Women's Marital Research Articles

An Examination of Potential Attractions of Women's Marital Infidelity

Due to the growing prevalence and potential negative effects of marital infidelity, it is important for both clinicians and researchers to understand its occurrence. This study focused on examining the process an individual goes through when making the decision to have an affair. Semi-structured interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed using the transcendental phenomenological model (Moustakas, 1994). The women reported developing relationships outside of their marriage, having support from family/friends for the extramarital relationship, and receiving positive attention from their affair partner. Clinical and research implications are discussed as well as the limitations of the current study.

Risk for congenital malformations in offspring of women who have undergone bariatric surgery. A national cohort

To study the risk for congenital anomalies in the first child of women after bariatric surgery compared with all other women giving birth to their first child and divided by maternal body mass index (BMI) groups. Prospective, population-based register study. Sweden. All firstborn children to women born 1973-83 were studied to determine if they had a congenital anomaly and a mother who had undergone bariatric surgery before pregnancy. A total of 270,805 firstborns; of which 341 had mothers who had had bariatric surgery before delivery. We retrieved information on the women's marital or cohabitation status, smoking, BMI, diabetes and hypertension during pregnancy. Congenital malformations. Of the firstborn children to mothers who had had bariatric surgery before pregnancy, 4.1% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 2.2-6.0) were malformed compared with 3.4% (95% CI 3.3-3.5) of those whose mothers had not undergone bariatric surgery. The risk for congenital malformation in firstborn children increased with increasing maternal BMI. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for congenital malformation among children whose mothers' BMI ranged between 25 and 29 kg/m(2) was 1.09 (95% CI 1.03-1.15), whose mothers' BMI ranged between 30 and 34 kg/m(2) was 1.14 (1.05-1.24) and whose mothers' BMI was ≥35 kg/m(2) was 1.30 (95% CI 1.16-1.45) compared with those whose mothers had a normal BMI. Bariatric surgery before pregnancy did not have any effect on the odds ratio for having congenital malformation (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.63-1.91). Preconception bariatric surgery does not seem to affect the risk for congenital malformations but a high to very high BMI does appear to increase the risk.

Newlywed Women's Marital Expectations: Lifelong Monogamy?

Over time, perceptions of marriage in the United States have shifted from a social obligation to a decision based on personal fulfillment. This shift has been most pronounced for women who no longer rely upon marriage for financial security. Marriages based on personal fulfillment are more fragile so when love declines and constraints do not exist, infidelity and divorce are considered viable options. This study investigated newlywed women's marital expectations along with their experiences of infidelity and expectations of divorce. Newlywed women (N = 197) married 2 years or less completed an online survey. As expected, these women primarily conceptualized marriage in terms of love and personal fulfillment. They reported a variety of extramarital thoughts and behaviors, and 74% indicated some expectation of divorce.

“It Is Not a Big Deal, I Can Do It, Too”: Influence of Parental Divorce on Professional Women's Marital Experience in Turkey

This article reports on a study of how parental divorce affects the marriage and divorce experiences of professional women in Turkey. Drawing on the retrospective accounts of eight professional women in relation to their own divorce and those of their parents, this study highlights the role of parental divorce and cultural context in adult children's attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding their own union formation. Based on this small qualitative sample, results demonstrate that parental divorce affected women's entire lives, with considerable impact on their commitment to marriage and view of divorce in general. They learn from their parents that marriages can be broken when they do not function properly. As a result, instead of being more patient or self- sacrificing, as is frequently advised to women in Turkish society, the women in this study readily tended toward divorce as a viable solution to marital problems.

Nonmarital Fertility, Family Structure, and the Early School Achievement of Young Children From Different Race/Ethnic and Immigration Groups

Working from a life course perspective, this study examined the links between mothers' fertility and relationship statuses and children's early school achievement and how these links varied by race/ethnicity and immigration status. Analyses of nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort revealed that children born to unmarried women scored lower than children of married women on math tests in kindergarten and first grade. This pattern was most attributable to associated differences in family income and parent education, and it was moderated by women's marital and relationship statuses after having their children. Evidence also suggested that the academic risks of some family structure pattern relative to continuously married parents might have been more pronounced for White children.

Hawaii Data: Women's Marital Surname Change by Bride's Age and Jurisdiction of Residence

AbstractRetaining or hyphenating one's premarital surname among brides marrying in Hawaii in 2006 was significantly correlated with average income of women and the average income of men in the bride's state of residence. Only the average women's income in the bride's state of residence, however, was a marginally significant predictor, where both that of men and women were used as regression predictors of retention or hyphenation. Older brides were more likely to hyphenate or retain their premarital surnames upon marriage in Hawaii in 2006. Raw data concerning 28,680 marriages celebrated in 2006 in the state of Hawaii were provided by Brian Horiuchi, of the Hawaii State Department of Health.

Young Women's Marital Status and HIV Risk in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper examines whether marriage increases the risk of HIV infection among women aged 15-24 in Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. We find that in all the three countries, the risk of infection is significantly lower for never-married young women than ever-married young women; however, the difference in risk disappears when we control for age, educational attainment, household wealth, and area of residence. Thus, our result highlights the importance of socio-economic and demographic factors in analyzing the link between marital status and HIV risk among young women. Particularly, our findings show that age and education play a crucial role in determining the level of HIV/AIDS risk for young women. The result also implies that marriage as an institution does not necessarily elevate the risk of HIV infection among young women.

Female Scarcity Reduces Women's Marital Ages and Increases Variance in Men's Marital Ages

When women are scarce in a population relative to men, they have greater bargaining power in romantic relationships and thus may be able to secure male commitment at earlier ages. Male motivation for long-term relationship commitment may also be higher, in conjunction with the motivation to secure a prospective partner before another male retains her. However, men may also need to acquire greater social status and resources to be considered marriageable. This could increase the variance in male marital age, as well as the average male marital age. We calculated the Operational Sex Ratio, and means, medians, and standard deviations in marital ages for women and men for the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States with 2000 U.S Census data. As predicted, where women are scarce they marry earlier on average. However, there was no significant relationship with mean male marital ages. The variance in male marital age increased with higher female scarcity, contrasting with a non-significant inverse trend for female marital age variation. These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between the OSR and marital patterns. We believe that these results are best accounted for by sex specific attributes of reproductive value and associated mate selection criteria, demonstrating the power of an evolutionary framework for understanding human relationships and demographic patterns.

Social and Cognitive Factors in Women's Marital Name Choice

(2007). Social and Cognitive Factors in Women's Marital Name Choice. Names: Vol. 55, Women in Onomastics, pp. 229-251.

What's Love Got To Do With It? Equality, Equity, Commitment and Women's Marital Quality

The companionate theory of marriage suggests that egalitarianism in practice and belief leads to higher marital quality for wives and higher levels of positive emotion work on the part of husbands. Our analysis of women's marital quality and men's marital emotion work provides little evidence in support of this theory. Rather, in examining women's marital quality and men's emotional investments in marriage, we find that dyadic commitment to institutional ideals about marriage and women's contentment with the division of household tasks are more critical. We also show that men's marital emotion work is a very important determinant of women's marital quality. We conclude by noting that "her" marriage is happiest when it combines elements of the new and old: that is, gender equity and normative commitment to the institution of marriage.

Gender Debates in Lebanon: Muslim Shi'i Jurisprudence in Relation to Women's Marital Sexual Rights

AbstractThis article deals specifically with the question of sexuality in relation to a wife's sexual rights in Muslim Shi'i law. It sheds light on the works of Muslim Shi'i Lebanese jurisconsult, Muhammad Huseyn Fadl-Allah, who has been instrumental in bringing many changes to gender issues—be it on the ideological or legal levels. This article briefly analyses the roles played by Shi'i women and the Shi'i specific notion of ijtihad in the formulation of progressive rulings that are responsive to women's aspirations.

African American and European American Women's Marital Well‐Being

Using a sample of 247 African American and European American women in their 3rd year of marriage, this study compared the predictors of marital well‐being for each group by focusing on the influences of individual, interpersonal, and social and economic resources. Regression analyses revealed that emotional health (individual), trusting one's spouse (interpersonal), and feeling underbenefited in the relationship (interpersonal) were significant predictors of marital well‐being for both groups of women. Physical health (individual) and in‐law relations (social and economic), however, affected the marital well‐being of only African American women. Findings from this study suggest the need to examine marital well‐being within the context of race.

Trends in Women's Marital Name Choices: 1966–1996

AbstractWhether or not women have been more likely to select non-conventional marital surnames in more recent years has received little attention in the marital naming literature. We examine marital name choices in more than 2,000 wedding announcements reported over a thirty year period in The New York Times. Women were more likely to have chosen non-conventional marital names in the late 1980s and 1990s than in the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, unlike women who changed their last names to those of their husbands, women selecting non-conventional last names were more likely to be employed, to have higher levels of education and to be married in non-church locations.

Attitudes Toward Women's Marital Name Choices

AbstractAttitudes of more than 900 adult respondents toward women's choosing to retain their birth name as their last name when they marry are reported. The majority of respondents were tolerant ofa woman's keeping her birth name, but were not tolerant if the couple planned to have children. Women were far more accepting of a wife's retaining her birth name than were men. Also more tolerant were persons with higher levels of education, higher incomes, lived in larger communities, had more liberal political leanings, were less religious and younger.

Women's Marital Timing at the Turn of the Century: Generational and Ethnic Differences

This article utilizes accelerated failure time models to estimate the effect of immigration, generation, and ethnicity on timing of first marriage among women living in the United States in 1910. Although historical research suggests that family need resulted in marital delay, I argue that family strategies for socioeconomic mobility is a more likely explanation. Second-generation women from groups experiencing substantial socioeconomic mobility across the generations demonstrate the greatest likelihood of marital delay; this is particularly notable for Jewish women. Migration does not have the expected delaying effect on marriage; those arriving as children or single adults marry at younger ages than either those who wed in the country of origin or their second-generation counterparts. Findings are discussed in light of ethnic group stratification and the importance of integrating women into mobility frameworks.

I. Women's Marital Names: An Interpretive Study of Name Retainers' Concepts of Marriage

I. Women's Marital Names: An Interpretive Study of Name Retainers' Concepts of Marriage

Qualities of Older Women's Friendships: Stable or Volatile?

The purpose of this study was to identify changes and stability in the qualities older women attribute to their close friendships. Seventy-four older women responded to eleven structured statements describing qualities of their relationships with ninety-one close friends. Change was found for seven of the eleven qualities examined. Differences in the women's responses were observed according to which close friend they were discussing and changes in the women's marital, work, and health status. The findings provide insight into the character of women's close friendships in later life.

Biblical Women's Marital Rights

Cet article met a mal certains prejuges sur le statut marital des femmes juives de l'epoque biblique. En effet, si elles vivaient bien dans une societe patriarchale et polygame, l'ideal biblique etait monogame, et de nombreuses prescriptions legales assuraient a l'epouse une protection (notamment contre le divorce et la repudiation) et lui accordaient des droits dans le cadre du mariage ; de plus les conditions ( materielles et sexuelles) imposees au mari tendaient dans les faits a limiter la polygamie.

Inequalities in health related to women's marital, parental, and employment status—A comparison between the early 70s and the late 80s, Norway

Studies indicate that inequalities in women's health are associated with women's marital, parental and employment status. The causal mechanisms which generate these inequalities are linked to social change at the macro level. The present study asks whether patterns of ill-health according to women's statuses have changed during recent decades in Norway. Five national surveys 1968–1991 are analyzed, using number of long-standing diseases as an indicator of health. The results indicate that health differences between full-time employed women and other employment statuses have increased during the 70s and 80s. As regards marital and parental status, the observed changes are not significant. The findings suggest that important causal mechanisms generating health differences related to marital status are located in the private sphere. The interpretation of the widening health gap between employed and non-employed women focusses both on developments which have made it easier to combine employment and family duties, on new norms which favour the self-esteem of employed women, and on health selection processes connected to welfare state developments.

Women's Marital Ethics

Marital ethics refers to the matter of the philosophical principles of love. Marriage is an extension of being in love, and not, as it is sometimes said, the burying ground of love and romance. In the realm of marriage, "You are woman and you hold sway over all parts of the marriage." Since women have such a special place in the marital relationship, they are faced with peculiar and special moral and ethical demands, as well as a special moral mandate.