Abstract
Many studies have found that married people have higher subjective well-being than those who are not married. Yet the increase in cohabitation raises questions as to whether only marriage has beneficial effects. In this study, we examine differences in subjective well-being between cohabiting and married men and women in midlife, comparing the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway. We apply propensity score–weighted regression analyses to examine selection processes into marriage and differential treatment bias. We find no differences between cohabitation and marriage for men in the United Kingdom and Norway, and women in Germany. However, we do find significant differences for men in Australia and women in Norway. The differences disappear after we control for selection in Australia, but they unexpectedly persist for Norwegian women, disappearing only when we account for relationship satisfaction. For German men and British and Australian women, those with a lower propensity to marry would benefit from marriage. Controls eliminate differences for German men, although not for U.K. women, but relationship satisfaction reduces differences. Overall, our study indicates that especially after selection and relationship satisfaction are taken into account, differences between marriage and cohabitation disappear in all countries. Marriage does not lead to higher subjective well-being; instead, cohabitation is a symptom of economic and emotional strain.
Highlights
A large number of studies have focused on subjective well-being1, and many have found that married people have higher subjective well-being (Mikucka 2016; Stutzer and Frey 2006; Waite and Gallagher 2000)
Prior studies examining the effects of subjective well-being (SWB) on partnership status have found that individuals receive a minor boost in happiness after moving in with a partner and a larger boost after marriage, these effects generally wear off as married partners return to their set-point happiness (Kalmijn 2017; Musick and Bumpass 2012; Soons et al 2009)
What these studies cannot show is whether marriage is beneficial to those who are unlikely to marry, and the extent to which any marriage benefits are due to characteristics that select people into marriage
Summary
A large number of studies have focused on subjective well-being (see Diener 2000; Helliwell 2003; Kahneman et al 1999), and many have found that married people have higher subjective well-being (Mikucka 2016; Stutzer and Frey 2006; Waite and Gallagher 2000). Longitudinal studies tend to use fixed-effects (FE) models, which focus on within-individual transitions in partnership status, a process usually occurring in younger adulthood and covering a relatively short period of the life course (Kalmijn 2017; Musick and Bumpass 2012; Soons et al 2009). These studies did not examine the long-term effects of partnership in midlife, after the majority of individuals have made decisions about marriage and childbearing. At this point in life, the initial boost in happiness may have declined (Soons et al 2009; Zimmermann and Easterlin 2006), and raising children may confound SWB (Balbo and Arpino 2016; Margolis and Myrskylä 2015)
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