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A gender perspective on preferences for marriage among cohabitating couples

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  • Anne Reneflot

    (Folkehelseinstituttet (Norwegian Institute of Public Health))

Abstract

This paper addresses the sex differences in cohabiters’ marriage preferences, which have received very little attention in the family literature. According to Norwegian survey data from 1996, cohabiting men are more hesitant to marry than cohabiting women. For example, childless male cohabiters are more worried than their female partner that another lifestyle will be expected after a marriage, and they voice more doubt about the value of the relationship. This could mean that the men generally are more individualistically oriented and therefore more attracted to single life than the women. In-depth interviews support this, and also suggest that men are less willing to yield to a normative pressure to marry. On the other hand, women were more concerned with the costs of the wedding.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne Reneflot, 2006. "A gender perspective on preferences for marriage among cohabitating couples," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 15(10), pages 311-328.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:15:y:2006:i:10
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2006.15.10
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ermisch,John F., 1991. "Lone Parenthood," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521412438, September.
    2. Elizabeth Thomson & Elaine McDonald & Larry Bumpass, 1990. "Fertility desires and fertility: Hers, his, and theirs," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(4), pages 579-588, November.
    3. Elizabeth Thomson, 1997. "Couple childbearing desires, intentions, and births," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 34(3), pages 343-354, August.
    4. Elizabeth Thomson & Jan Hoem, 1998. "Couple childbearing plans and births in Sweden," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(3), pages 315-322, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Caroline Berghammer & Katrin Fliegenschnee & Eva-Maria Schmidt, 2014. "Cohabitation and marriage in Austria," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(37), pages 1137-1166.
    2. Gillian Hamilton & Aloysius Siow, 2007. "Class, Gender and Marriage," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 10(4), pages 549-575, October.
    3. Jan M. Hoem & Dora Kostova, 2007. "Early traces of the Second Demographic Transition in Bulgaria: a joint analysis of marital and non-marital union formation," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2007-020, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Sharon Sassler & Soma Roy & Elizabeth Stasny, 2014. "Men’s economic status and marital transitions of fragile families," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(3), pages 71-110.
    5. Monika Mynarska & Anna Baranowska-Rataj & Anna Matysiak, 2014. "Free to stay, free to leave: Insights from Poland into the meaning of cohabitation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(36), pages 1107-1136.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender; cohabitation; marriage; children; marriage preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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