Abstract
Orientation: The subjective well-being (SWB) of individuals depend inter alia on their personality and life events that occur like marriage. Studies show that individuals exhibit anticipation and adaptation effects before and after a marriage takes place.Research purpose: The study determined if males and females in South Africa exhibit anticipation and adaptation effects in SWB before and after a marriage takes place.Motivation for the study: Married individuals generally have higher levels of life satisfaction. Yet four out of 10 marriages in South Africa end in divorce before their 10th anniversary.Research design, approach and method: The study employed panel estimation methods and used the first five waves of the National Income Dynamic Study (NIDS) to test for the existence of anticipation and adaptation to marriage in South Africa.Main findings: There is a strong positive impact on SWB when a marriage takes place. This contemporaneous effect of marriage is slightly larger for men than for women. Men exhibit longer anticipation effects before and both genders adapt immediately after the event.Practical implications: South Africans generally react positively to marriage but then quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality.Contribution: Very few studies have investigated adaptation and anticipation trends in a panel setting. Moreover, many of the studies have been conducted in developed countries, implying that the estimates derived from these studies might be influenced by the norms and values of the countries in question.
Highlights
According to the hedonic treadmill theory, developed in 1971 by Brickman and Campbell, individuals react to good and bad life events, but quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality
We see that the anticipation effect is significantly longer for males than females
Whilst tests for the existence of anticipation and adaptation to marriage have been undertaken in some developed countries, few attempts if any have been performede for developing countries, especially South Africa
Summary
According to the hedonic treadmill theory, developed in 1971 by Brickman and Campbell, individuals react to good and bad life events, but quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The majority of studies that examine the relationship between marital status and SWB, mostly find that married individuals report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than those who are single, separated, divorced or widowed (see international studies by Blanchflower & Oswald 2004; Diener et al 1999; Dupre, Beck & Meadows 2009; Lawrence et al 2019 and South African studies by Blaauw & Pretorius 2013; Botha & Booysen 2013) This is a well-known finding in literature and is unsurprising given that marriage provides several advantages including emotional and financial support. Studies have begun to examine the longitudinal nature of married individuals’ SWB by investigating its’ changes leading up to and following the year that couples get married (i.e. anticipation and adaptation) This is an area of research that is not well-established, in South Africa. This is worrisome and maybe, at least to some degree, reflective of the true reality of marriage – the ‘honeymoon’ stage sometimes quickly disappears and happiness eventually returns back to its baseline level
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
