Ancient Marital Rites

Clearly defined rites governing speech and actions dominated both the social and domestic activities of ancient Chinese people. Rites not only dominated the lives of men, but were also prominent in the lives of women.     

How Will Reforms of Marital Institutions Influence Marital Commitment? A Theoretical Analysis

Many recently policy proposals are intended to alter the incentives to establish or terminate family relationships, often with the goal of encouraging marriage. This paper develops a model of family structure decisions and uses it to argue that some such reforms may actually have the opposite effect. A pro-marriage reform raises both the value of marrying ones current partner and the value of search. When the latter effect dominates, singles are less likely to form a match, and couples are more likely to separate and optimally make fewer commitments to their relationships.This paper has benefitted from conversations with Gary Becker, Robert Michael, Victor Lima, Janice Compton, Emek Basker, Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman (the editor), several anonymous referees, and the participants of workshops at the University of Chicago and the Midwest Economics Association. I also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the University of Chicago and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (Grant number T32HD07302). Any remaining deficiencies are solely my responsibility.     

Does Couples' Communication Predict Marital Satisfaction,or Does Marital Satisfaction Predict Communication?

The quality of communication between spouses is widely assumed to affect their subsequent judgments of relationship satisfaction, yet this assumption is rarely tested against the alternative prediction that communication is merely a consequence of spouses' prior levels of satisfaction. To evaluate these perspectives, newlywed couples' positivity, negativity, and effectiveness were observed four times at 9‐month intervals, and these behaviors were examined in relation to corresponding self‐reports of relationship satisfaction. Cross‐sectionally, relatively satisfied couples engaged in more positive, less negative, and more effective communication. Longitudinally, reliable communication‐to‐satisfaction and satisfaction‐to‐communication associations were identified, yet neither pathway was particularly robust. These findings raise important doubts about theories and interventions that prioritize couple communication skills as the key predictor of relationship satisfaction, while raising new questions about other factors that might predict communication and satisfaction and that strengthen or moderate their association.     

The Effects of Marital Culture and Social Structure on Marital Aspirations and Attitudes in “Fragile Families”

This research brings together insights from the fields of sociology and social work, providing an integrated study of marriage as a cultural and structural institution. The goals of the study are twofold: first, to empirically assess the predictive power of cultural versus structural elements of marital aspirations and attitudes among “fragile families”; second, to determine if the aforementioned relationship and outcomes differ by immigrant status. The results offer more support for the role of structure than the function of culture, suggesting that rather than demonizing disadvantaged families for having “defective” cultural values, policy planners and human service providers should recognize the importance of educational attainment and economic productivity in fragile families. Even populations most disposed to hold more “traditional” views of marriage and family life are constrained by the realities of structural disadvantage.     

Does Similarity Breed Marital and Sexual Satisfaction?

This study examined the effect of socioeconomic–cultural homogamy on the marital and sexual satisfaction of Hong Kong Chinese couples. Using a representative, territory-wide sample of 1,083 first-time married heterosexual couples, this study found that wives were generally less satisfied than their husbands with their marital and sexual relationships. Husbands were more likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were two to four years older than their wives than when they were of similar age to their wives (i.e., within one year of each other), but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when only their wives were employed than when both partners were employed. In addition, they were less likely to be satisfied with both their marital and sexual relationships when their wives were five or more years older. Wives with an older husband were more likely to be sexually satisfied than wives of the same age as their husband, but they were less likely to be satisfied with their marriages when they were better educated than their husbands. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Married Couples’ Time Allocation Decisions and Marital Stability

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), 1985–1992, are the data used to simultaneously examine the role of family stability to both market and household time allocation for both spouses and the role of couples’ time allocation in their probability of divorce. The study found that increases in the probabilities of divorce were only significantly correlated with decreases in wife’s housework time. It was also found by the study that increases in the husband’s market work hours and increases in the wife’s household work hours had negative effects on the probability of divorce.

Sky-High Emotions—World Champion Parachutists Jump to Marital Bliss

Bridegroom Wang Yongli, 33, has set three world records to win a like number of world championships. Wang has also won the highest honorary sports medals on five occasions. Bride Sheng Jun, 26, set the world parachute accuracy record and has won three world championships. Wang and Sheng, both of whom have careers spanning lO-odd years, fell in love,     

Ethno-Linguistic Exogamy and Divorce: Does Marital Duration Matter?

This research examines whether the exogamy effect on the divorce risk varies over marital duration. Registry data from 1970 to 2003 allow us to observe couples in exogamous and endogamous ethno-linguistic marriages (Finnish speakers and Swedish speakers in Finland). We find that an elevated divorce risk of exogamous couples, which has been observed in numerous studies, is not typical of recently initiated marriages only, because it does not attenuate over marital duration. Marital problems that lead to divorce seem to be more common among exogamous couples than among endogamous couples. We argue that these patterns are likely due to group-specific differences in attitudes toward marriage. The argument is supported by a persistent difference in the divorce risk across endogamous Finnish- and Swedish-speaking marriages, and by the variation in divorce risk by ethno-linguistic composition of the couples in a regional context where minority group behaviors are more likely absorbed into majority group behaviors.     

How Does Premarital Cohabitation Affect Trajectories of Marital Quality?

We investigate the link between premarital cohabitation and trajectories of subsequent marital quality using random effects growth curve models and repeated measures of marital quality from married women in the NLSY‐79 (N = 3,598). We find that premarital cohabitors experience lower quality marital relationships on average, but this is driven by cohabitors with nonmarital births. Premarital cohabitors without nonmarital births report the same marital quality as women who did not cohabit before marriage. Nonmarital childbearing is more strongly associated with lower subsequent marital quality for White women than for Black or Hispanic women. Marital quality declines at similar rates for all couples regardless of cohabitation or nonmarital childbearing status. These findings are robust to numerous alternative model specifications.     

Which Spouse Initiates Marital Separation When There Are Children Involved?

This report examines whether the presence of children in marriage differentially influences the risk of wives or husbands initiating separation. The analytic sample consists of 9,118 first marriages from the Households, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (2001). Using event history and competing risks analysis, I find weak evidence that wives are less likely than husbands to initiate when they have infants, and husbands are less likely than wives to initiate when children are school age or older. Overall, the results show that children deter marital separation for both wives and husbands, indicating that gender differences in the decision to separate are likely attributable to other factors such as a willingness to remain in an unhappy marriage.     

Domestic Labor and Marital Satisfaction: How Much or How Satisfied?

Abstract

Using questionnaire data from 96 couples, we examined the relationship between respondents' domestic-labor performance, domestic-labor satisfaction, and marital satisfaction. We analytically separated the dimensions of domestic labor (i.e., household tasks, emotion work, and childcare) and ran separate analyses for men and women. We found that the amount of labor performed is associated with satisfaction with emotion work and childcare arrangements, but not the household task arrangement. Satisfaction with domestic-labor arrangements mediated the relationship between actual domestic-labor performance and marital satisfaction, and the central role of emotion work emerged in our analysis.     

For Better or For Worse? State-Level Marital Formation and Risk Sharing

Why do some U.S. states have higher levels of marital formation than others? This paper introduces an economic model wherein a state’s representative individual may choose to marry in order to diversify his or her idiosyncratic income risk. The paper demonstrates that such a diversification motive is enhanced for some utility functions when a state’s level of undiversifiable risk becomes larger, and when a state’s initial income is lower. A test of the model’s predictions, using cross-sectional data for the 50 U.S. states, provides some suggestive evidence for a risk sharing motive in marriage formation and joint spouse labor participation.     

Do Sons Prevent Marital Disruption More Than Daughters? Evidence From Italy

In a well-known study Morgan, Lye, and Condran (1988 Morgan, S. P., Lye, D. N. and Condran, G. A. 1988. Sons, daughters and the risk of marital disruption. American Journal of Sociology, 94(1): 110–129. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) stated that sons prevent the risk of divorce more than daughters do. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the sex composition of children on the stability of the parental marriage in Italy, a country where this research question is particularly interesting because of conservative gender roles within the family. The relative risk of marital dissolution is estimated for individuals with different numbers and sexes of children using a discrete time event-history model. The findings do not support either the hypothesis that sons contribute more to marital stability than daughters or the hypothesis that the effect of the sex composition of children has changed over time.     

What Factors Influence Marital Satisfaction? Differences Between First and Second Marriages

This study examined differences in marital satisfaction between first and second marriages and how additional factors can help explain satisfaction differences between the marriage types. Participants in first marriages reported higher levels of satisfaction than remarried individuals. Regression analyses demonstrated marriage type to be a moderator of satisfaction in second marriages; as education increased, satisfaction also increased. Length of marriage was found to significantly influence satisfaction in first marriages, but not second marriages. In both first and second marriages, participants currently in counseling reported lower satisfaction scores. The need to understand remarriages' distinct characteristics apart from first marriages is discussed.     

Marital Status and Other Correlates of Personal Bankruptcy, 1986–2004

ABSTRACT

Relying on National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) data, this retrospective cohort study found that 11.6% (n = 882) of the eligible study sample (N = 7,609) declared personal or nonbusiness, nonentrepreneurial between 1986 and 2004. These debtors had average annual incomes that were about 2.5 times official poverty thresholds. Those who were divorced in 2004 were most likely to have declared bankruptcy (16.4%), followed by separated (13.9%), married with spouses present (11.2%), and never–married (7.0%) persons. Specific correlates of bankruptcy varied by year. Marital status was associated with likelihood of declaring bankruptcy in only 6 of 14 survey years: Never-married persons at the time of declared bankruptcy were less likely than married persons to declare, whereas formerly married persons, whether divorced or separated, were more likely than married persons to do so. Formerly married persons who declared bankruptcy bounced back economically to a lesser degree than did married persons, even though their predeclared bankruptcy levels of economic well-being were roughly equivalent. Interaction effects showed that formerly married women were more likely to declare bankruptcy than their male counterparts.     

Conflict and Compatibility? Developmental Idealism and Gendered Differences in Marital Choice

Developmental idealism (DI) theory suggests that individuals who endorse DI schemas about marriage are more likely to choose their own spouses and do so for love. Such DI schemas conflict with South Asian gender schemas about marriage for women, but not for men. In turn, such conflict and compatibility may create gender differences in incorporating DI into expectations and experiences of marital choice and love in South Asia. Connections between endorsing DI as an abstract model of the world and using DI as a concrete guide for marriage may also differ by gender. Using survey data from Nepal, the author finds that men are more likely than women to expect to choose their own spouse and do so for love. Their parents' expectations show the same gender differences. Men are also more likely to choose their own spouses in practice. Connections between abstract and concrete DI are not stronger among men though.     

African American Stepfather–Stepchild Relationships,Marital Quality,and Mental Health

ABSTRACT

This study examined associations between stepfather–stepchild relationship quality, stepfathers’ depressive symptoms, and two aspects of marriage: marital quality and positive marital interactions. Marital quality was assessed in terms of commitment, trust, passionate and friendship-based love, and happiness. Marital interactions were assessed in terms of intimacy, shared activities, and verbal communication. Using data collected from 149 recently married African American stepfathers, structural equation modeling revealed that when stepfathers reported more positive relationships with their stepchildren, they also reported more positive marital quality and a higher frequency of positive marital interactions (relationship-solidifying activities), and that, in turn, was associated with stepfathers experiencing fewer depressive symptoms.     

Does Engagement Matter? Marital Intentions and Relationship Quality Among Cohabiting African Americans

Despite growing cohabitation rates, few studies have examined the relationship between engagement status and relationship quality among cohabiting couples, especially among Black Americans. This study used data from 30 cohabiting Black couples (n = 60) to examine whether perceptions of love, commitment, relationship satisfaction, and intimacy problems differ by whether cohabitors are engaged to be married. Results indicated that engaged Black cohabitors reported higher love scores than non-engaged Black cohabitors. They also had slightly more intimacy problems, but only in bivariate models. There were no significant differences in commitment or satisfaction between engaged and non-engaged Black cohabitors. Additional analyses revealed no variation in effect of engagement on relationship quality by gender. Results suggest that practitioners and policymakers should be careful not to make assumptions about relationship quality according to engagement status or gender in cohabiting Black relationships. The meaning and implications of engagement among cohabiting Black Americans may be changing.     

Just the Two of Us? How Parents Influence Adult Children's Marital Quality

We work from a life-course perspective to explore how relationships with parents affect adult children's marital quality. We further ask whether the effects of parents on adult children's marital quality depend on the adult child's gender, age, marital duration, and childhood family experiences. Growth-curve analysis of national, longitudinal data (Americans' Changing Lives) indicated that relationships with fathers (n = 336) and mothers (n = 520) differentially affected the marital quality of adult children over time. Findings suggest that the effects of the parent - adult child relationship on adult children's marriages depend on age, marital duration, and levels of family stress experienced in childhood.     

Do Spousal Discrepancies in Marital Quality Assessments Affect Psychological Adjustment to Widowhood?

We use prospective couple‐level data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples to assess the extent to which spouses concur in their assessments of marital quality (N = 844) and whether discrepancies in spouses' marital assessments affect the bereaved spouse's psychological adjustment 6 months after loss (n = 105). Spouses' assessments of marital quality are correlated modestly (r = .45), with women offering less positive assessments. Bereaved persons who had rated their marriages more positively than their spouse at the preloss interview reported higher levels of anger 6 months postloss. We conclude that persons who offer more positive appraisals of their marriages than their spouse may view spousal loss as a particularly unjust event. We discuss implications for understanding late life marriage and spousal bereavement.