The influence of premarital coresidence with parents and family income on the transition to first marriage in South Korea

Abstract

Premarital family context is influential for the transition to first marriage. This study examines the extent to which coresidence with parents and family income is associated with the transition to first marriage in South Korea. Drawing on extended coresidence perspective, the study examines the extent to which premarital coresidence with parents is associated with the transition to first marriage. Furthermore, the study examines the influence of family income and its moderating influence on the relationship between coresidence and transition to marriage. Utilising the representative data from the Youth Panel, this paper examines the effects of family income and coresidence with parents on marital formation over time using discrete-time hazard models. Results show that coresidence with parents is negatively associated with the transition to marriage. Yet, at the same time, family income has shown to be positively associated with transition to marriage. While findings of interactive effect suggest that the odds of marriage for those coresiding decreases, as family income increases.

Opting out or left out? The gendered determinants of marriage in South Korea

“…The dramatic fertility decline has motivated a robust body of scholarship tracking the evolving impact of SES on marital outcomes among Korean men and women. Consistent with Western cases, past studies have found that different SES markers are positively associated with marriage for Korean men (Kim, 2017;Kim, 2020;Lee et al, 2021;Yoon et al, 2022). There is, however, limited consensus about how employment and education affect Korean women's marriage chances.…”

“…Although several studies of marriage in different settings, including Korea, incorporate family background variables in quantitative analyses—father's occupation, mother's work status, father and mother's education, two‐parent households, etc. (Hu, 2016; Kim, 2017; Kim, 2020; Park, 2013; Raymo, 2003; Sweeney, 2002; Yu & Xie, 2015)—they seldom elaborate on the specific mechanisms through which parental socioeconomic resources matter for children's marriage outcomes. Instead, parental attributes are utilized as general proxies for overall resources that influence marital union.…”

“…Yoon et al (2022) also found that women in regular work or white‐collar professions are more likely to marry than Korean women who are unemployed. Other studies, however, have not been able to replicate these results: Park et al (2005), Yoon (2012), Park et al (2013), and Kim (2020) all found that working women across cohorts were significantly less likely to marry than women who were not employed, whereas Oh and Lim (2016) did not find any association between women's employment and the likelihood of marriage.…”

“…Park et al (2013), on the other hand, provide evidence that this pattern may be changing as the retreat from marriage is particularly pronounced among less educated women born in the 1970s compared to prior cohorts (see also Yoo, 2016). And complicating the matter further, others have been unable to establish any relationship between education and women's marriage outcomes among younger cohorts, including Yoon et al (2022), Kim (2020), and Park et al (2005). The inconsistent findings for employment and education in the Korean case may reflect an evolving situation where the consequences of recent advancements in women's SES are still unfolding.…”

“…But in Asia parental contributions to children's marriage are relatively large. Kim (2020), for example, found that both sons and daughters from upper income families reported a higher chance of marrying compared to adult children in the lowest income group. Kim (2017) also found that the odds of marriage for men born in the 1970s were greater if their families occupied the middle and upper economic brackets when they were age 15.…”