A gender perspective on preferences for marriage among cohabitating couples
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/145056Utgivelsesdato
2006Metadata
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Originalversjon
Anne, R. (2006). A gender perspective on preferences for marriage among cohabitating couples. Demographic Research, 15(10), 311-328 10.4054/DemRes.2006.15.10Sammendrag
This paper addresses the sex differences in cohabiters’ marriage preferences, which
have received very little attention in the family literature. According to Norwegian
survey data from 1996, cohabiting men are more hesitant to marry than cohabiting
women. For example, childless male cohabiters are more worried than their female
partner that another lifestyle will be expected after a marriage, and they voice more
doubt about the value of the relationship. This could mean that the men generally are
more individualistically oriented and therefore more attracted to single life than the
women. In-depth interviews support this, and also suggest that men are less willing to yield to a normative pressure to marry. On the other hand, women were more concerned with the costs of the wedding.