Re-Examining the Link Between Premarital Sex and Divorce

Objective: This study re-examined the relationship between premarital sex and divorce risk, with a focus on selection mechanisms, number of premarital partners, and gender differences.Background: Premarital sex predicts divorce, but we do not know why. Scholars have attributed the relationship to selection factors such as differences in beliefs and values, but these explanations have not been tested. It is further unclear how this relationship changes by number of sexual partners, or differs by gender.Method: Event-history models of divorce risk were estimated using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Models included measures of adolescent beliefs and values, parental communication with children about sex, and approximate number of premarital sexual partners. All models were re-estimated with an interaction term between premarital sex and gender.Results: The relationship between premarital sex and divorce is highly significant and robust. Compared to people with no premarital partners other than eventual spouses, those with six or more partners exhibit the highest divorce risk, followed by those with one to two partners. There is no evidence of gender differences.Conclusion: Previously-theorized selection mechanisms thought to explain the relationship between premarital sex and divorce are not supported. Future research should explore either alternative selective or causal explanations for this link.

Is Parental Divorce Homogamy Associated With a Higher Risk of Separation From Cohabitation and Marriage?

Numerous studies have shown that parental divorce is associated with an increase in adult children's divorce risk. We extend this literature by assessing how parental divorce on both sides of a couple is related to their partnership dynamics, specifically, whether there is parental divorce homogamy and whether a history of parental divorce for both partners is associated with increased dissolution risks for cohabiting and married unions. We use Finnish Census Panel data on 28,021 cohabiting and marital partnerships to conduct event-history models that follow individuals between ages 18 and 45. Findings show substantial parental divorce homogamy. Children with experience of parental divorce have 13% greater odds of cohabiting with and 17% greater odds of marrying a fellow child of divorcees, compared with those whose parents have not divorced. Moreover, contrary to evidence from the United States and Norway, our findings for Finland support an additive—rather than multiplicative—association between parental divorce homogamy and union dissolution. Parental divorce homogamy increases offspring's union dissolution risk by 20% for cohabitation and 70% for marriage, compared with couples for whom neither partner's parents are divorced. In Finland, the sizes of these associations are notably weaker than in the United States and Norway, likely because cohabitation and separation are more widespread and socially accepted in Finland, and an expansive welfare state buffers the socioeconomic consequences of divorce.

The validity of astrological predictions on marriage and divorce: a longitudinal analysis of Swedish register data

This paper examines astrology, a concept that is considered unscientific by broad segments of the population in the western world. Despite this, astrology remains for some an important source for advice regarding choices in a range of different matters, including career and relationships. The continuing popularity of astrology may at least partly be linked to an insufficient body of empirical research that has been able to test hypotheses formulated by astrological theory, both due to a lack of data beyond very small study populations as well as astrological predictions frequently being vague and thereby difficult to test. This article examines how differences in astrological favorability influence partner choice in marriage as well as the divorce risk among married couples using longitudinal individual-level data from Sweden over the period 1968-2001. The results fail to provide any consistent evidence to support the notion that astrologically more compatible couples are either overrepresented among observed marital unions or associated with a lower risk of divorce.

Parental divorce homogamy and its effect on separation from cohabitation and marriage

Numerous studies have shown that parental divorce increases children’s divorce risk. Weextend this literature by assessing how parental divorce on both sides of a (potential) coupleaffects their partnering dynamics. Specifically, we explore 1) whether there is parental divorcehomogamy and whether the parental divorce of both partners adds to the dissolution of both 2)cohabiting and 3) married unions. Our analyses use event history models on high-qualityFinnish Census Panel data covering 28,021 cohabiting and marital partnerships between ages18 and 45. We found substantial parental divorce homogamy in that children who experiencedparental divorce are 13% more likely to cohabit with and 17% more likely to marry a fellowchild of divorce. Moreover, contrary to evidence from the United States and Norway, ourfindings for Finland support an additive, not a multiplicative, effect. Here, both partners’parental divorce increases their offspring’s dissolution risk by 20% for cohabitation and 70%for marriage compared to couples where neither of their parents are divorced. We conclude thatparental divorce on both sides of a couple affects family formation processes at multiple stages.In Finland, these effects are notably less than previously found in the United States. This islikely because cohabitation and separation are wide-spread and socially accepted in Finlandand an expansive welfare state buffers the socio-economic consequences of divorce.

Social Support and Divorce among American Couples

This study investigates the relationship between extradyadic social support and divorce risk, net of existing need for support. Social support aids couples in weathering challenges but social ties may also enable divorce or compete with spousal relationships. Using a nationally representative sample of married couples in the National Survey of Families and Households ( N = 7,321), this study employs discrete-time event history models to test the associations of perceived support and help received with divorce risk. Results indicate that perceived support is positively associated with divorce, and this relationship persists even after accounting for couples’ needs. Specifically, perceived emotional support positively predicts divorce risk. This finding suggests that social ties may sometimes challenge marital relationships or facilitate divorce.

Higher divorce risk when mates are plentiful? Evidence from Denmark

Work from social and biological sciences has shown that adult sex ratios are associated with relationship behaviours. When partners are abundant, opportunities for mate switching may increase and relationship stability decrease. To date, most of the human literature has used regional areas at various levels of aggregation to define partner markets. But, in developed countries, many individuals of reproductive age spend a considerable amount of time outside their residential areas, and other measures may better capture the opportunities to meet a (new) partner. Here, we use Danish register data to test whether the sex ratio of the occupational sector is linked to divorce. Our data cover individuals in Denmark who married during 1981–2002 and we control for age at and duration of marriage, education and parity. Results support the prediction that a higher proportion of opposite-sex individuals in one's occupational sector is associated with higher divorce risk. This holds for both men and women, but associations are somewhat stronger for men and vary by education. Our results highlight the need to study demographic behaviours of men and women simultaneously, and to consider partner markets beyond geographical areas so that differing strategies for males and females may be examined.