Couple Similarity and Well Being – A Case Study of Young Couples in China

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 7. Finding a Partner

Abstract

This study investigates couples’ similarity using three consecutive waves of the Fudan Yangtze River Delta Social Transformation Survey data (FYRST). With this newly published data in China, we examine the effects of three pairs of couples’ similarity, socioeconomic similarity (hukou, education, and income), decision-making power and age similarity. Using the random effects ordinal logistic models, we find that: Firstly, hukou similarity has an effect on both women and men. Women who marry a partner with higher hukou status have a higher level of happiness; by contrast, men who marry a partner with lower hukou status have a higher level of happiness. Secondly, husbands’ higher decision-making power is positively associated with happiness for both men and women. Thirdly, education moderates the effect of couples’ similarity for their happiness. For those who have college or beyond education, hukou similarity and husbands' decision-making power no longer has a significant effect on their happiness; while for those who have lower than a college education, such effects persist. Our findings contribute to the literature on the well-being of married people.

Authors

• H. Brin Xu, University of Maryland, College Park

• Omkar Joshi, University of Maryland, College Park

• Feinian Chen, University of Maryland