Marital Transitions Research Articles

Holistic housing pathways for Australian families through the childbearing years

For the previous generation, the typical housing tenure pathway in Australia was more clearly defined, with young adults leaving the family home to marry and experience the birth of the first child while residing in a rental home, before entry into home ownership. For the first time in Australia, longitudinal data is available that allows the examination of housing tenure transitions along with other life events, in particular the birth of children, marital transitions and changes in employment. Sequences of tenure transitions and life events were derived for a large sample of individuals using ten waves of data (2001-2010) from the longitudinal Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, with a focus on families with children or of childbearing age. The statistical method of multi-channel sequence analysis was used to identify a typology of housing pathways from these data sequences. Half of all individuals in the sample do not experience any transitions in housing tenure status during the period of the survey and these people record notably fewer transitions in marital status. The main typologies identified were related to transitioning into home ownership, with the birth of a child occurring either before or after the transition. Previously, some individuals also entered home ownership before the birth of their first child rather than after, but it was not acknowledged as a major housing pathway as it is now. In this study, the majority of housing tenure and life event sequences showed that individuals were already married by the time of transitioning into home ownership. Pathways are now more diverse with transitions into home ownership often occurring both before and after the birth of a child, with marriage preceding the decision to buy a home.

Men’s economic status and marital transitions of fragile families

AbstractBACKGROUNDMen's ability to fill the provider role remains a consistent requirement for across the class spectrum and cross-nationally. Fiscal concerns appear less salient for transitions to parenthood or to informal unions such as cohabitation.OBJECTIVEThis paper evaluates whether marital expectations and marital transitions of new mothers are associated with the economic characteristics of father.METHODSAnalyses are based on observed and imputed data on fathers from the first two waves of the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Logistic regression models assess factors predicting mothers' initial expectations of marrying their baby's father, and transitions into marital unions by the second interview.RESULTSMost women expect to marry their baby's father, although estimates are lower when men's data are repaired by imputation. Multivariate analyses find mother's marital expectations are most strongly associated with men's educational attainment, but not with men's earnings at the child's birth. Transitions to are positively associated with men's earnings levels, although estimates are considerably lower than previously reported thresholds. Furthermore, the odds of marrying do not increase monotonically as men's income level rises once missing data are imputed.CONCLUSIONSTheories regarding prerequisites for must better account for growing heterogeneity in the unmarried population. Standard economic predictors of for the overall population are less applicable for this sample of new parents. Ultimately, this study highlights the importance of including information on missing fathers. Excluding them may produce misleading statistical associations between men's economic measures and women's marriage.1. IntroductionThe retreat from marriage has been observed in all developed countries, but in recent years commentators have noted an interesting social class change in patterns. The gap between the most advantaged (demonstrated by educational attainment and earnings) and those with fewer economic resources has reversed, so that the well-offare now more likely to be wed (Bracher and Santow 1998 [Sweden]; Goldstein and Kenney 2001 [United States]; Heard 2011 [Australia and New Zealand]; Kravdal [Norway] 1999; McLanahan 2004 [United States]). Explanations for declines in the proportion of adults who are married often reference men's deteriorating economic positions (Oppenheimer 2003), or note the increase in economically advantaged women's likelihood of being married (Goldstein and Kenney 2001; Heard 2011). Though weakening in importance, men's ability to fill the provider role remains a consistent requirement for across the class spectrum (Gibson-Davis, Edin, and McLanahan 2005; Sassler and Goldscheider 2004; Smock, Manning, and Porter 2005), as well as across nations (Heard 2011; Kravdal 1999; Reneflot 2006; Wiik, Bernhardt, and Noack 2010).While various measures of a good living are important prerequisites for marriage, fiscal concerns appear to be less salient for transitions to parenthood or for informal unions (Gibson-Davis 2009). At the dawn of the 21st century, a third of all births in the United States, and forty percent or more of births in Denmark, France, Sweden, and the U.K. occurred outside of marital unions (Martin and Kats 2003). The growing prevalence of non-marital childbearing has captured center stage in contemporary public policy debates in the U.S., taken to herald the rejection of the institution of (Nock 2006; Murray 2012; for a European perspective, see Morgan 2000). It is also a concern because in liberal regimes where the role of the state in redistributing wealth is limited (Esping-Andersen 1990), non-marital parenting is associated with negative consequences for children (Brown 2010). Unmarried parents' unions are far less stable than marriages (McLanahan 2011; Perelli-Harris et al. …

Factors of change and cumulative factors in self-rated health trajectories: a systematic review.

In Western societies, self-rated health (SRH) inequalities have increased over the past decades. Longitudinal studies suggest that the SRH trajectories of disadvantaged populations are declining at a faster rate than those of advantaged populations, resulting in an accumulation of (dis)advantages over the life course, as postulated by the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage (CAD) model. The objectives of this study are to conduct a systematic review of the factors influencing SRH trajectories in the adult population and to assess to what extent the findings support the CAD model. Based on the inclusion criteria, 36 articles, using 15 nationally representative databases, were reviewed. The results show that young age, high socioeconomic position and marital transitions (entering a partnership) are advantageous factors of change in SRH trajectories. However, evidence for cumulative influences supporting the CAD model remains limited: gender, ethnicity, education and employment status are only moderately associated with growing influences over time, and the cumulative influences of income, occupation, age and marital status are weak. In conclusion, this systematic review provides consolidated evidence on the factors influencing SRH trajectories, though the inclusion of only 15 nationally representative databases may limit the generalization of the results.

Body Weight, Marital Status, and Changes in Marital Status

In this article, I use 20 years of data taken from the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth to examine the relationship between body weight and both marital status and changes in marital status. I use a latent growth curve model that allows both fixed and random effects. The results show that living without a partner, either being divorced or never married, is associated with lower body weight. Cohabitors and married respondents tend to weigh more. Marital transitions also matter but only for divorce. Gender does not appear to moderate these results.

Marriage, Marital History, and Black – White Wealth Differentials Among Older Women

This study investigated the impact of union history and marital transitions on wealth inequality between older Black and White women (N = 7,026). Cohort data from the Health and Retirement Study show large and increasing Black – White differences in wealth. Marital and relationship histories are associated with the wealth accumulation process among older women. Women who married and stay married accumulated levels of wealth that exceeded those of other women with disrupted family lives. The marriage – wealth nexus is sensitive to a woman's position in the wealth distribution. Quantile regression results revealed that racial differences in total wealth holdings between Black and White women exist throughout the wealth distribution, whereas the relationship between current union history and wealth differentials is significant at the lower tail and middle of the distribution. Decomposition analyses highlighted the nontrivial role of racial disparities in marital histories in accounting for the racial wealth gap. As members of the baby boom generation enter their retirement years, it will be more important than ever to monitor the wealth accumulation process among older single and racial/ethnic minority women.

Gender, justice and domestic work: life course transitions and perceptions of fairness

This paper investigates changes in perceptions of housework fairness as men and women transition from cohabitation to marriage and experience the birth of a child. Using four waves of data from the Negotiating the Life Course project in Australia, we assess how marriage and parenthood alter perceptions of housework fairness. Consistent with previous research we find that the majority of men and women report that the division of labour at home is fair, despite women spending twice as much time on housework as men. Our results show no changes in perceptions of fairness in relation to marital transitions and only weak evidence of changes in relation to parenthood transitions. We conclude that perceptions of housework fairness are not based on an equal sharing of tasks, but are better understood in terms of equity and distributive justice.

Consistency and timing of marital transitions and survival during midlife: the role of personality and health risk behaviors.

Marital status is associated with survival. The aims of this study are to evaluate marital history and timing on mortality during midlife, test the role of pre-marital personality, and quantify the role of health risk behaviors. Cox proportional hazard models were run with varying classifications of marital history and sets of covariates. In fully adjusted models compared to the currently married, lifetime marital history predicts premature mortality with never married at 2.33 times risk of death and ever married at 1.64 risk of death. Midlife marital history shows that not having a partner during midlife (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.10 formerly married; HR = 2.59 remaining single) has the highest risk of death. Controlling for personality and health risk behaviors reduces but does not eliminate the impact of marital status. Consistency of marital status during midlife suggests that lack of a partner is associated with midlife mortality.

Divorce and women's risk of health insurance loss.

This article bridges the literatures on the economic consequences of divorce for women with that on marital transitions and health by focusing on women's health insurance. Using a monthly calendar of marital status and health insurance coverage from 1,442 women in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine how women's health insurance changes after divorce. Our estimates suggest that roughly 115,000 American women lose private health insurance annually in the months following divorce and that roughly 65,000 of these women become uninsured. The loss of insurance coverage we observe is not just a short-term disruption. Women's rates of insurance coverage remain depressed for more than two years after divorce. Insurance loss may compound the economic losses women experience after divorce and contribute to as well as compound previously documented health declines following divorce.

The effects of marital status transitions on alcohol use trajectories

This study aims to exploit the longitudinal nature of the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), using a semi-parametric mixture modeling (SPMM) approach to examine whether the presence of marital transitions has an impact on alcohol use trajectories among the elderly. The empirical work of this study is based on the 1994-2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Findings provide support to the marriage protection effect: for both elderly men and women, remaining divorced or widowed had detrimental effects on alcohol consumption. Findings also concur with the potential roles of assortive mating / marital homophily: having a drinking spouse increased alcohol consumption.

Marriage, gender and obesity in later life

A large body of literature argues that marriage promotes health and increases longevity. But do these benefits extend to maintaining a healthy body weight, as the economic theory of health investment suggests they should? They do not. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), I find that entry into marriage among both men and women aged 51–70 is associated with weight gain and exit from marriage with weight loss. I evaluate three additional theories with respect to the cross-sectional and longitudinal variation in the data. First, it may be that a broader set of shared risk factors (such as social obligations regarding meals) raises body mass for married couples. However, the shared risk factor model predicts that the intra-couple correlation should increase with respect to marital duration. Instead, it declines. Second, scholars have recently promoted a “crisis” model of marriage in which marital transitions, not marital status, determine differences in body mass. The crisis model is consistent with short-term effects seen for divorce, but not for the persistent weight gains associated with marriage or the persistent weight loss following widowhood. And transition models, in general, cannot explain significant cross-sectional differences across marital states in a population that is no longer experiencing many transitions, nor can it account for the prominent gender differences (in late middle-age, the heaviest group is unmarried women and the lightest are unmarried men). Third, I argue that pressures of the marriage market, in combination with gendered preferences regarding partner BMI, can account for all the longitudinal and cross-sectional patterns found in the data.

Rethinking marital status: Partnership history and intergenerational relationships in American families

Abstract Demographic analyses have demonstrated that Americans are increasingly likely to experience multiple transitions into and out of marital and nonmarital unions. Despite this, relatively little research to date has examined how this complexity has influenced the relationships between generations within families. Utilizing data from the third wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), I assess the extent of partnership complexity in the United States and estimate the effect of partnership history on intergenerational relationships. Results suggest that partnership history is a more robust predictor of intergenerational solidarity than discrete marital transitions. Overall, those individuals with a history of multiple marriages and cohabiting unions have consistently lower levels of solidarity relative to those who have one marriage. The results of the study suggest that future research consider the complexity of family members’ marital and nonmarital union histories.

Life Events and Change in Leisure Time Physical Activity

The global epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases is closely related to changes in lifestyle, including decreasing leisure time physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major public health challenge. To respond to that challenge, it is essential to know which personal and environmental factors affect PA behaviour. Certain life events may be one contributing factor, by creating emotional distress and disrupting a person's daily routine. The aim was to examine the literature concerning the effects of life events on changes in PA. A systematic literature search was performed on studies that assessed at least one major change in life circumstances and a change in PA. To be included, studies had to assess PA at two timepoints at least (before and after the event). Diseases as life events were excluded from this review. Thirty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. The studies examined the following life-change events: transition to university; change in employment status; marital transitions and changes in relationships; pregnancy/having a child; experiencing harassment at work, violence or disaster; and moving into an institution. The studies reviewed showed statistically significant changes in leisure PA associated with certain life events. In men and women, transition to university, having a child, remarriage and mass urban disaster decreased PA levels, while retirement increased PA. In young women, beginning work, changing work conditions, changing from being single to cohabiting, getting married, pregnancy, divorce/separation and reduced income decreased PA. In contrast, starting a new personal relationship, returning to study and harassment at work increased PA. In middle-aged women, changing work conditions, reduced income, personal achievement and death of a spouse/partner increased PA, while experiencing violence and a family member being arrested or jailed decreased PA. In older women, moving into an institution and interpersonal loss decreased PA, while longer-term widowhood increased PA. In addition, experiencing multiple simultaneous life events decreased PA in men and women. Major life events have a strong effect on leisure PA behaviour. Consequently, people experiencing life events could be an important target group for PA promotion. More research is needed to examine the short- and long-term effects of different life events on PA, gender differences in the effects of life events and the specific determinants of PA change during life events.

The enduring effects of marital status on subsequent depressive symptoms among women: investigating the roles of psychological, social and financial resources

ObjectivesTo investigate the mechanisms through which marital status exerts long-term effects on depressive symptoms among women and to evaluate the relative importance of psychological, social and financial resources in mediating...

To have or not to have another child: Life cycle, health and cost considerations of Ghanaian women

Given that fertility rates are high in most sub-Saharan countries, it is critically important to understand the drivers of the demand for children to inform population reduction policies. Yet little is known about the individual-level factors that drive the desire for fertility limitation. The desire to limit births may be driven by the achievement of family size targets. However, since children are born at different stages of the life course, fertility desires may also be influenced by past reproductive, socio-economic experiences, and perceptions about future welfare. In this study, the determinants of the desire to stop childbearing were analyzed at the individual-level using prospective longitudinal data (1998–2003) on the reproductive lives of women in six communities in southern Ghana. Using variation within-woman, we modeled the impact of changes in reproductive life cycle events, health status, perceptions of future household economic conditions, perceptions of the cost of additional children, and spousal interactions on a woman’s fertility preferences. We found that the desire to stop childbearing is influenced by reproductive life stage (such as age, parity); events (marital transitions, child death); perceptions of personal health (particularly anticipated demands of the next pregnancy on the woman’s health); the household’s economic welfare; and the overall subjective cost of children. The economic utility models which emphasize cost/benefit considerations, as well as the anthropological and sociological theories which emphasize norms, appear to be validated in this empirical analysis in that both subjective elements and normative considerations are incorporated into fertility decisions.

The Association between Marital Transitions, Body Mass Index, and Weight: A Review of the Literature

Objective. To examine the association between different marital transitions and changes in body mass index (BMI) and body weight. Methods. A systematic literature search was conducted for peer-reviewed articles published between January 1990 and December 2011. Longitudinal studies were included if they compared dependent variables, such as BMI or weight, before and after a change in marital status. Results. Twenty articles were included: 4 articles described only transitions into marriage and/or cohabitation, 2 articles described only transitions out of marriage and/or cohabitation, and 14 articles described both. Overall, transitions into marriage were associated with weight gain, whereas transitions out of marriage were associated with weight loss. No major differences were observed between genders or across specific marital transition states. Conclusions. Additional research is warranted to better understand this phenomenon and the impact of marital transitions on obesity and obesity-related behaviors. This paper highlights potential opportunities to incorporate programs, practices, and policies that aim to promote and support healthy weights and lifestyles upon entering or leaving a marriage or cohabiting relationship.

The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Financial Investments

We investigate how changes in marital status affect financial investments and how these effects vary with background risk. We use detailed register based panel data and difference-in-differences estimators to benchmark common unobserved influences on financial investments. Women increase the fraction of wealth invested in stocks after marriage and decrease it after divorce, whereas men show the opposite behavior. Households whose joint labor income risk is reduced more by marriage have a higher increase in their exposure to risky assets in marriage. Thus income risk sharing in the household is important for financial risk-taking and investment responses to marital transitions.

The effect of adolescent- and parent-induced family transitions in middle adolescence

In a longitudinal school-based survey of Finnish adolescents aged 15–16 years at baseline, we examined associations of parent-induced family transitions (parental separation, divorce, remarriage) and adolescent-induced family transitions (moving away from the parental home) with adolescent maladjustment (substance abuse and internalizing symptoms). The findings revealed that externalizing problems were associated with moving away from the parental home, whereas the risk of internalizing problems was associated with a change in the caretaking parent through parental marital transition or being taken into custody.

Dietary patterns are associated with weight gain in newlyweds: findings from a cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China

The present study aimed to characterize the dietary patterns of newlyweds married within one year and to examine the factors associated with weight changes. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2009. Baoshan District, Shanghai, China. A total of 342 pairs of newlyweds were recruited at their first visit. Weight and height were measured and food intake was measured based on an FFQ with forty-nine items. Dietary patterns were identified through factor analysis, and the factors associated with weight changes were determined by multiple regression models. Average weight gain of the participants during marital transition was 1.9 kg (2.2 kg for men and 1.6 kg for women). Four major dietary patterns were identified: vegetable pattern, sweets and fats pattern, legume pattern and poultry, beef and mutton pattern. In multivariate analyses, the highest quintile of factor 2 (sweets and fats pattern) was significantly associated with weight gain after marriage in a comparison with the lowest quintile (β = 2.94; 95 % CI 0.75, 5.15; P = 0.01) in men. The highest quintile of factor 4 (poultry, beef and mutton pattern) was inversely associated with weight gain after marriage in a comparison with the lowest quintile (β = -1.21; 95 % CI -2.32, -0.11; P = 0.03). Our results suggest that a pattern rich in sugar, oil and condiments may lead to greater marital weight gain in men; another pattern rich in poultry, beef and mutton may lead to less marital weight gain in both men and women.

P1-S5.17 The association between marital transition and HIV seroconversion in a cohort of young people in rural Tanzania

<h3>Background</h3> HIV and STI incidence rises sharply during adolescence and young adulthood due to increased sexual activity. At this time youth also undergo major life transitions for example, leaving school, becoming sexually active, leaving home and getting married. It is hypothesised that risk of HIV/STIs increases during or just after such transitions for example, the interval between acquiring a first sexual partner and first marriage is usually the time of most rapid partner turnover. Targeting youth, their sexual partners, and/or families at key transitional periods may be effective in reducing HIV/STI rates. This study explores the association between marital transitions (change in marital status) and HIV seroconversion in a cohort in Tanzania. <h3>Methods</h3> In 1998, the MEMA kwa Vijana sexual and reproductive health intervention trial recruited 9645 young people aged 14–17 years in rural Mwanza. We analysed a sub-set of the cohort (3240) who attended follow-up surveys in 2001 and 2007. Reported marital and measured HIV status at both time points was used to describe marital transitions and their association with HIV seroconversion. Logistic regression, adjusting for demographic, behavioural and biological risk factors was used to assess whether marital transition was independently associated with seroconversion. <h3>Results</h3> Cases of HIV and the proportion married increased very substantially between 2001 and 2007 (Abstract P1-S5.17 table 1). Seroconversion rates were higher among females remaining unmarried (6.4%, p=0.01) and those transitioning from married or never married to previously married (8.8%, p&lt;0.001). HIV seroconversion was independently associated with recent travel and HSV2 infection among males and number of recent sexual partners, HSV2 infection and lifetime number of pregnancies among females. Marital transition was not an independent risk factor. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Women who remained unmarried and/or transitioned from married/unmarried to previously married during the 6 year follow-up were more likely to become infected with HIV. The association between marital transition and HIV seroconversion among females appeared largely due to differences in number of reported sexual partners. Limitations included the lack of information on the exact timing of marriage or breakdown of marriage and of seroconversion, and the limited proportion of cohort members eligible for inclusion. Nevertheless, marital transitions appear important determinants of risk.

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, Well-Being, and Spinal Cord Injury: An Examination of the Effects of Sex and Time

Kalpakjian CZ, Houlihan B, Meade MA, Karana-Zebari D, Heinemann AW, Dijkers MP, Wierbicky J, Charlifue S. Marital status, marital transitions, well-being, and spinal cord injury: an examination of the effects of sex and time. Objective To examine the applicability of marital resource (marriage has substantial benefits for well-being over not being married) or marital crisis (marital dissolution leads to poorer well-being) models to the spinal cord injury (SCI) population by studying the effects of sex, marital status, and marital transitions on well-being. Design Prospective cohort study from the SCI Model Systems National Database. Setting Community. Participants Men (n=4864) and women (n=1277) who sustained traumatic SCI and completed a minimum of 1 follow-up interview beginning at 1 year through 15 years postinjury. Interventions None. Main Outcomes Measures Life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and self-perceived health status by using linear mixed models for longitudinal data. Results In general, well-being improved over time since injury. Hypothesis testing supported the marital crisis model, as marital loss through being or becoming separated or divorced and being or becoming widowed, had the most consistent and negative impact across well-being outcomes, whereas being or becoming married had an advantage for only lower depression symptoms over time. However, marital dissolution or loss did not have a uniformly adverse impact on well-being outcomes, and this effect often was moderated by sex, such that widows had higher depressive symptoms and poorer self-perceived health than widowers, but separated or divorced women had higher life satisfaction and self-perceived health than men. Irrespective of sex, being separated or divorced versus being single was associated with higher depressive symptoms over time. Conclusions Results support the marital crisis model and that women and men can experience marital dissolution differently. All marital loss does not result in compromised well-being and all marriage does not enhance well-being, highlighting complex dynamics worthy of further investigation in this population.