Marital Intentions Research Articles

Determining ‘truth’ at the border: immigration interviews, Chinese marital migrants, and Taiwan's sovereignty dilemmas

As Taiwan transitions from an immigrant-sending to an immigrant-receiving country, it struggles to build an immigration bureaucracy while its status as a sovereign nation-state is not recognized by much of the international community. Taiwan's largest immigrant group, marital migrants from China, are perceived as posing the greatest challenges to border control due to longstanding political tensions between the two countries and governmental and societal suspicions about Chinese spouses' marital motives. Based on research conducted with immigration officials and during immigration interviews at the border, this article interrogates the status of ‘truth’ in official efforts to determine definitively immigrants' marital intentions. It analyzes such truth demands in relation to Taiwan's anxieties about its national standing and the ability of an immigration bureaucracy to generate ‘sovereignty effects’.

Can I Make my Own Decision? A Cross-Cultural Study of Perceived Social Network Influence in Mate Selection

Two studies examined the comparative influence of network members on one's intention to marry and relational commitment among 616 college students in both China and the United States. Compared with U.S. participants, Chinese students believed that their dating partners would meet their filial piety beliefs, that such beliefs were more important in their potential decision to marrying their dating partners, and that they were more likely to comply with network members regarding the decision to marry. Network influence predicted Chinese marital intentions and relationship commitment, whereas relationship length and beliefs about support, care, living a better life, and network influence predicted U.S. participants' marital intentions and/or relationship commitment.

Marital Intentions and the Stability of First Cohabitations

Using Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), this article documents the extent to which cohabitors begin their union with intentions to marry (indicated by either being engaged or having definite plans to marry) and how this is related to subsequent cohabitation transitions, building on earlier literature examining expectations. Almost half of all first cohabitations begin with intentions to marry, and having marital intentions increases the likelihood of marriage and decreases the odds of dissolution. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to report having marital intentions but less likely to transition to marriage. Prior family experiences also influence having marital intentions and the outcome of the cohabiting union, with significant differences by gender. Results suggest that although many individuals believe their cohabitation is part of the marriage process, gender and race/ethnicity play an important role in whether plans to marry will be realized.

Cohabitation and Housework: The Effects of Marital Intentions

This study asks how cohabiters’ housework patterns vary by their marital intentions. I draw on interactionist theories that view housework as an activity that produces gender and family to hypothesize that cohabiters who are more invested in their relationships will spend more time on housework. Analyzing the 1987–1988 National Survey of Families and Households (N = 348), I find that, controlling for sociodemographic and household differences, men who are least committed to their relationships spend the least time on housework, whereas women's housework time is not affected by marital intentions.

Cohabitation and Housework: The Effects of Marital Intentions

This study asks how cohabiters’ housework patterns vary by their marital intentions. I draw on interactionist theories that view housework as an activity that produces gender and family to hypothesize that cohabiters who are more invested in their relationships will spend more time on housework. Analyzing the 1987–1988 National Survey of Families and Households (N = 348), I find that, controlling for sociodemographic and household differences, men who are least committed to their relationships spend the least time on housework, whereas women's housework time is not affected by marital intentions.

Views of Marriage and Divorce

Studies have suggested that parental divorce has a negative impact on their children's views of marriage and family life. However, much research has focused upon younger children, and few studies have compared young people from divorced and intact families. This paper reports an in-depth analysis of the views of young people with divorced and still-married parents, on marriage, divorce, and future marital intentions. Data from 20 semi-structured interviews were analysed using the method of Grounded Theory. The results showed a greater concordance between the two groups on the issues of marriage and divorce than suggested by previous research. Respondents believed that they regarded marriage in a more serious way than did people in general, and the majority expected to get married at some point, regardless of family background. Those with married parents made greater use of a “romantic” discourse when talking about marriage, and individuals from both groups who had experienced parental conflict or unhappiness took a more “realistic” and cautious view. Both groups regarded divorce in a negative light, but there was also evidence of an “ideological dilemma,” with shifts of opinion depending on whether the issues were framed at an individual or societal level. These findings indicate the need for a more analytical approach to the concept of “attitudes” toward marriage and divorce in future research.

Does Television Viewing Cultivate Unrealistic Expectations About Marriage?

One explanation for the high divorce rate in our society focuses on the idealistic expectations with which many people enter into marriage. The media have been cited as the source of or major contributor to these expectations; however, no empirical evidence exists to support that claim. Based on a survey of 285 never-married university students, this study sought to examine the relationship between television viewing, holding idealistic expectations about marriage, and intentions to marry. Results from regression and path analyses indicate that, although overall television viewing has a negative association with idealistic marriage expectations, viewing of romantic genre programming (e.g., romantic comedies, soap operas) was positively associated with idealistic expectations about marriage. Further, a strong and positive association between these expectations and marital intentions was evidenced. These findings are discussed in terms of both cultivation theory and the uses and gratifications perspective of media influence.

Does Television Viewing Cultivate Unrealistic Expectations About Marriage?

One explanation for the high divorce rate in our society focuses on the idealistic expectations with which many people enter into marriage. The media have been cited as the source of or major contributor to these expectations; however, no empirical evidence exists to support that claim. Based on a survey of 285 never-married university students, this study sought to examine the relationship between television viewing, holding idealistic expectations about marriage, and intentions to marry. Results from regression and path analyses indicate that, although overall television viewing has a negative association with idealistic marriage expectations, viewing of romantic genre programming (e.g., romantic comedies, soap operas) was positively associated with idealistic expectations about marriage. Further, a strong and positive association between these expectations and marital intentions was evidenced. These findings are discussed in terms of both cultivation theory and the uses and gratifications perspective of media influence.

A Marriage Trichotomy and its Applications

This paper promotes research methods specific to men, the new focus of fertility and family planning studies (especially in sub-Saharan Africa). I propose a novel marriage categorization based on married men's intentions to take another wife. The three marriage groups are currently monogamous men who intend to remain so, currently monogamous men who intend to become polygynous, and currently polygynous men. The first analysis demonstrates that typical marriage analyses may misclassify men who intend to become polygynous. Applications of the marriage trichotomy illustrate that men with varying marital intentions have differing desires regarding fertility and family planning.