Marital Opportunities Research Articles

Amelia Bloomer, The Lily, and Early Feminist Discourse in the US

The Lily, a temperance and woman’s rights publication started by Amelia Bloomer in 1849, was among the first periodicals published by and for women in the US. This study argues that Bloomer’s editorship of the Lily from 1849–1854 advanced the cause of woman’s rights in the US through discourse, dialogue, and practice. The issues addressed in the Lily—marital relations, political representation, property ownership, education and work opportunities, fair wages, fashion customs, women’s health, religion, and gendered social norms—reflected a broad-based agenda for feminism that is familiar today. At the same time, the journal’s privileging of middle-class white womanhood exposed fissures and blind spots related to race and class that would reverberate for generations. In her role as editor, Bloomer helped show readers the personal was political, earning her a significant place in feminist media history.

The Effect of Education and School Quality on Female Crime

This paper estimates the effects of educational attainment and school quality on crime among American women. Using changes in compulsory schooling laws as instruments, we estimate significant effects of schooling attainment on the probability of incarceration using Census data from 1960-1980. Using data from the 1960-90 Uniform Crime Reports, we also estimate that increases in average schooling levels reduce arrest rates for violent and property crime but not white collar crime. The estimated reductions in crime for women are smaller in magnitude than comparable estimates for men; however, the effects for women are larger in percentage terms (relative to baseline crime rates). Our results suggest small and mixed direct effects of school quality (as measured by pupil-teacher ratios, term length, and teacher salaries) on incarceration and arrests. Finally, we show that the effects of education on crime for women is unlikely to be due to changes in labor market opportunities and may be more related to changes in marital opportunities and family formation.

JessicaVasquez‐Tokos, Marriage Vows and Racial Choices, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2017. xi + 272 p. $26.00.

JessicaVasquez‐Tokos, Marriage Vows and Racial Choices, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2017. xi + 272 p. $26.00.

Divergent Pathways to Assimilation? Local Marriage Markets and Intermarriage among U.S. Hispanics.

The growing diversity of the U.S. population raises questions about integration among America's fastest growing minority population-Hispanics. The canonical view is that intermarriage with the native-born white population represents a singular pathway to assimilation, one that varies over geographic space in response to uneven local marital opportunities. Using data on past-year marriage from the 2009-2014 American Community Survey, we demonstrate high rates of intermarriage among Hispanics. Our analyses identify whether Hispanics marry co-ethnics, non-co-ethnic Hispanics, non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, or other minorities. We highlight variation by race, nativity, and socioeconomic status, but also reveal that Hispanics living in new immigrant destinations are more likely to intermarry than those living in traditional Hispanic gateways. Indeed, the higher out-marriage in new destinations disappears when the demographic context of reception is taken into account. Our analysis underscores that patterns of marital assimilation among Hispanics are neither monolithic nor expressed uniformly across geographic space.

Have Destination Choices of Foreign Residents Contributed to Reducing Regional Population Disparity in Japan? Analysis Based on the 2010 Population Census Microdata

AbstractIn relation to the beginning of Japan's total population decline, the problem of regional disparity has been attracting a great deal of attention in the country. Have the destination choices of foreign residents in recent years contributed to reducing such disparity? The purpose of this study is to analyse the destination choices of new immigrants and foreign residents moving within Japan in the period 2005–2010, using microdata from the 2010 Population Census. The results are compared with those obtained from the period 1995–2000. Three major findings are obtained: First, the empirical validities of three theoretical perspectives (effect of labour market conditions, attraction to co‐ethnic communities, and spatial distribution of marital opportunities) are confirmed to a similar extent in this study as in the previous period. Second, the pull effect of the service industry is much larger than that of the manufacturing industry, for both new immigration and internal migration. Finally, although there is an obvious distance–decay tendency in internal migration, foreign residents (particularly Chinese residents) have shown the tendency of dispersal, including suburbanization. However, if the destination choices of foreign residents observed in 2005–2010 as a whole continue into the future, they would eventually worsen rather than alleviate the disparity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pacific Brides: US Forces and Interracial Marriage during the Pacific War

Between 1942 and 1945, over two million servicemen occupied the southern Pacific theatre, the majority of them Americans in service with the Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, they 'swept in a mighty deluge' doubling, sometimes tripling the populations of the Pacific Islands. Their short but intense period of occupation in the South Pacific had far reaching consequences. Not only did they dramatically alter the economies and environments of the islands, they also brought with them a set of ideas about race and intimacy encapsulated in legal codes, as well as social practices, which were applied to the organization of their own forces, and to the local populations. American racial ideology also informed military regulations governing overseas marriages involving US forces, most notably inhibiting African American men's marital opportunities in the European theatre.

The 1995–2000 interprefectural migration of foreign residents of Japan: salient features and multivariate explanation

AbstractTaking advantage of large samples from the 2000 census, this paper attempts (1) to identify the salient features of the 1995–2000 interprefectural migration of foreign residents in Japan; and (2) to carry out a multivariate explanation of this migration process by using a nested logit model which consists of a departure submodel at the upper level and a destination choice submodel at the lower level. Our main findings are as follows. Firstly, the migration process differed markedly between foreign residents and native Japanese. Secondly, the interprefectural migration process of the foreign residents was highly selective with respect to both ethnicity and educational attainment. Thirdly, the effects of labour‐market factors, co‐ethnic attraction and marital opportunities in the destination choice submodel conformed to expectations. Finally, the strong displacement effect of new immigrants in the departure submodel suggests that the foreign residents were competing with each other for rather limited economic opportunities in Japan. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Destination Choice of the 1995–2000 Immigrants to Japan: Salient Features and Multivariate Explanation

The purpose of this paper is to identify the salient features of the destination choices made by new immigrants who entered Japan in the 1995–2000 period, and to provide a multivariate explanation for their choice behaviors. The salient features can be summarized as follows; first, destination-choice patterns differed markedly by ethnicity; second, the higher the educational qualification of the immigrants, the greater the attraction of the Tokyo prefecture and the less dispersed the destination-choice pattern; and third, among female immigrants, those with the household status of daughter in law were more prone to go to the Tohoku region, where the maintenance of the traditional stem-family system was a serious concern. Our multivariate analysis has revealed that the destination choices made by the new immigrants were indeed subject to the selective effects of labor-market conditions, the distributions of coethnics, and the spatial patterns of marital opportunities in theoretically meaningful ways, and that labor-market conditions were most important, whereas marital opportunities were least important.

The Sex Ratio and Female Marital Opportunity as Historical Predictors of Violent Crime in England, Scotland, and the United States

The effects of sex ratios and marriage markets on violent crime were investigated by regression analysis of temporal variation in violent crime rates in England and Wales (1856 to 1980), Scotland (1871 to 1980), and homicides in the United States (1900 to 1988). Independent variables included the sex ratio of adults (15 to 44 years), marital opportunity of women (ratio of single men to women at the peak age of marriage), illegitimacy ratios, and unemployment. For England and Wales, and Scotland, violent crimes against persons increased with the sex ratio and illegitimacy ratios and were inversely related to marital opportunities for women. For the United States, homicides were inversely related to marital opportunities for women. Reduced marital opportunity for women predicts violent crime independently of the sex ratio, as does illegitimacy. These associations were contemporaneous, suggesting a role of mating competition, rather than being delayed a generation, consistent with effects of reduced parental investment.

Parental Investment Prospects and Teen Birth Rates of Blacks and Whites in American Metropolitan Areas

Parental investment theory was used to identify predictors of nonmarital teen birth rates for Blacks and Whites in U.S. metropolitan areas. Regression models predicted Black teen births, White teen births, and both together using indices of parental investment (male income, unemployment rates, marital opportunity for women) with various controls. White teen births decreased with increased marital opportunity for women, and the same was true of Blacks, although these effects were comparatively small. In the combined model, parental investment measures and the control variables accounted for 70% of the variance in nonmarital teen birth rates. Adding race as a variable did not significantly increase the variance explained, indicating that Black-White differences in nonmarital teen reproduction can be explained by differences in parental investment prospects. Early nonmarital reproduction can be seen as an adaptive response to diminished prospects for parental investment.

Marital Opportunity, Parental Investment, and Teen Birth Rates of Blacks and Whites in American States

This study used parental investment theory to identify predictors of teen pregnancy rates for Blacks and Whites for 41 U.S. states for which data were available for 1995. Regression models were built that predicted Black teen births, White teen births, and both together using indices of parental investment (unemployment, prison incarceration rates, poverty, marital opportunity for women as indexed by gender ratios) and controlling for economic development (urbanization, infant mortality rates). White teen births increased with state poverty rates and incarceration rates and decreased with marital opportunity for teens. Black teen births increased with incarceration rates and decreased with marital opportunity. In the joint model, all measures of parental investment predicted teen births, and they explained all of the Black and White differences therein. Early reproduction and its variation across states and racial groups can be seen as an adaptive response to diminished prospects for parental investment.

On the Relationship between Marital Opportunity and Teen Pregnancy

Since Guttentag and Secord proposed that low sex ratios (i.e., scarcity of men) produce marital instability and high rates of nonmarital pregnancy, empirical investigations of this issue have produced weak and conflicting results. This study sought to clarify the issue using cross-national data compiled by the United Nations. Geographical region, per capita gross national product (GNP), the marriage rate, and whether the sample was urban or rural were used as control variables in regression analyses which used sex ratios to predict teen births. The model explained 67% of the variance in teen birth rates. Teen births were significantly higher in rural samples and in the Americas and were inversely correlated with the sex ratio for 15- to 19-year-olds and with GNP. The data suggest that early childbearing is partly a response to poor marital opportunity, as Guttentag and Secord hypothesized.

On the Relationship Between Country Sex Ratios and Teen Pregnancy Rates: A Replication

The hypothesis that a low ratio of men to women both destabilizes marriages and makes it more likely that young women will reproduce early outside of marriage was supported by an analysis of 42 societies for which the United Nations published detailed information on population structure and teen childbearing. This study attempted to replicate the earlier finding using sex ratios for 0- to 14-year-olds (as a proxy for teen sex ratios) and a larger sample of 185 countries. Several measures of economic development, population density, and latitude were used as control variables in the regression analyses. Teen births were inversely related to the sex ratio, to urbanization, and to latitude. The sex ratio explained 38% of the variance in teen birth rates, thus providing a clear replication of the earlier study. Early childbearing can be seen as an adaptive response to poor marital opportunity.

Women's Dress Fashions as a Function of Reproductive Strategy

Despite many speculations, there is no well-supported explanation for cycles of fashion in.women's dress and scholars cannot agree whether fashions reflect societal changes. Generalizing from cycles of bodily attractiveness for women, it was hypothesized that dress styles are reflective of reproductive economics. Using data from three studies of dress fashion extending from 1885-1976, the prediction was tested thatshortskirts (signaling sexual accessibility) would be correlated with low sex ratios (indicating limited marital opportunity for women), with increased economic opportunities for women and with marital instability. Predictions for narrowwaists and low necklines (which signal reproductive value) were opposite. These predictions received strong support indicating that dress styles, like standards of bodily attractiveness may be partly determined by marital economics.

Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Marital Opportunity Among Single African American, Latina and White Women

Research over the past decade has documented declining rates of marriage among African Americans and has identified constrained mate availability as a key determinant of this change. Many see Black marital decline as rooted in the deteriorating economic circumstances of significant segments of the African American population (especially males), as well as high male mortality and institutionalization. Discussions of the impact of diminished marital opportunity have focused on its societal consequences, with a particular emphasis on community-level outcomes. However, to date, there has been virtually no discussion of the mental health implications of limited marital opportunity. To the extent that marriage is still highly valued by most Americans, African Americans included. How does the recognition that one may not be able to assume a highly salient adult role affect subjective well-being? This article addresses the relationship between perceived marital opportunity and psychological well-being, as measured by depression, anxiety, loneliness, life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction, using data on single African American, Latina, and White women from the 1989 Southern California Social Survey. Our findings indicate that a perceived lack of availability is strongly associated with greater depression, anxiety, loneliness, and less satisfaction with life. The effect across all four dependents was strong and pervasive for Latinas and White women, but either weak or nonexistent for African American women. The correlation findings were supported by multiple regression analyses. Findings were interpreted as indicating that when the perception of mate availability is viewed as individually rooted and driven (an internal attribution), as was the case of both Latinas and White women, the consequences of psychological well-being are negative. When mate availability is viewed as a systemic feature of the environment over which one has little control (an external attribution), as was the case for Black women, mental health will not be affected. It is also suggested that single Black women have a greater range of positive role models, which are less available to other groups of women.

Welfare and the Rise in Female‐Headed Families

The article provides a bridge between recent marriage market research and studies of welfare incentive effects on U.S. family formation. Estimates from state and county fixed‐effects models indicate significant effects of changing state Aid to Families with Dependent Children, food stamps, and Medicaid expenditure levels on county‐level changes in families headed by unmarried mothers. However, neither changing welfare benefit levels nor declining economic and marital opportunities could account for recent increases in female headship. The results imply that large additional cuts in welfare payment levels would lead to only small reductions in the percentage of female‐headed families with children.

Demographic Correlates of Relationship Status among Black Americans

Data from the National Survey of Black Americans were analyzed to determine the extent of and the structural correlates of marriage, romantic involvement, and preference for romantic involvement. The study was conducted within a mate availability framework, and the findings, based on logistic regression analysis, led to the following conclusions: (a) marriage among blacks is in large part a function of male economic readiness and traditionality; (b) a differential marital opportunity structure translates into fewer marital options for less economically equipped males, older women, and the lesser educated in general; and (c) the decline in marriage among blacks has not signaled a decline in romantic involvement, but only that the environmental supports for marriage have changed.

Factors Influencing the Frequency of Consanguineous Marriages in Japan: Marital Distance and Opportunity of Encounter

The inbreeding coefficients (F) were estimated according to marital distance between birthplaces and the opportunity of encounter. As for marital distance, the F-value was the highest for the shortest distance (0.00252), whereas the F-values were similar in the other distance classes (0.00072-0.00097). As for opportunities of encounter, the F-value was 30-37 times higher in the group for friendship from the time of childhood (0.00986) than in those for school, workplace and social gatherings (0.00033) and for chance meetings (0.00027).

Physical Attractiveness and Selection of Marriage Partners

Physical attractiveness is becoming a psychological variable of increasing interest. A number of studies have shown it to be related to general attraction and to desirability as a spouse (Byrne, et al., 1970). If both men and women weight physical attractiveness in marital selection, one might expect a positive correlation between the attractiveness of husbands and of their wives. A positive correlation would also be expected if people aspired to a spouse who was at about their own level of attractiveness (Walster, et al., 1966). The present study was designed to investigate whether such a correlation between the attractiveness of husbands and their wives does exist. A set of 50 negatives of wedding photographs were obtained from a local newspaper, and from these, 36 couples were selected whose pose was approximately full face to the camera. The face of each partner was then printed separately in a 2-in. by 2%-in. vignette, to remove cues from background and dress, thus giving two sets of 36 prints, one comprised of husbands' faces and the other of wives' faces. Twenty male and 20 female first yezr psychology students were then asked to sort each set into 9 categories, with 4 faces in each category, according to how good-looking they judged the faces to be, the order in which the two sets were sorted being counterbalanced among Ss. Categories were assigned scale values from 1 to 9, and the mean scale value for each face was computed separately for male and for female Ss. However, since the correlation between the scale values for [he two groups of Ss was +0.94 for women's faces and +0.88 for men's faces, the scale values for the two groups were combined. A product-moment correlation between the scale values for husbands and their wives gave a value of +0.39 ( p < .05) , supporting the hypothesis. The correlation, though not spectacular, is noteworthy in that the sample of couples was small and not selected for attractiveness, while attractiveness was judged by strangers from photographs. Informal evidence from subsequent studies suggests that people do not expect a large disparity in the attractiveness of spouses, though whether this reflects a preference for simihrity or an evaluation of marital opportunity remains to be elucidared.