How Marriage Stratifies Time Spent Alone by Sex, Race, and Education

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 17. Marriage and Time Use

Abstract

Recent data shows that Americans are increasingly lonely. Popular media places the blame for the increase in loneliness on the popularity of social media and the rise of living alone. While loneliness and spending time alone are not the same thing, a lack of contact with other people is a risk factor for poor mental and physical health. Previous research has shown that social isolation is linked to race, sex, and socioeconomic status. People who are married or in a cohabiting relationships demonstrate lower levels of social isolation. But do all race sex groups gain the same social benefits from marriage and cohabitation? I use an intercategorical intersectional framework to guide my analysis of how much time people spend alone, at home. Using the American Time Use Survey and OLS regression models, I measure how much time people spend alone in their own homes in separate models for eight race sex groups. Results show that partnership status has a moderating relationship between race, sex, and age have a with how much time adults spent alone. Black women spend the most time alone while Hispanic men spend the least. Married White men spend 2.5 fewer hours alone than unmarried White men while married Black men spend 2 fewer hours alone. The disparity between Black and White women is similar to that of men. White married women spend about 2 fewer hours alone than unmarried White women compared to Black married women who spend 1.5 fewer hours alone.

Author

• Kelsey Drotning, University of Maryland, College Park