Marital Transitions Research Articles

College-Going Trajectories Across Early Adulthood: An Inquiry Using Sequence Analysis

ABSTRACTThough the diversification of pathways through higher education is widely recognized, little is known about longer-term patterns of undergraduate participation and attainment. I used sequence analysis to examine college-going across early and middle adulthood in nationally-representative data. Clustering of sequence data revealed four latent groups of college-goers: marginal students, rapid completers, lifelong students, and delayed completers. Rapid completers cleaved closest to “normal” college attendance, though even among this group non-standard practices were evident. I also examined how employment, marital, and parental transitions vary among these clusters. Rapid completers were most distinctive, and had the most uniform employment and family trajectories. Other clusters had trajectories that were less uniform and involved earlier transitions than rapid completers, but were more uniform and had later transitions than those who never attended college. Findings support the contention that non-standard pathways through higher education are a mechanism for the reproduction of inequality among college-goers.

The elasticity of marital fertility in three sub-Saharan African countries: a decomposition analysis

Many studies of fertility have reported a wide range of factors to be important determinants. These determinants include proximate factors and male and female background variables. However, most of the research has been based on an analysis of cross-sectional fertility elasticities. Therefore, there are limited attempts to examine the temporal behaviour of especially marital fertility in association to the proximate and background determinants. To fill this gap, this study analysed Demographic and Health Survey data for Kenya, Rwanda and Zimbabwe using the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to determine the magnitude of marital fertility changes in association with selected socioeconomic factors. The results showed evidence of significant marital fertility transitions characterised by stalling for all three countries. Marital fertility rates were more responsive changes in reproductive behaviours than compositional characteristics. Male variables like community level of education were positively associated with stalling especially in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Despite the small contributions overall, analysing male and female variables improves the understanding of the sources of marital fertility changes in patriarchal societies.

Transition out of Marriage and its Effects on Health and Health\u2013Related Quality of Life among Females and Males. COURAGE and COURAGE-POLFUS\u2013Population Based Follow-Up Study in Poland

The study explores short-term effects of dissolution of union through divorce/separation and widowhood on physical and mental health as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among females and males in Poland. Considering social selection and social causation theories, the study poses following research questions: are there differences in physical and mental health as well as health-related quality of life that are caused by a marital transition compared to remaining married/cohabiting? Do marital status transitions have different effects concerning physical and mental health and health-related quality of life among females and males? Data for the analysis were available for 1073 people (18+) who participate in the COURAGE-Poland population-based study from 2011 (baseline) and 2015–2016 COURAGE-POLFUS (follow-up). Health status was measured by the WHODAS II and the presence of depression based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Health-related quality of life was assessed by WHOQOL-AGE scale. The analysis has been conducted using the analysis of variance, multinomial logistic regression and generalized liner mixed model according to the dependent variable. Results do suggest that transition out of marriage weakens mental health although the differences in physical health seemed to not be significant compared to the continuously married/cohabiting. The marital dissolution especially causes a decline in the mental health as well as health-related quality of life of males who transitioned to a widowed life. There has not been observed statistically significant change in terms of healthrelated quality of life between first and second wave of the survey among both widowed and divorced males and females.

Facing Adulthood: Helicopter Parenting as a Function of the Family Projection Process

ABSTRACT Helicopter parenting is a relatively new phenomenon that describes a specific kind of overparenting that is focused on the well-being and success of children that can impact young adults’ general sense of life satisfaction, overall mood, and the development of necessary life skills. Using Bowen theory, the author will illustrate through a case study, how hyperattentive parenting can be conceptualized as a function of the family projection process, more specifically how triangles are used to diffuse anxiety in the parental system due to marital strife or transitions in the family life cycle. The author will use Bowen theory to highlight how one person can take responsibility for managing oneself in family relationships and work on emotional maturity in relationship to others. Finally, the author suggests that Bowen theory may be useful to college counselors who may be seeking a conceptual framework to work toward theory-based interventions for treating emerging adults.

Transitions in Adulthood and Women’s Attitudes toward The Gender Division of Labor in South Korea

Despite extensive literature describing the associations between key life transitions from adolescence to adulthood and attitudes toward the gender division of labor, little research has been conducted to examine these associations among East Asian women who transition to adulthood in their unique context. Guided by interest-based and exposure-based explanations, we examined how transitions in adulthood are associated with young women’s attitudes toward the gender division of labor in South Korea. We also investigated whether the influence of employment transition strengthens or weakens when combined with marital and parenthood transitions. Our sample drawn from the 2007–2014 Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families consisted of 870 women aged 19–28 years in 2007 (3,498 person-waves observations). The data were modeled using fixed effects logistic regression models. Entering the labor market (OR = 1.40) and being continuously employed (OR = 1.61) were associated with increased support for egalitarian attitudes toward the gender division of labor. These liberalizing effects were further augmented when women remained married (OR = 1.98), were about to marry (OR = 4.29), or were mothers of one or more children (OR = 2.08). Young Korean women develop egalitarian attitudes toward the gender division of labor when they encounter situations that strongly resonate with egalitarian ideals or benefit from gains through employment. This study advances how women’s attitudes toward the gender division of labor are understood by revealing both the singular influences of distinct transitions and the interactive influences of combined transitions in the South Korean context.

Health Status and Transitions in Cohabiting Relationships of American Young Adults.

This study examines whether individual health predicts cohabitors' union transitions to marriage in American young adults. Associations between health and subsequent marital transitions are well documented, but less is known about how health influences transitions of cohabiting relationships. As cohabitation has become a common relationship experience, understanding how health may influence cohabitors' union transitions is an important component of how health shapes relationship exposures more broadly. Data were taken from Waves III and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth), including the supplemental collection of relationship partners conducted during Wave III. Competing risk regressions for the transition of cohabiting unions to marriage were estimated in two samples: one of individuals and a smaller one of cohabiting couples with information from both partners. Healthier cohabiters are more likely to marry than are their less healthy counterparts, but only women's health is significantly associated with the transition to marriage. In the dyadic sample with information from both partners, the significant association between the female partner's health and the transition to marriage is robust to male partner characteristics, including health. Health is an important predictor of cohabitation transitions in early adulthood, but these transitions may only be sensitive to the female partner's health.

Undesirable stressful life events, impact, and correlates during midlife: observations from the Seattle midlife women\u2019s health study

PurposeTo examine the undesirable stressful life events midlife women experience, including: 1) which life events midlife women reported most frequently; 2) which life events women rated as most undesirable; and 3) whether age, years of education, income, employment, race/ethnicity, marital status, being a parent, and the menopausal transition stage were associated with the impact scores of the life event categories.BackgroundIn addition to the menopausal transition, midlife is a time of increased responsibilities for women related to multiple roles such as taking care of children, caring for elderly parents, managing households, and working outside the home. These multiple roles put midlife women at risk for increased stress with little time for themselves in order to relieve stress.MethodsThe sample used in this study is part of a larger longitudinal study, The Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study. Women (N = 380 for Occasion 1) completed the 77-item Life Events Scale on four occasions during the course of the SMWHS: Occasion 1 (1990), Occasion 2 (1992), Occasion 3 (1997), and Occasion 4 (2000). In addition to descriptive analyses of frequency of life events and the undesirable impact of life events, demographic correlates (age, education, income, employment, being a parent as well as marital status, race/ethnicity, and menopausal transition stages) were examined in relation to the stressful life event scores.ResultsHighest scores of undesirable life events were for categories of both Financial and Family/Friends over 3 of the 4 occasions. Health and Crime/Legal scores were among the highest for 2 occasions. Impact of the undesirable stressful life events was greatest for categories of Family/Friends; Personal/Social; Work; and, Health. Age, income, marital status, being a parent, and menopausal transition stage were each associated with specific categories of the stressful event impact scores.ConclusionMost commonly reported undesirable life events were not those women described as having the greatest impact. Impact of life event stress reflected women’s social roles and connections as seen in the categories with the highest impact scores: Family/Close Friends, Personal/Social, and Work. Menopausal transition stages were related only to undesirable health events.

Marital Transitions and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults: Examining Educational Differences

Background: Later decades of the life course have undergone rapid transformations due to demographic changes in ageing societies, such as more frequent occurrences of later-life marital transitions. Adaption to these transitions, even when welcomed, brings novel chances and challenges in negotiating new social roles in old age, which could reinforce preexisting disparities in the acquisition and mastery of resources, social ties, and coping strategies. Objectives: Because the ability to weather later-life marital transitions may depend on the long arm of education acquired earlier in the life course, the present study aims to identify and track trends in the prevalence of marriage, divorce/separation, and widowhood among sociodemographic subgroups; link the occurrence of those transitions with mental health; and test the influence of educational attainment on these associations. Methods: We employ an intraindividual, within-person approach to quantify the occurrence of marital transitions and their impact using data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 22,013; 1992–2010). Measures of transition occurrence, depressive symptoms, and educational attainment were available across up to 10 biennial assessments. Results: Individuals with less than a high school diploma displayed the highest likelihood of losing their significant other through divorce/separation or death. Marital loss was associated with increasing, and marital gain with decreasing, depressive symptoms. Compared to those with less than a high school diploma, individuals with a high school or general equivalency diploma exhibited larger increases in depressive symptoms associated with widowhood, even though their average levels of depressive symptoms were lower in the absence of this transition. Conclusions: Our findings revealed a predictable educational gradient for the occurrence of marital transitions and later-life mental health. Yet higher, formalized education did not protect the participants from increased depression in the presence of a loss-related transition, which could suggest that the strains of spousal loss may to some degree function as a leveler of the preexisting social inequalities of stratified life courses. We conclude that the benefits conferred by education are not necessarily ubiquitous, and its impact on the adaptation to spousal loss may be more complex and nuanced depending on the range of prior experiences and available coping strategies.

Across the Atlantic and Back: Tracing the Lives of Norwegian-American Migrants, 1850–1930

Between 1825 and 1960 900,000 Norwegians emigrated. Before 1930 more than 95 per cent went to the United States. The rate of return to Norway was low in comparison to many other nations who sent large numbers to the US after 1880. High quality census enumerations in both countries, that are now available in electronic format, allow the possibility of reconstructing the lives and voyages of some of these migrants. Even with a low rate of return-migration there were more than 50,000 return migrants. Constructing a large sample of return migrants observed in both Norway and the US becomes more feasible with electronic search and matching strategies. This article gives an overview of available and soon forthcoming sources in the North Atlantic Population Project, the possibility of electronic linkages, and the challenges of this research strategy. Using a group of 448 Norwegian migrants matched between the 1900 American and 1910 Norwegian census, an empirical analysis shows that migration and marital transitions were likely to have been closely linked. Machine-linked records hold the promise of being able to trace several thousand Norwegians across the Atlantic and back again.

The Link between Marital Transitions and Depression in Later Life: Does Early-Life Adversity matter?

The Link between Marital Transitions and Depression in Later Life: Does Early-Life Adversity matter?

Relationship transitions for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: types, turbulence, and transition processing communication

ABSTRACTThis study surveys transitions specific to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), examines how aspects of relational turbulence vary based on the type of transition experienced, and explores the transition processing activities couples use to navigate marital transitions in this context. The study examined the transition experiences of 298 parents of children with ASD who were currently married. Participants detailed an important transition throughout the life span of their child with ASD using open-ended questions. They completed scales assessing qualities of the relationship during the transition and transition processing communication used to navigate the experience. Results demonstrate significant differences in experiences of relational turbulence based on the type of transition described. In particular, the initial diagnosis received the highest ratings for transition magnitude and relational turbulence compared to other common transitions. Engagement in transition processing communication predicted relational uncertainty and facilitation from a partner, which predicted relational turbulence.

Transitions From Sexual Relationships Into Cohabitation and Beyond.

Much research on cohabitation has focused on transitions from cohabitation to marriage or dissolution, but less is known about how rapidly women progress into cohabitation, what factors are associated with the tempo to shared living, and whether the timing into cohabitation is associated with subsequent marital transitions. We use data from the 2006-2013 National Survey of Family Growth to answer these questions among women whose most recent sexual relationship began within 10 years of the interview. Life table results indicate that transitions into cohabitation are most common early in sexual relationships; nearly one-quarter of women had begun cohabiting within six months of becoming sexually involved. Multivariate analyses reveal important social class disparities in the timing to cohabitation. Not only are women from more-advantaged backgrounds significantly less likely to cohabit, but those who do cohabit enter shared living at significantly slower tempos than women whose mothers lacked a college degree. In addition, among sexual relationships that transitioned into cohabiting unions, college-educated women were significantly more likely to transition into marriage than less-educated women. Finally, although the tempo effect is only weakly significant, women who moved in within the first year of their sexual relationship demonstrated lower odds of marrying than did women who deferred cohabiting for over a year. Relationship processes are diverging by social class, contributing to inequality between more- and less-advantaged young adults.

Hooking Up and Emerging Adults’ Relationship Attitudes and Expectations

The dating landscape has changed markedly in recent years, with many emerging adults taking a less committed approach to relationships and sex (e.g., “hooking up”). Delayed marital transitions and declining rates of marriage have led to concerns that the rise of the “hookup culture” is associated with a devaluing of marriage. Previous research on associations between sexual attitudes or overall sexual experience and marital attitudes has produced inconsistent findings and is not representative of modern union formation and sexual norms. Using a sample of 248 emerging adults, we examined associations between engagement in casual sexual behavior (i.e., hooking up) and expectations for future committed relationships and marriage as well as attitudes toward current relationship involvement. Contrary to concerns about the devaluation of marriage, results indicated that level of engagement in hooking up was not associated with expectations for involvement in future committed relationships, including marriage. However, hooking up was associated with less favorable attitudes toward current relationship involvement. These findings suggest that engagement in hooking up is a time-specific behavior that aligns with the self-focused nature of emerging adulthood, rather than indicating a lack of interest in future committed relationships or marriage.

The Role of Leisure Activities in the Relationship Between Marital Transition in Later Midlife and Psychological Well-Being Trajectories.

This study examined the levels and rates of changes in psychological well-being for middle-aged adults of different statuses or marital transitions. The moderating effects of different leisure activities were also tested. Longitudinal data on 1,270 persons aged 50 to 65 years at baseline from the Taiwan longitudinal study on aging were analyzed. Adults who were stably unmarried or unpartnered reported worse mental health at baseline, but their psychological well-being improved over time. The trajectory of depressive symptoms fluctuated markedly in adults who became widowed during our observation period. Engagement in physical, cognitive, or social activities was significantly associated with participants' psychological well-being. Participation in religious activities was significantly associated with life satisfaction and decreased depressive symptoms for those undergoing bereavement. Findings from this study suggest that social and physical activities, among the four selected leisure activities, have the greatest association between decreasing depressive symptoms and increasing life satisfaction, respectively. Religious activities, in particular, may improve psychological well-being in bereaved middle-aged and older adults.

Family Dynamics: Family-of-Origin Cohesion During Adolescence and Adult Romantic Relationships

Using data from 11,339 youth participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this study explored the influence of cohesion within the family of origin and family structure during adolescence on the number of adult romantic relationships. Multiple regression analyses were performed using Mplus (Version 7.3; Muthen and Muthen in Mplus User’s Guide, 5th Ed, Muthen & Muthen, Los Angeles, 2007) finding adolescent family cohesion was positively associated with marriage and negatively associated with cohabitation. However, race/ethnicity and parental marital status provided meaningful context for these findings. Family cohesion was only linked with marital transitions for White adolescents. In addition, family cohesion only reduced cohabitation for participants whose parents were married during adolescence. Results point to the importance of socialization and modeling in families where parents are married, as well as in families who are demographically more likely to be married. Implications for couple and family therapists are discussed.

Changes in marital status and links to self-rated health: A study of temporal relationships

This study examines whether self-rated health (SRH) changes predict marital status changes or vice versa, and tests whether changes in trust mediate the relationship between marital transition and SRH change. A logistic regression model and a mediation analysis method are used separately to analyze the longitudinal data on 2,042 respondents from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) in Taiwan. The survey achieves response rates above 70%. The findings show that none of health status at either time point predict the three types of marital transitions including never married to married, married to divorced/separated, and married to widowed. Bonding trust plays a more important role than generalized trust in mediating the adverse effect of remaining widowed status on health change within a context of Confucian culture. Those who maintain a widowed state have a lower likelihood of sustaining high levels of bonding trust, which in turn leads to poor SRH. Hence, the findings provide more support for a social causation hypothesis rather than a health selection hypothesis.

Relationship Between Marital Transitions, Health Behaviors, and Health Indicators of Postmenopausal Women: Results from the Women's Health Initiative.

Historically, marital status has been associated with lower mortality and transitions into marriage were generally accompanied by improved health status. Conversely, divorce has been associated with increased mortality, possibly mediated by changes in health behaviors. This study uses data from a prospective cohort of 79,094 postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS) to examine the relationship between marital transition and health indicators (blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index [BMI]) as well as health behaviors (diet pattern, alcohol use, physical activity, and smoking) in a sample of relatively healthy and employed women. Linear and logistic regression modeling were used to test associations, controlling for confounding factors. Women's transitions into marriage/marriage-like relationship after menopause were associated with greater increase in BMI (β = 0.22; confidence interval (95% CI), 0.11-0.33) and alcohol intake (β = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.04-0.11) relative to remaining unmarried. Divorce/separation was associated with a reduction in BMI and waist circumference, changes that were accompanied by improvements in diet quality (β = 0.78, 95% CI, 0.10-1.47) and physical activity (β = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.12-1.85), relative to women who remained married. Contrary to earlier literature, these findings among well-educated, predominantly non-Hispanic white women suggest that marital transitions after menopause are accompanied by modifiable health outcomes/behaviors that are more favorable for women experiencing divorce/separation than those entering a new marriage.

Limited Marital Commitment and Household Portfolios

This paper examines the link between marital decisions, consumption, and optimal portfolio choice in a life-cycle model with limited marital commitment. Without full commitment, individual income shocks lead to renegotiation between spouses, altering relative bargaining power and endogenously generating time-varying risk aversion at the household-level. Consequently, changes in relative income are associated with significant shifts in household portfolios. We find strong support for this prediction using data from the PSID. The model can also rationalize the link between marital transitions and portfolio allocations observed in the data. Finally, the risk-sharing benefits of marriage imply a positive link between wealth and risky asset holdings across households.

Smoking cessation among European older adults: the contributions of marital and employment transitions by gender

Knowledge about the potential effects of stressful events on smoking cessation is helpful for the design of health interventions. Previous studies on this topic tended to group together adults of all ages and of both genders. We investigate the contribution of marital and employment losses on smoking cessation by gender, specifically among older adults in Europe. We used panel data from waves 4 (2011) and 5 (2013) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 3345 male and 3115 female smokers at baseline aged 50 and over from 13 countries. The associations between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were derived from logistic regression models for each gender, controlling for age, educational attainment, diseases incidence and country of residence. Interactions between gender and marital and employment losses were tested. Over the analysed period, 119 smokers became widowed or divorced (1.8 %), 318 became retired (4.9 %) and 100 became unemployed (1.5 %). Becoming widowed or divorced was associated with lower probability of smoking cessation among both men (OR 0.36, 95 % CI 0.14–0.94) and women (OR 0.46, 95 % CI 0.21–0.99). Transitions to unemployment and to retirement were not significantly associated with smoking cessation (OR 0.62, 95 % CI 0.25–1.49; and OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.43–1.07, respectively). Gender differences in the association between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were not statistically significant (p value > 0.05 for all interactions). Health interventions should take into account that male and female older adults affected by marital loss are at risk of continuing smoking.

Life-course partnership history and midlife health behaviours in a population-based birth cohort

BackgroundMarital and partnership history is strongly associated with health in midlife and later life. However, the role of health behaviours as an explanatory mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this...