Marriage, Cohabitation, and Happiness...
Transcript of Marriage, Cohabitation, and Happiness...
Marriage, Cohabitation,
and Happiness (1)
Marriage and Culture
Marriage as a Social Institution
• Why do we study marriage in happiness research?
– Big factors: Health, Money, Relationship with Others
• Marriage: the most important aspect in human relationship
– “Collapse of marriage institution”
• Increase of divorce, cohabitation, and never-married singles
– Is the marriage old-fashioned?
• Future of marriage institution
– Given that everyone wants to be happy, we can expect that a social
institution would be reinforced continuously as long as the social
institution contributes to the enhancement of happiness.
Marriage and Happiness
• Question:
Are the married happier than the unmarried?
� Yes, (in general)
– Comparison between the married and the divorced
• Yes, (in general)
– Comparison between the married and the never-
married single
• Yes, (but the pattern of the relationship maybe
complicated)
Marriage and Happiness (cont.)
• Positive relationship between marriage and happiness
– Causal effect and selection effect
• Causal effect
– Direct effect of marriage on happiness (Marriage �Happiness)
• Adult attachment theory: To obtain emotional security, individuals need to form secure attachments with others – caregivers in childhood, and romantic partners in adulthood
• Other types of social relations in adulthood, such as bonds with friends, siblings or parents, cannot replace the conjugal bond in promoting individuals’ happiness.
Marriage and Happiness (cont.)
– Indirect effect of marriage and happiness
(Marriage � many benefits � happiness)
• Benefits from marriage: longer lifespan, healthy
behavior, higher earnings, better social and educational
outcomes for children
– Health and money are two major factors for happiness
– Being single � unhappiness
• Marriage is a social norm
• Unmarried are stigmatized
– Social discrimination against (old) singles
Marriage and Happiness (cont.)
• Selection effect (Happiness � marriage)– Happy people generally have more favorable
psychological characteristics such as being pleasant and outgoing.
– They are more likely to get and stay married.
• Problems of marriage and happiness study– Cross-sectional design
– Causation or selection, which one is correct?
– Lack of life course perspective• Longitudinal data are needed.
Marriage, Culture, Happiness
• The meaning of marriage is different from culture to culture
– Cultural norm of marriage influences benefits of being married and costs of being single
• Two ideal types of culture
– Traditional culture
• Marriage is a social norm.
– Modern culture
• Marriage in an individual choice.
• Two different scenarios in different cultures
Marriage, Culture, Happiness (cont.)
• Relationship between marriage and happiness
may be stronger in traditional culture than
modern culture
– Particularly older singles may be more subject to
negative stereotypes and social stigma.
• Marriage is regarded as s religious duty or social
responsibility
• Being single � more stress (� less happy)
Marriage, Culture, Happiness (cont.)
• Relationship between marriage and happinessmay be weaker in traditional culture than modern culture– Marriage is seen as less of an “accomplishment” in
traditional culture.• Marriage is seen more as a union between two families in
traditional culture
– Social support from extended kinship networks in traditional culture (� less isolation)
– In traditional culture, more people get marred and less people get divorced.• So the selection effect would be weaker
Marriage Coefficient is Significantly Positive Marriage Coefficient is Not Significant or
Significantly Negative
Country Estimate S.E. Wald Country Estimate S.E. Wald
Albania .574*** .252 5.194 Argentinaa .372 .215 2.998
Algeria .802*** .211 14.419 Bangladesh -.011* .190 .004
Andorra .713*** .238 9.012 Bosnia and
Herzegovina .400 .211 3.599
Australia 1.023*** .226 20.460 Bulgaria -.009* .280 .001
Brazil .653*** .167 15.237 Cyprus .215* .210 1.043
Burkina Faso .353*** .174 4.096 Ethiopia .173* .146 1.410
Canada 1.043*** .175 35.581 Ghana -.114* .161 .500
Chile .681*** .207 10.796 Great Britain .298* .252 1.396
China .781*** .238 10.808 Hong Kong .265* .232 1.306
Egypt .447*** .160 7.778 India .153* .168 .824
Finland 1.393*** .281 24.501 Iraq .020* .131 .023
France .579*** .249 5.418 Kyrgyzstan .122* .227 .292
Georgia 1.203*** .172 48.729 Macedonia .352* .226 .419
Germany .426*** .192 4.917 Malaysiab -.010* .189 .003
Guatemala .511*** .182 7.866 Mali .192* .197 .950
Indonesia .661*** .227 8.498 Moldova .128* .226 .321
Iran .540*** .120 20.276 Moroccob -.112* .190 .347
Italy .983*** .293 11.279 Nigeria .226* .158 2.037
Japana 1.467*** .283 26.936 Pakistan -.324* .153 4.456
Jordan .694*** .188 13.576 Puerto Rico .282* .278 1.032
Mexico .364*** .170 4.593 Rwanda -.037* .198 .034
Netherlands 1.138*** .267 18.109 Saudi Arabia .294* .163 3.252
New Zealand .939*** .295 10.146 S. Africa .040 .120 .113
Norway 1.501*** .287 27.373 S. Korea .159* .247 .411
Peru .526*** .179 8.589 Taiwan -.082* .215 .146
Philippines .453*** .184 6.061 Tanzania -.048* .199 .058
Poland 1.108*** .249 19.779 Thailand .062* .168 .138
Romania .553*** .216 6.535 Uganda -.076* .280 .074
Russia .530*** .209 6.459 Uruguay .408 .213 3.661
Serbia .641*** .213 9.063 Venezuelac .171* .184 .866
Singaporec .809*** .188 18.559 Zambia .239* .168 2.018
Slovenia .761*** .259 8.620 Zimbabwe .236* .211 1.257
Spain .558*** .248 5.087
Sweden .759*** .275 7.637
Switzerland .917*** .205 20.061
Trinidad and
Tobago .409*** .177 5.342
Turkey .371*** .169 4.790
Ukraine .547*** .243 5.087
United States .559*** .183 9.303
Vietnam .736*** .210 12.281
Marriage, Culture, Happiness (cont.)
• The married are happier than the single, but not everywhere
– Why do previous studies say, “yes”?
• The positive effect of marriage on happiness is stronger in countries with modern culture
– Why? � “Your own choice matters”
– Effect of divorce rate
– Ironic?
• People say, marriage is old-fashioned.
Cohabitation and Happiness
• Who are happier? marriage vs. cohabitation
(Who are happier? cohabitation vs. single)
– Not a question of simple curiosity
– Effect of social institution on happiness
• Marriage and cohabitation
– Many similarities (e.g., sharing a household,
maintaining a committed relationship)
• Similar level of happiness?
– Some studies say yes, but not always
Cohabitation and Happiness (cont.)
� Two possibilities of the happiness gap
(1) “The married are happier than the cohabiting”
– Cohabitation is characterized by lower relationship quality, more conflicts, and less commitment than marriage
– Selection effect
• Who chooses cohabitation, instead of marriage?
– Income and education difference
– Religiosity difference
• No real difference, if pre-union difference explains all.
Cohabitation and Happiness (cont.)
(2) “The cohabiting are happier than the married”
– Cohabiting couples are less stable
• Unhappy couples are already broken up
– Cohabitation reflect a recent change in relationship
status
• Recent changes have a major impact on happiness
• Comparing (typically shorter) cohabiting relationship to
(typically longer) married relationship
Cohabitation, Culture, and Happiness
• Which one is correct? (in two possibilities)
– We should consider the concept of
institutionalization of cohabitation.
• Institutionalization refers to the development and
strengthening of social norms that define people’s
behavior in a social institution, like marriage.
• Measures of institutionalization of cohabitation
– Prevalence of cohabitation
– Extent to which cohabitation is culturally accepted
Cohabitation, Culture, and Happiness (cont.)
• In a culture where cohabitation is less institutionalized,
– More disapproval and less support of cohabitors
– Cohabitors are more uncertain about how they are suppose to behave
– They are also more uncertain about the future of their relationships
– Social stigma
� Happiness gap becomes larger
• Traditional culture vs. modern culture
Single Significantly Less Happy than Married,
and Cohabitor Significantly Less Happy than
Married
Single Not Significantly Less Happy than
Married, and Cohabitor Significantly Less
Happy than Married
Country Estimate SE Wald Country Estimate SE Wald
Brazil -.556*** .164 11.501 Thailand -.500* .223 5.033
Canada -.413* .167 6.160
Chile -.603* .241 6.245
Guatemala -.597** .192 9.641
Peru -.411** .147 7.799
Romania -.697* .344 4.108
Russia -.587** .222 6.977
Single Significantly Less Happy than Married,
and Cohabitor Not Significantly Less Happy
than Married
Single Not Significantly Less Happy than
Married, and Cohabitor Not Significantly Less
Happy than Married
Country Estimate SE Wald Country Estimate SE Wald
Albania .403 .632 .408 Argentina -.241 .206 1.374
Algeria -.328 .315 1.090 Bulgaria -.580 .328 3.123
Andorra -.092 .207 .199 Cyprus .038 .499 .006
Australia -.295 .227 1.698 Ethiopia -.124 .334 .138
Burkina Faso -.056 .202 .077 Ghana .044 .269 .027
China -.002 .519 .000
Great Britain .155 .272 .325
Finland -.240 .235 1.044 Hong Kong -1.009 .889 1.287
France -.063 .229 .076 India -.062 .238 .067
Germany .085 .209 .166 Kyrgyzstan -.103 .482 .046
Iran .410 .261 2.474 Macedonia -.481 .427 1.268
Italy -.628 .446 1.981 Malaysia -.460 .427 1.161
Japan -.287 .549 .274 Moldova -.0004 .435 .000
Mexico -.252 .187 1.828 Nigeria -.492 .266 3.421
Netherlands -.266 .252 1.112 Puerto Rico -.572 .369 2.410
New Zealand -.049 .281 .031 Rwanda -.420 .332 1.597
Norway -.290 .211 1.898 S.Africa .037 .141 .069
Philippines .737 .403 3.349 Tanzania .099 .235 .178
Poland -.488 .500 .954 Uganda -.223 .261 .729
Serbia -.206 .321 .413
Uruguay -.256 .204 1.572
Slovenia -.383 .226 2.880 Venezuela -.006 .189 .001
Spain -.038 .386 .009 Zambia -.388 .229 2.872
Sweden -.072 .212 .116 Zimbabwe -.748 .390 3.682
Switzerland .219 .352 .386
Trinidad and
Tobago -.315 .235 1.809
Ukraine .080 .390 .042
Vietnam -.789 .665 1.409
Married Significantly Happier than Single, and
Cohabitor Significantly Happier than Single
Married Not Significantly Happier than Single, and
Cohabitor Significantly Happier than Single
Country Estimate SE Wald Country Estimate SE Wald
Australia .676*** .266 6.434
None
Canada .596*** .186 10.320
Finland 1.099*** .269 16.667
France .574*** .247 5.372
Germany .567*** .232 5.986
Iran .960*** .273 12.334
Italy .419*** .460 .831
Netherlands .956*** .276 12.001
New Zealand .848*** .341 6.190
Norway 1.121*** .261 18.399
Philippines 1.207*** .423 8.134
Slovenia .511*** .253 4.084
Sweden .997*** .258 14.961
Switzerland 1.091*** .372 8.590
Married Significantly Happier than Single, and
Cohabitor Not Significantly Happier than Single
Married Not Significantly Happier than Single, and
Cohabitor Not Significantly Happier than Single
Country Estimate SE Wald Country Estimate SE Wald
Albania .928*** .645 2.072 Argentina .138* .221 .388
Algeria .462*** .288 2.575 Bulgaria -.516* .376 1.889
Andorra .413** .225 3.385 Cyprus .251* .508 .243
Brazil .091*** .178 .263 Ethiopia .048* .332 .020
Burkina Faso .324*** .223 2.110 Ghana -.088* .283 .096
Chile .062*** .255 .059 Great Britain .530 .310 2.923
China .790*** .552 2.047 Hong Kong -.749* .885 .717
Guatemala -.069*** .210 .108 India .096* .282 .117
Japan 1.162** .598 3.776 Kyrgyzstan .020* .508 .001
Mexico .156*** .217 .517 Macedonia -.114* .465 .060
Peru .153*** .154 .991 Malaysia -.021* .188 .012
Poland .642*** .503 1.630 Moldova .098* .457 .046
Romania -.118*** .372 .101 Nigeria -.275* .288 .914
Russia .023*** .262 .008 Puerto Rico -.306* .386 .631
Serbia .406*** .343 1.401 Rwanda -.474* .365 1.684
Spain .608*** .399 2.323 S.Africa .096* .139 .483
Trinidad and
Tobago .134*** .232 .335 Tanzania .051* .258 .038
Ukraine .685*** .421 2.656 Thailand -.434 .255 2.901
Vietnam -.068*** .684 .010 Uganda -.178* .292 .371
Uruguay .077* .227 .115
Venezuela .169* .207 .662
Zambia -.158* .240 .432
Zimbabwe -.536* .421 1.623
Prevalence of Cohabitation and Traditional vs. Modern Culture
Cohabitation, Culture, and Happiness (cont.)
• In the modern culture where cohabitation is as
institutionalized as marriage
– Happiness gap between marrieds and cohabitors is
decreasing
– Happiness gap between cohabitors and singles is
increasing
• Social acceptance is one of the key factors for happiness