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.


– 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


• 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)


• 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


• 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


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


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


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

marriage, cohabitation, and happiness...

Documents