TRANSITION TO DIVORCE:

This study integrates social exchange theory and the literature on stressful life events into a life-course approach to women's marital duration. We hypothesize that circumstances facilitating a successful transition into marriage have a cumulative effect, enhancing the likelihood of increased marital duration. By contrast, factors easing the transition to divorce have a negative impact on marital duration. We draw on a sample of 313 wives and mothers in an upstate New York community interviewed in 1956 and reinterviewed thirty years later. We find that structural factors (marital duration and previous marriage) and factors that increase women's options outside of marriage, such as self-esteem and returning to school, are more important than attitudinal factors in hastening the transition to divorce. Factors that ease the transition to marriage (similarity in religious beliefs and educational level) may not necessarily affects its duration.     

Men's and Women's Pathways to Adulthood and Their Adolescent Precursors

This study compared men's and women's pathways to adulthood by examining how role transitions in education, work, marriage, and parenthood intersect and form developmental pathways from ages 18-30. The study investigated how sociodemographic factors and adolescent experiences were associated with these pathways. We used latent class analysis to analyze longitudinal data from a gender-balanced panel of 808 contemporary young adults. We found three similar latent pathways for both genders, but men and women differed in the timing of marriage and when they began to live with children and the likelihood of combining both roles. The present study points to the continued, though differential, relevance of marriage and family in the transition to adulthood for men and women.     

当代女大学生婚姻观调查分析——以天津市几所高校调查为例

主要分析当代女大学生婚姻观的新变化,联系当今社会大背景,剖析当代女大学生婚姻观变迁的缘由,以及女大学生婚姻观的构成要素。尤其对广大女大学生而言,近年来"毕婚"(毕业就结婚)现象愈演愈烈,"闪婚"一族屡见不鲜,这些婚姻现象不可避免地为他们以后普遍的高离婚率埋下隐患,进而影响社会的和谐。因此,研究女大学生婚姻观具有重要的理论意义和现实意义。     

The Relationship Context: Its Effects on Low-Income Women's Desire for a Baby

Little is known about the influence of relationship characteristics on a woman's desire for a baby with her partner. This study addresses that gap, using data from a study of 1,114 low-income women in the southeast who were in a relationship. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, women who were in more established relationships, who had not had a previous child with their partner, or who had higher expectations of their partner were generally more likely to want a baby with him. In investigating women's childbearing desires, it is important to consider not only individual characteristics but also women's relationship characteristics.     

Researching Chinese Cultural Understandings of Marriage via Similes and Metaphors on the World Wide Web

In an attempt to understand how changes in the societal context of Chinese marriage are reflected in Chinese cultural understandings of marriage, we explore Chinese similes and metaphors for marriage posted on the World Wide Web. Seven themes were found: You will have to decide whether a marriage will work for you, marriage is not about romantic love, marriage is bitter and sweet at the same time, marriage is strong and real, you must work at a marriage, marriage is risky, and marriage is not always taken seriously. The themes give a picture of cultural meanings for marriage in China that reflect more traditional ideas and such recent changes as the move to greater freedom of choice of spouse and greater ease of divorce. The themes provide cultural understandings both by characterizing contemporary marriage and by capturing advice about how to find a partner and make a marriage work.     

Has the future of marriage arrived? A contemporary examination of gender, marriage, and psychological well-being

A long tradition of research and theory on gender, marriage, and mental health suggests that marital status is more important to men's psychological well-being than women's while marital quality is more important to women's well-being than men's. These beliefs rest largely on a theoretical and empirical foundation established in the 1970s, but, despite changes in gender and family roles, they have rarely been questioned. The present analysis of three waves of a nationally representative survey indicates that, with few exceptions, the effects of marital status, marital transitions, and marital quality on psychological well-being are similar for men and women. Further, for men and women, occupying an unsatisfying marriage undermines psychological well-being to a similar extent--and, in some cases, to a greater extent--than exiting marriage or being continually unmarried.     

Women and poverty: insights from individual consumption in Albania

This paper studies how a society with traditional gender norms and competitive marriage market conditions may favor unequal distribution of resources within households and a consequent increase in female poverty. We propose a method to estimate individual consumption from household expenditure data. After estimating individual consumption, we apply a fuzzy approach for poverty analysis. Compared to standard poverty measures, the approach is less sensitive to changes in the distribution of consumption around the poverty line, generated when accounting for unequal distribution of household resources. The approach, applied to the analysis of individual poverty in Albania, revealed considerable intrahousehold inequality that specifically affects women and is correlated with imbalances in the sex ratio induced by past migrations. This leads to an expected general increase in poverty rates, mainly driven by a previously unperceived issue, female poverty, which emerges as an aspect of concern to consider in future anti-poverty policies.     

Culture,Context, or Religion: What Really Gets Single Mothers down the Aisle

Abstract

This article examines whether the relationship between religious participation and marriage behaviors for low-income single mothers is influenced by social norms and structural factors that promote the formation of traditional families. Specifically, we test whether religious participation encourages marriage generally or whether a specific type of marriage is encouraged (e.g., marriage to the baby's biological father). Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,491), we examine the likelihood that religious participation increases marriage in single mothers. We find that the likelihood of marriage within four years after an unwed birth is not only related to church attendance but that the influence of church attendance seems to encourage the creation of biological families rather than simply two-parent households. Further, religious participation differentially influences the likelihood of marriage and a marriage partner based upon the mother's race and employment history. These findings highlight the importance of social context when analyzing marriage behaviors in single mothers.     

Why still marry? The role of feelings in the persistence of marriage as an institution1

Despite cohabitation becoming increasingly equivalent to marriage in some of the most ‘advanced’ Western European societies, the vast majority of people still marry. Why so? Existing theories, mostly based on various approaches tied to cognitive decision‐making, do not provide a sufficient explanation of the persistence of marriage. In this article, we argue that feelings attached to marriage, i.e. the affective evaluation of those involved in a partner relationship concerning marriage as opposed to cohabitation, explain the persistent importance of marriage as an institution. We argue that socialization, biological and social‐structural factors affect these affective evaluations. We provide a test of our hypotheses using a longitudinal study of young adults in the Netherlands. The results of our analyses are consistent with a central role of feelings in the decision to marry, as well as with a role for key moderating factors such as gender.     

Union Formation and Partner Choice in a Transnational Context: The Case of Descendants of Turkish Immigrants in France1

This paper examines the transition to a first union of descendants of Turkish immigrants in France. We use data from the project The Integration of the European Second Generation, 2007, and apply event-history techniques. We find that descendants of Turkish immigrants who grew up in France enter a first union earlier and more often in a direct marriage than do young adults without an immigrant background. We then describe the type of union in more detail and estimate the likelihood of a transnational partner choice, that is, between a young adult born in France of Turkish immigrant parentage and an immigrant from Turkey. We pay attention to social factors such as education, city of residence, and to cultural factors such as the rules of affinity in Turkey and the attachment to the norm of virginity at marriage as factors that orient partner choice. Finally, we discuss what anthropological methods could contribute to this research.     

Male partner violence against women in stepfamilies: an analysis of risk and explanations in the Canadian milieu

Using a representative sample of 2,703 Canadian women living in either a stepfamily or a biological family, this investigation assesses the extent of women's elevated risk for violence in stepfamilies relative to biological families as well as explanations for this relationship. Canadian women living in stepfamilies are shown to be twice as likely as their counterparts in biological families to experience violence. Differences between the two groups are greatest on some of the most severe forms of violence, suggesting that women in stepfamilies are at particular risk for severe violence. Institutional incompleteness (number of children; depression; alcohol consumption), duration of relationship, evolutionary psychology (sexual possessiveness; sexual jealousy; female employment; education compatibility) and selection factors (previous marriage/common-law union; previous partner violence; marital status) are applied and tested. Results show partial support for each explanation and that no explanation alone accounts for the disproportionate risk of violence in stepfamilies. Rather, a combination of elements from all explanations is required to account for the higher odds of violence against women in stepfamilies.     

A comparative study examining associations between women's drug-related lifestyle factors and victimization within the family

This study explores and compares the interrelationships between lifespan childhood and adult partner victimization and the drug lifestyles for 609 women, aged 18-65, from a drug-treatment sample, a women's domestic violence shelter sample, and community samples matched with the drug-treatment and shelter samples. Significant findings indicate that lifespan childhood and adult partner victimization were the strongest predictors of women's drug-related lifestyle activities. Three proposed hypotheses were supported to suggest that an association exists between the respondents' lifespan childhood and partner victimization scores and drug-related lifestyle activities scores, with these relationships modified by intervening variables, such as age, marital status, partner substance use, and parental substance use. Findings also indicate significant differences among the four sample groups in terms of victimization and drug-related lifestyle factors. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.     

Physical and psychological partner aggression across a decade: a growth curve analysis

The course of physical and psychological partner aggression was investigated over a decade in 203 wives from Suffolk County, New York. Wives reported on their own and on their partners' aggression at one month before marriage and 6, 18, 30, and 120 months after marriage. This follow-up is the longest period over which partner aggression has been examined. Prevalence rates of wife's report of wife- and husband-perpetrated physical aggression were 48% and 35% at premarriage, and 13% and 10% ten years later. Using HLM, husband- and wife-perpetrated physical aggression were found to decrease on average approximately one act of aggression per month, regardless of severity and even when controlling for changes in marital satisfaction. There was no significant pattern of change in psychological aggression. These findings are consistent with cross-sectional analyses, and suggest that physical partner aggression decreases in community samples of couples.     

Is There a Time for Everything? Attitudes Related to Women's Sequencing of Career and Family

Attitudes affecting career and family choices are examined in a sample of 203 US university business students, both male and female. 4 sequencing patterns were examined: the timing of marriage and career, simultaneously balancing career and family, the timing of career and children, and the choice of career with no children. Opinions were sought about women's careers before marriage, careers before children, the ability to balance children and career, and no children with a career. The results of the intercorrelation matrix analysis showed that age, marital status, and number of children were significantly correlated at a low level. Age and race were related to the belief that women should have careers before marriage. Gender is related to the beliefs about women's career before children, no children with a career, and the ability to balance a career and children. Multiple regression resulted in gender differences: women were significantly less likely to believe in no children with a career (t = 4.40, p 0.001). Women were also more likely to believe that career comes before having children (t = 2.15, p .05) and that women can successfully balance a career and children (t = 3.27, p .001). Race and attitudes were also significantly related to sequencing career and marriage (t = 2.64, p .01). The belief that women should establish their careers before marriage was more likely to occur among minorities, which was an unexpected finding. The implication is that men are more traditional in their beliefs about working women and marriage. Additional research is suggested on the examination of the relationship between race, nationality, and attitudes about the sequencing of career and marriage. An instrument that measures women's development and the factors influencing sequencing decisions at different career stages is needed. Questions remain unanswered about whether women desiring children choose less demanding careers, whether women's choice of career or employer is influenced by family considerations, and the relationship between husband's and wive's career ideals and their plans for children. The implications for counselors are that women need to be made aware of the options available and advantages and disadvantages for the sequencing of career and family. Conflict may occur with the spouse over sequencing choices. Additional counseling in various stages of a career is also important.     

Positive and negative preferences in human mate selection

This paper focuses on preferences for specific characteristics in a potential partner using data from 1993 to 1999 provided by a French marriage bureau. We perform an econometric analysis of the various traits either sought or rejected in a potential partner, respectively by men and women. Our results are consistent with investment in marriage. On the one hand, men tend to reject vulgar and unfaithful women, meaning that they are likely to suffer serious fitness costs from infidelity. On the other hand, women dread meeting potential partners who are alcoholic, selfish or violent.     

NATIONAL CONTEXTS AND DYNAMICS OF MARRIED WOMEN's EMPLOYMENT REENTRY: The Cases of Japan and Taiwan

Previous research has paid little attention to how the national context shapes women's work trajectories. In this study, I examine the rate of married women's labor force reentry in Japan and Taiwan, using event history data constructed from the 1995 Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) Survey for the former and the 1996 Social Change (SC) Survey for the latter. The analysis reveals that Japanese women's timing of reentry reflects changes in their family roles, independent of the duration of work interruption. By contrast, the processes of Taiwanese women's employment return are less closely tied to family stages, but show patterns of duration dependence. These findings indicate that national contexts impact the dynamics of women's labor force reentry after marriage because of their differences in work–family conflict and the time sensitivity of the cost of nonemployment. These contextual differences also influence the effects of other determinants of women's rate of return, including education, husband's income potential, work commitment, and previous job experiences.     

Perceived verbal conflict behaviors associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in dating relationships: a gender-sensitive analysis

We studied perceived partner verbal behaviors associated with participants' use of dating aggression. Men's reports of their partners' demanding, controlling, and psychologically abusive behaviors during conflicts were expected to predict men's perpetration against partners. In contrast, women's reports of their partners' withdrawal were expected to predict women's perpetration. Data were collected from heterosexual undergraduates (N = 223) in exclusive dating relationships. Participants' reports of partner demands and partner psychological abuse were associated with participants' use of physical aggression and sexual coercion. Reports of partner withdrawal and partner controlling behaviors were associated with participants' sexual coercion only. Significant moderating effects of gender emerged. As expected, partner demands, controlling behaviors, and psychological abuse were associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in men, but not women. Partner withdrawal was associated with sexual coercion in both women and men. We conclude that gender-sensitive approaches are necessary to understand and prevent verbal conflict patterns associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in intimate relationships.     

Arranged Marriages as Support for Intra‐ethnic Matchmaking? A Case Study on Muslim Migrants in Germany

This article discusses the behavioural and institutional mechanisms that guide the matchmaking process of arranged marriages 1 amongst Muslim migrants in Germany and clarifies how this practice may influence ethnic homogamy. The focus is on general characteristics of arranged marriages rather than differences between diverse ethnic groups. The methodology is qualitative due to the sensitive and complex topic and the current state of research. Typically, the whole family is deeply involved in the process of arrangement, which consists of three stages (pre‐engagement, engagement, marriage). Thereby, the extension of parental scope of action by means of institutionalized admission procedures turns out to be vitally important. In consideration of the fact that mate selection takes place at the pre‐engagement stage, it is the most crucial. Furthermore, differences to other partner‐choosing processes are at their most distinct at this point, being responsible for the identification and labelling of this model as an arranged marriage. Selection criteria are mainly determined by the reputation of the marriage candidate and her/his family along with cultural features (such as belonging to a particular religious group, ethnicity or nationality). In our study, preferences for a cultural homogenous match were the most dominant ones. This inclination may cause the tendency towards transnational marriages when there are no suitable marriage candidates to be found in Germany.     

Religion,Marriage Markets,and Assortative Mating in the United States

As interfaith marriage has become more common, religion is thought to be less important for sorting partners. Nevertheless, prior studies on religious assortative mating use samples of prevailing marriages, which miss how local marriage markets shape both partner selection and marriage timing. Drawing on search theory and data from 8,699 young adults (ages 18–31 years) in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, the author examined the association between the concentration of coreligionists in local marriage markets and marriage timing and partner selection using event history methods. Religious concentration is associated with higher odds of transitioning to marriage and religious homogamy (conditional on marriage) for women and men at older ages (24–31 years) but not at younger ages (18–23 years). The association was also stronger for non‐Hispanic Whites when compared with other racial and ethnic groups. The findings indicate that religion remains relevant in sorting partners for many young adults in today's marriage market.     

The Influence of Intimate Violence on Transitions out of Cohabitation

Does the experience of violence in a cohabiting union lead participants away from marriage and toward separation, or does violence have only minimal impact once other characteristics of unions and their participants are controlled? This issue is examined using a sample of 411 cohabiting couples followed in both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Marriage and separation are treated as competing risks. Results show that violence does have an effect, although dissimilar effects emerge for transitions to separation, as opposed to marriage. Net of other factors, intense male violence—male violence that is more severe than the female partner's—raises the hazard of separation. In contrast, female violence, but not male violence, lowers the rate of marriage. The findings appear robust to a variety of operationalizations of partner violence.