国"一切入浴怀孕、窥井生子以及"以蛇为夫"、"以猿为夫"、"以鬼为夫"等传说,其实源自于母系氏族时代形成的女子不交合而孕的神话,体现了世系只能从母亲方面来确定的群婚时代的社会现实。《山海经》中的"女子国"、"丈夫国"以及《淮南子》中的"女子民,丈夫民"的隔离,应当与原始时期"生产上的性禁忌"有关。