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The Gold of One’s Ring is Not Far More Precious than the Gold of One’s Heart: Reported Life Satisfaction Among Married and Cohabitating South African Adults

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  • Ferdi Botha
  • Frikkie Booysen

Abstract

This paper tests for differences in reported life satisfaction between married and cohabiting persons, i.e. the cohabitation gap, and in particular whether selection factors can explain the cohabitation gap. The paper also explores whether age at marriage and at start of cohabitation as well as the duration of relationship type matters for subjective well-being. Based on statistical and regression analysis of the 2008 National Income Dynamics Survey, married and cohabiting persons exhibit some differences in their respective determinants of life satisfaction. While the age at relationship commencement has no relationship with well-being, there is evidence to suggest that married people become more satisfied at a later stage in marriage, while cohabitants are more satisfied initially. A significant cohabitation gap exists (0.251), but after controlling for various selection factors, the cohabitation gap virtually disappears (0.042) and becomes insignificant, which suggests that marriage and cohabitation are very similar in South Africa. Relative income, absolute income, and education explain the largest part of the cohabitation gap. Against the global backdrop of an increasing trend towards cohabitation and declining marriage rates, the overall results of this paper suggest that, since a cohabitation gap no longer exists after controlling for selection factors, South Africans may as well not go the “official route” of entering into marriage, as cohabitation provides similar benefits in terms of its contribution to individual satisfaction with life. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Ferdi Botha & Frikkie Booysen, 2013. "The Gold of One’s Ring is Not Far More Precious than the Gold of One’s Heart: Reported Life Satisfaction Among Married and Cohabitating South African Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 433-456, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:14:y:2013:i:2:p:433-456
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9337-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferdi Botha & Frikkie Booysen, 2014. "Family Functioning and Life Satisfaction and Happiness in South African Households," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 163-182, October.
    2. Ferdi Botha, 2014. "Life Satisfaction and Education in South Africa: Investigating the Role of Attainment and the Likelihood of Education as a Positional Good," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 555-578, September.
    3. Frederik Booysen & Ferdi Botha & Sevias Guvuriro, 2022. "Intermarriage on Subjective Social Status and Spousal Dissimilarity in Life Satisfaction of Co-resident Heterosexual South African Couples," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2635-2662, August.
    4. Giulia Ferrari, 2022. "What is wellbeing for rural South African women? Textual analysis of focus group discussion transcripts and implications for programme design and evaluation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2019. "Sexual orientation and the ‘cohabitation gap’ in life satisfaction in Canada," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1163-1189, December.
    6. Byela Tibesigwa & Martine Visser & Brennan Hodkinson, 2016. "Effects of Objective and Subjective Income Comparisons on Subjective Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 361-389, August.
    7. Morten Blekesaune, 2018. "Is Cohabitation As Good As Marriage for People’s Subjective Well-Being? Longitudinal Evidence on Happiness and Life Satisfaction in the British Household Panel Survey," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 505-520, February.
    8. Kinyanjui Agnes Njeri Muiruri & Hubert Pinto Ph.D & Catherine Mwarari Ph.D, 2023. "Relationship Between Personality Traits and Marital Quality Among Married Individuals in Kiambu Catholic Deanery, Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(4), pages 1557-1566, April.
    9. Dorrit Posel & Janet Bruce-Brand, 2021. "‘Only a Housewife?’ Subjective Well-Being and Homemaking in South Africa," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 323-342, January.

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