Despite the large literature on the long-term effects of parental divorce, few studies have analyzed the effects of parental divorce on spouse selection behavior. However, the characteristics of one's spouse can have important effects on economic well-being and on marital success. We use discrete-time, event-history data from Finnish population…

Prior research suggests a correlation between incarceration and marital dissolution, although questions remain as to why this association exists. Is it the stigma associated with "doing time" that drives couples apart? Or is it simply the duration of physical separation that leads to divorce? This research utilizes data from the National…

This article analyzes the effect of three aspects of physical attractiveness (facial attractiveness, Body Mass Index and height) on socio-economic and marital success over the life course. In a sample of high school graduates from Wisconsin followed from their late teens and until their mid-60s, I find that (1. taller men have higher earnings than…

The study employs survey data from rural Mozambique to examine how men's labor migration affects their non-migrating wives' perceptions of HIV/AIDS risks. Using a conceptual framework centered on tradeoffs between economic security and health risks that men's migration entails for their left-behind wives, it compares women married to migrants and…

In spite of the fact that more than 10 percent of Americans claim no religion, academic investigations of the "nones" represent an underdeveloped area in the sociology of religion. We find that people with religiously unaffiliated parents and those who attended religious services less as a child are more likely to claim no religion. In addition,…

This article examines marital patterns and use of mother tongue at home among native-born Asian Americans using the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Public Use Microdata Sample. There are variations in mother-tongue use across Asian ethnic groups, but variations among different types of marriage are even greater. Those who marry within…

A long-standing debate questions whether homemakers or working wives are happier. Drawing on cross-national data for 28 countries, this research uses multi-level models to provide fresh evidence on this controversy. All things considered, homemakers are slightly happier than wives who work fulltime, but they have no advantage over part-time…

Qualitative and quantitative research has suggested that married couples handle the increasing demands of intensive parenting norms and work expectations by reducing spousal time (e.g., the time that spouses spend alone with each other). Using nationally representative time-diary data, this study examined whether married individuals with children…

Using data from the 2003 and 2004 American Time Use Surveys, this article examines nonstandard work hours and their relationship to parents' family, leisure and personal care time--informing the discussion of the costs and benefits of working nonstandard hours. The results suggest that parents who work nonstandard evening hours spend less time in…

We evaluate the effects of marital resources and early-life experiences on recent domestic violence and attitudes about wife abuse among 2,074 married Cambodian women. Household standard of living was negatively associated with physical domestic violence. Women with 8-13 fewer years of schooling than their husbands more often experienced physical…

Data from a national sample of married adults, interviewed four times between 1980 and 1992, do not support the idea that unhappily married couples use childbearing as a strategy to increase solidarity and reduce marital uncertainty. Instead, results indicate that a solid marriage and compatibility between spouses encourage parenthood and…

In this paper we analyze social survey data from 19 countries using multi-level modeling methods in an effort to synthesize structural and institutional accounts for variation in women's employment. Observed demographic characteristics show much consistency in their relationship to women's employment across countries, yet there is significant…

General Social Survey data indicate that women aged 50-60, particularly less educated women, were less likely than younger or older women to include their husband in their discussion network. Compared to homogamous relationships, men in religiously heterogamous marriages and less educated men in educationally heterogamous marriages were less…

Highlighting one aspect of the economic transition in China (industrialization), this article focuses on how a change in employment from an agricultural to a non-agricultural job could change the household division of labor. Longitudinal analysis of data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey showed that such job shifts affected the household…

Data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households indicate that men's housework and child-rearing efforts are powerful determinants of wives' and husbands' perceptions of the fairness of the division of household chores. Wives' employment hours have no effect on husbands' fairness perceptions but are significantly related to wives'…