Are “Equals” Happier Than “Less Equals”? A Couple Analysis of Similarity and Well‐being

Keizer, Renske; Komter, Aafke

doi:10.1111/jomf.12194

Cited by 34 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Montoya, Horton, and Kirchner 2008) rather than socio-demographic characteristics. There is some support for the idea that matching on personality is beneficial (Luo and Klohnen 2005), but support for similarity in attitudes and values is more mixed (Keizer and Komter 2015). Note that attitudes and values likely change across adult life and with important life course transitions, while our set of sociodemographic characteristics is mostly fixed by the time of partnership formation.…”

Section: The Similarity Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Variants of the similarity hypothesis can be found in studies on relationship quality and relationship satisfaction, which are often psychologically oriented. In those studies, scholars have been primarily interested in partner similarity in personality (e.g., Luo and Klohnen 2005), values and attitudes (e.g., Keizer and Komter 2015) and other socio-psychological characteristics (e.g. Montoya, Horton, and Kirchner 2008) rather than socio-demographic characteristics.…”

Section: The Similarity Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Higher well-being with similar partner? Testing the similarity hypothesis for socio-demographic characteristics

Verbakel¹,

Monden²

2018

Preprint

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Studies on marriage and divorce often assume, explicitly or implicitly, that there is a positive relationship between partner similarity and well-being. We test this similarity hypothesis: do individuals who share more socio-demographic characteristics with their partners report higher well-being than individuals whose partners are less similar? We analyzed information on more than 2,300 married and cohabiting couples aged 18-50 from the UK Understanding Society wave 1 survey. Three dimensions of well-being were assessed: relationship quality, life satisfaction and psychological distress. We examined similarity on seven characteristics separately and as an index of similarity: age, father’s class, education, ethnicity, religiosity, native language, and parental divorce. The results provided no support for the similarity hypothesis: there was no evidence for a positive association between partner similarity and the three well-being measures. We discuss the implications of this finding for our understanding of partner choice and divorce.

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Section: The Similarity Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: The Similarity Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher well-being with similar partner? Testing the similarity hypothesis for socio-demographic characteristics

Verbakel¹,

Monden²

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Then, we coded the responses to create a dummy variable, with 1 indicating partners’ agreement and 0 indicating partners’ disagreement. We chose not to offer the option to answer that both partners were equally responsible for care, as this option might have induced socially desirable responses, especially among men, who like to consider themselves as egalitarian even if they enact nonegalitarian behaviors or prefer traditional home-centered partners ( Keizer and Komter, 2015 ). Overall, 69% of couples agreed on who was primarily responsible for caregiving activities in the family and, again typical of Italy, in 79% of cases partners declared that the woman was most responsible for caregiving activities in the family; whereas the man was indicated as being mainly responsible for caregiving activities in only 21% of couples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, men’s engagement in FIWB can be noteworthy, as it is a behavior that significantly diverts from traditional gender norms; thereby, it can be more impactful on women’s relationship satisfaction. Opportunities for both men and women to participate equally into the labor market are associated with greater relationship satisfaction for women ( Komter et al, 2012 ; Keizer and Komter, 2015 ). Thus, we hypothesize the following:…”

Section: The Moderating Role Of Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary Management Permeability and Relationship Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Couples: The Asymmetrical Gender Effect

et al. 2018

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Given the increasing use of technology and the growing blurring of the boundaries between the work and nonwork domains, decisions about when to interrupt work for family and vice versa can have critical implications for relationship satisfaction within dual-earner couples. Using a sample of 104 dual-earner couples wherein one of the partners is a member of the largest Italian smartphone-user community, this study examines how variation in boundary management permeability within dual-earner couples relates to partner relationship satisfaction, and whether the effect differed by gender and partners’ agreement on caregiving roles in the family. Using actor–partner analysis, we examined the degree to which an individual and his or her partner’s level of family-interrupting work behaviors (FIWB, e.g., taking a call from the partner while at work) and work-interrupting family behaviors (WIFB, e.g., checking work emails during family dinner) was positively related to relationship satisfaction. Results show that women experienced greater relationship satisfaction than men when their partners engaged in higher levels of FIWB, and this relationship was stronger when partners had perceptual congruence on who is primarily responsible for caregiving arrangements in the family. This study advances research on dual-earner couples by showing the importance of examining boundary management permeability as a family social phenomenon capturing transforming gender roles.

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“…that is, heterogamous couples overall are as happy as homogamous couples (e.g., Keizer & Komter, 2015;Schoen, Rogers, & Amato, 2006).…”

Section: Psychological Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assortative mating and couple similarity: Patterns, mechanisms, and consequences

Luo

2017

Social & Personality Psych

150

125

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Assortative mating refers to the tendency of two partners' characteristics to be matched in a systematic manner, usually in the form of similarity. Mating with a similar partner has profound implications at the species, societal, and individual levels. This article provides a comprehensive review of research on couple similarity since 1980s. The review begins with the general patterns and trends observed in couple similarity on a range of domains including demographic variables, physical/physiological characteristics, abilities, mental well-being, habitual behaviors, attitudes, values, and personality. Next the bulk of the review focuses on analyses of 4 mechanisms leading to similarity: initial active choice, mating market operation, social homogamy, and convergence. Specific future research avenues are outlined to improve understanding of these mechanisms. Finally, the review discusses genetic, social, and psychological consequences of couple similarity.

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Are “Equals” Happier Than “Less Equals”? A Couple Analysis of Similarity and Well‐being

Cited by 34 publications

References 45 publications

Higher well-being with similar partner? Testing the similarity hypothesis for socio-demographic characteristics

Higher well-being with similar partner? Testing the similarity hypothesis for socio-demographic characteristics

Boundary Management Permeability and Relationship Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Couples: The Asymmetrical Gender Effect

Assortative mating and couple similarity: Patterns, mechanisms, and consequences

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