The role of educational attainment and educational pairings in women's marriage behavior in Turkey

Abstract

This article focuses on educational attainment in the family formation processes in Turkey, specifically the increase in women's age at first marriage. Using the women's questionnaires from 2008 and 2013 Turkey Demographic and Health Surveys (TDHS), the findings reveal that women with some college or college education marry significantly later than those with less education. More importantly, husband's educational attainment has positive associations with women's age at first marriage if women are also equally and highly educated. Attitudes toward gender equality also play an important role in marriage behavior. Women who do not perceive domestic violence as legitimate and those who are more supportive of gender equality tend to marry moderately but significantly later than others. The findings of the article indicate that in a context of increase in women's access to higher education, educational attainment of both women and men is the primary determinant of family formation processes in Turkey. In addition to logistical factors that late graduation leads to later marriages, the article also claims that higher educated women's expectations from marriage would transform accordingly. These findings also implicate that for women with some college or college education the marriage markets would shift to university campuses.