The Link Between Partnership and Mental Well-Being: When Cohabitation is Common, does Marriage still Matter?

• In Event: 028 - Regular Session. Marriage, Civil Unions, and Cohabitation

Abstract

The decline in marriage and increase in cohabitation, separation, and divorce raises questions about whether new forms of partnership behavior have consequences for well-being in mid-life. Here we use the British Cohort Study 1970 to examine whether ever experiencing different types of partnership behavior produces differences in positive mental health at age 42. Given the rich background variables measured in childhood, this prospective longitudinal dataset is ideal for addressing issues of selection. In addition, cohabitation has become common for this recent cohort; e.g. around 80% of those who ever married experienced premarital cohabitation, and 20% of those ever in a union never married. To better understand the link between partnership formation and well-being, we employ propensity score analysis. Preliminary results show that men have significantly higher well-being scores if they ever enter a union or marry, while women receive no significant benefits from entering a union and minor benefits from marriage. Ever separating has no effects on well-being for men, and minor negative effects for women, while ever divorcing has slightly positive effects for men and no effects for women. Unlike in the U.S., people who cohabit before marriage do not have significant differences in well-being compared to those who directly marry. These preliminary results suggest that in a context where cohabitation is widespread, marriage still matters. However, further analyses will investigate whether these results are robust to additional covariates, heterogeneity in treatment effects, and long-term partnership trajectories.

Authors

• Brienna Perelli-Harris, Universty of Southampton

• Marta Styrc, University of Southampton