Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.6115/fer.2021.009

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Association between Transition into Marriage and Life Satisfaction and Childhood Parental Divorce as a Moderator  

Lee, Yoonjoo (College of General Education, Kookmin University)
Publication Information
Human Ecology Research / v.59, no.1, 2021 , pp. 113-125 More about this Journal
Abstract
Previous research on the association between marriage and life satisfaction is limited due to the lack of attempts to investigate the time profiles of life satisfaction around marriage. This study addresses unresolved questions about the positive association between marriage and life satisfaction as well as tests if it is moderated by childhood parental divorce. Using 14 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study(N=3,890 individuals or 25,338 person-year observations), the author first used an ordinary least squares model with clustered standard errors and found that married people reported higher life satisfaction before marriage, compared to people who remained single during the survey. This result supports a social selection perspective. Next, the author used a fixed effects regression model and found that the transition into marriage was associated with an initial rise and subsequent decline in life satisfaction. Life satisfaction increased after reaching its lowest level in the third year of marriage. Life satisfaction after the transition into marriage was significantly higher than that observed three or more years prior to marriage. The result supports a social causation perspective. Such changing patterns were not moderated by parental divorce during childhood. This study advances the current literature on marriage and life satisfaction by using a nationally representative longitudinal data set as well as by testing social selection and causation perspectives.
Keywords
fixed effects regression model; life satisfaction; marriage;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Song, Y. J. (2017). Factors influencing life satisfaction: Focusing on leisure time. Journal of the Korean Official Statistics, 22(4), 1-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.22886/jkos.2017.22.4.1   DOI
2 Soons, J. P. M., Liefbroer, A. C., & Kalmijn, M. (2009). The long-term consequences of relationship formation for subjective well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(5), 1254-1270. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00667.x   DOI
3 Statistics Korea. (2020a). Marriage and divorce statistics in 2019 . Retrieved December, 12, 2020, from http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/pressReleases/8/11/index.board?bmode=read&bSeq=&aSeq=382800&pageNo=1&rowNum=10&navCount=10&currPg=&searchInfo=&sTarget=title&sTxt=
4 Statistics Korea. (2020b). Marriages by age of bridegroom and bride in 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://kosis.kr/eng/statisticsList/statisticsListIndex.do?menuId=M_01_01&vwcd=MT_ETITLE&parmTabId=M_01_01#SelectStatsBoxDiv
5 Statistics Korea. (2020c). Supplementary results of the local area labour force survey in the first half of 2019 (Career interrupted women). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/pressReleases/5/1/index.board?bmode=read&bSeq=&aSeq=380314&pageNo=2&rowNum=10&navCount=10&currPg=&searchInfo=srch&sTarget=title&sTxt=2019
6 Statistics Korea. (2020d). The summary result of the 2016 Social survey. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/pressReleases/11/1/index.board?bmode=read&bSeq=&aSeq=358767&pageNo=3&rowNum=10&navCount=10&currPg=&searchInfo=&sTarget=title&sTxt=
7 Statistics Korea. (2020e). 2020 Social survey (Family, education and training, health, crime and safety, and environment). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from http://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/6/3/index.board?bmode=read&bSeq=&aSeq=386249&pageNo=1&rowNum=10&navCount=10&currPg=&searchInfo=&sTarget=title&sTxt=
8 Allison, P. D. (2009). Fixed effects regression models. London: Sage.
9 Amato, P. R., & DeBoer, D. D. (2001). The transmission of marital instability across generations: Relationship skills or commitment to marriage? Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(4), 1038-1051. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.01038.x   DOI
10 Balbo, N., & Arpino, B. (2016). The role of family orientations in shaping the effect of fertility on subjective well-being: A propensity score matching approach. Demography, 53(4), 955-978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-016-0480-z   DOI
11 Cho, Y., Han, J. A., & Kim, J. (2012). A study on the life satisfaction of dual-earner couples with young children aged under six. Health and Social Welfare Review, 32(3), 33-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.15709/hswr.2012.32.3.33   DOI
12 Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2006). Does marriage make people happy, or do happy people get married? Journal of Socio-Economics, 35(2), 326-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2005.11.043   DOI
13 Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Kalil, A., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L., & Thisted, R. A. (2008). Happiness and the invisible threads of social connection. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-being(pp. 195-219). New York: The Guilford Press.
14 Carr, D., & Springer, K. W. (2010). Advances in families and health research in the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 743-761. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00728.x   DOI
15 Chen, S., & van Ours, J. C. (2018). Subjective well-being and partnership dynamics: Are same-sex relationships different? Demography, 55(6), 2299-2320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0725-0   DOI
16 Cherlin, A. J. (2020). Degrees of change: An assessment of the deinstitutionalization of marriage thesis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 62-80. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12605   DOI
17 Clark, A. E., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., & Lucas, R. E. (2008). Lags and leads in life satisfaction: A test of the baseline hypothesis. The Economic Journal, 118(529), F222-F243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02150.x   DOI
18 Jahoda, M. (1982). Employment and unemployment: A social-psychological analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
19 Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1989). Personality, life events, and subjective well-being: Toward a dynamic equilibrium model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(4), 731-739. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.731   DOI
20 Jacquet, S. E., & Surra, C. A. (2001). Parental divorce and premarital couples: Commitment and other relationship characteristics. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(3), 627-638. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00627.x   DOI
21 Whitton, S. W., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2008). Effects of parental divorce on marital commitment and confidence. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(5), 789-793. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012800   DOI
22 Tao, H. L. (2019). Marriage and happiness: Evidence from Taiwan. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20 (6), 1843-1861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0029-5   DOI
23 Umberson, D., Crosnoe, R., & Reczek, C. (2010). Social relationships and health behavior across the life course. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 139-157. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120011   DOI
24 Waite, L. J., & Gallagher, M. (2000). The case for marriage: Why married people are happier, healthier, and better off financially. New York: Doubleday.
25 Williams, K., & Umberson, D. (2004). Marital status, marital transitions, and health: A gendered life course perspective. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45(1), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650404500106   DOI
26 Wolfinger, N. H. (2003). Family structure homogamy: The effects of parental divorce on partner selection and marital stability. Social Science Research, 32(1), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0049-089X(02)00014-5   DOI
27 Zimmermann, A. C., & Easterlin, R. A. (2006). Happily ever after? cohabitation, marriage, divorce, and happiness in Germany. Population and Development Review, 32 (3), 511-528. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2006.00135.x   DOI
28 Jin, J., Jin, E., & Kim, D. (2017). Commuting time and happiness in Seoul. Journal of Korea Planning Association, 52(2), 99-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.17208/kpa.2017.04.52.2.99   DOI
29 Cunningham, M., & Thornton, A. (2006). The influences of parents'and offsprings'experience with cohabitation, marriage, and divorce on attitudes toward divorce in young adulthood. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 44 (1-2), 119-144. https://doi.org/10.1300/J087v44n01_07   DOI
30 Jeon, B. Y., & Cho, H. S. (2016). A life history study of married women in their 30s to 40s with experience in parental divorce. Journal of Korean Home Management Association, 34(4), 51-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.7466/JKHMA.2016.34.4.51   DOI
31 Ju, S. H. (2015). A study on the posttraumatic growth of divorced family's children. Korean Journal of Family Social Work, 49, 97-131. https://doi.org/10.16975/kjfsw.2015.49.004   DOI
32 Kalmijn, M. (2017). The ambiguous link between marriage and health: A dynamic reanalysis of loss and gain effects. Social Forces, 95(4), 1607-1636. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox015   DOI
33 Kim, D., Lee, A., Lee, J., & Ha, C. (2017). A qualitative research about the difficulties in relationships and coping skill of married women with experience in parental divorce. Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction, 17(16), 27-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2017.17.16.27   DOI
34 Erola, J., Harkonen, J., & Dronkers, J. (2012). More careful or less marriageable? Parental divorce, spouse selection and entry into marriage. Social Forces, 90(4), 1323-1345. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sos073   DOI
35 Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Seidlitz, L., & Diener, M. (1993). The relationship between income and subjective well-being: Relative or absolute? Social Indicators Research, 28(3), 195-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01079018   DOI
36 Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-43. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34   DOI
37 Diener, E., Scollon, C. N., & Lucas, R. E. (2009). The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. In E. Diener (Ed.), Assessing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener (Social Indicators Research Series Vol. 39) (pp. 67-100). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
38 Frijters, P., Johnson, D. W., & Shields, M. A. (2011). Life satisfaction dynamics with quarterly life event data. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 113 (1), 190-211. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9442.2010.01638.x   DOI
39 Gove, W. R. (1973). Sex, marital status, and mortality. American Journal of Sociology, 79(1), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1086/225505   DOI
40 Grover, S., & Helliwell, J. F. (2019). How's life at home? New evidence on marriage and the set point for happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 373-390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9941-3   DOI
41 Lucas, R. E., & Clark, A. E. (2006). Do people really adapt to marriage? Journal of Happiness Studies, 7(4), 405-426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9001-x   DOI
42 Kim, H. (2020). Trends and causes of subjective well-being in Korea: Focusing on differences by gender and age. Korean Policy Sciences Review, 24(2), 47-72. https://doi.org/10.31553/kpsr.2020.6.24.2.47   DOI
43 Korea Welfare Panel Study (2020). Korea welfare panel study user's guide. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.koweps.re.kr:442/data/guide/list.do
44 Laporte, A., & Windmeijer, F. (2005). Estimation of panel data models with binary indicators when treatment effects are not constant over time. Economics Letters, 88(3), 389-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2005.04.002   DOI
45 Lee, Y. (2019). Cohort differences in attitudes toward marriage in South Korea, 1998-2014: An age-period-cohort-detrended model. Asian Population Studies, 15(3), 266-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2019.1647976   DOI
46 Lucas, R. E., Clark, A. E., Georgellis, Y., & Diener, E. (2003). Reexamining adaptation and the set point model of happiness: Reactions to changes in marital status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(3), 527-539. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.3.527   DOI
47 Lyu, D. E., & Ji, E. (2019). A case study of the outlook on interpersonal relationship and marriage of young-adults who experienced their parents'divorce. Journal of Family Relations, 24(1), 149-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.21321/jfr.24.1.149   DOI
48 Musick, K., & Bumpass, L. (2012). Reexamining the case for marriage: Union formation and changes in well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00873.x   DOI
49 Park, S. Y. (2017). A comparative study on the determinants of life satisfaction among middle-aged and elderly women. Studies on Life and Culture, 45, 135-169.
50 Næss, S., Blekesaune, M., & Jakobsson, N. (2015). Marital transitions and life satisfaction: Evidence from longitudinal data from Norway. Acta Sociologica, 58(1), 63-78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699314563841   DOI
51 Perelli-Harris, B., Hoherz, S., Lappegard, T., & Evans, A. (2019). Mind the "Happiness"gap: The relationship between cohabitation, marriage, and subjective well-being in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway. Demography, 56(4), 1219-1246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-019-00792-4   DOI
52 Park, S. Y., & Park, S. Y. (2018). A longitudinal study on ecological determinants associated with middle-aged and elderly women's life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Health and Social Welfare Review, 38(4), 129-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.15709/hswr.2018.38.4.129   DOI
53 Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The satisfaction with life scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(2), 137-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701756946   DOI
54 Perelli-Harris, B., Mynarska, M., Berrington, A., Berghammer, C., Evans, A., Isupova, O., et al. (2014). Toward a new understanding of cohabitation: Insights from focus group research across Europe and Australia. Demographic Research, 31, 1043-1078. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2014.31.34   DOI
55 Qari, S. (2014). Marriage, adaptation and happiness: Are there long-lasting gains to marriage? Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 50, 29-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2014.01.003   DOI
56 Seo, M. C., & Kim, B. S. (2019). The overcoming process of married life difficulties in women with parental divorce experience. Korean Journal of Counseling, 20(5), 333-357. http://dx.doi.org/10.15703/kjc.20.5.201910.333   DOI