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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

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  • Morten Blekesaune

    (University of Agder)

Abstract

This study investigates changes in happiness and life satisfaction associated with transitions into cohabitation and marriage in 12 waves from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) collected between 1997 and 2009. Theory suggests that happiness is an emotional state that is linked to one’s physiological reactions to life events, whereas satisfaction is a cognitive evaluation that also depends on social comparisons with other important reference groups as well as the individual’s desires, expectations and hopes. A longitudinal (fixed effects) analysis that controls for time-invariant variation in subjective well-being indicates that entering cohabitation is as beneficial for people’s happiness as entering marriage. Entering marriage is slightly more satisfying than cohabitation but only among previously never-married individuals. This is true for men and women and across age and cohorts. These findings indicate that cohabitation provides similar benefits to marriage with regard to happiness but not how previously never married individuals view their overall satisfaction with their lives.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:19:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9834-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9834-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brienna Perelli-Harris & Nora Sánchez Gassen, 2012. "How Similar Are Cohabitation and Marriage? Legal Approaches to Cohabitation across Western Europe," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 38(3), pages 435-467, September.
    2. M. Evans & Jonathan Kelley, 2004. "Effect of family structure on life satisfaction: australian evidence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 303-349, December.
    3. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2006. "Does marriage make people happy, or do happy people get married?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 326-347, April.
    4. González, Libertad & Viitanen, Tarja K., 2009. "The effect of divorce laws on divorce rates in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 127-138, February.
    5. John Ermisch & Marco Francesconi, 2000. "Cohabitation in Great Britain: not for long, but here to stay," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 163(2), pages 153-171.
    6. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sunitha Singh & Sowmya Kshtriya & Reimara Valk, 2023. "Health, Hope, and Harmony: A Systematic Review of the Determinants of Happiness across Cultures and Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-68, February.
    2. 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.
    3. Tri Wahyu Nugroho & Nuhfil Hanani & Hery Toiba & Sujarwo Sujarwo, 2022. "Promoting Subjective Well-Being among Rural and Urban Residents in Indonesia: Does Social Capital Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Michael D. Krämer & Julia M. Rohrer & Richard E. Lucas & David Richter, 2024. "Life Events and Life Satisfaction: Estimating Effects of Multiple Life Events in Combined Models," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1204, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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