Relational
Is getting hitched on the horizon? Examining predictors of cohabitation and early marriage in emerging adulthood
Carson Dover & Brian Willoughby
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study analyzes different factors predicting both cohabitation and early marriage among emerging adults. Using a large (n = 1,510), national, longitudinal sample of emerging adults in the United States, predictors of cohabitation and early marriage were examined. Predictors included marital paradigms (marital salience and expected age of marriage) and sociodemographic characteristics (religious attendance, parents’ marital status, parents’ education, college attendance, income, gender, and race). We utilized a Cox proportional hazards model to run the analyses. Results showed that marital paradigms were the most consistent predictors of early marriage, while few sociodemographic factors were significant. On the other hand, cohabitation was most consistently predicted by sociodemographic factors, with no associations being significant with marital paradigms. These findings suggest that decisions to marry and cohabit may not be as closely interconnected as previously conceptualized. Future directions and limitations are also discussed.
The Impact of Sexual History and Relationship Type on Social Perceptions
Tara Busch & Patricia Saldala-Torres
Sexuality & Culture, forthcoming
Abstract:
The sexual double standard (SDS) suggests that society holds gendered standards for appropriate sexual behaviors and histories. Typically, people judge women with more sexual partners harshly, especially when those partners originate from non-committed/casual relationships. The current research (n = 853) utilized a vignette design to investigate how one’s number of sexual partners, and what type of relationships those partners came from (long/short-term, exclusive/non-exclusive), impacted evaluations of them and intentions to interact with them, including desire to date and engage in sexual intercourse with the target individuals. Results did not indicate the presence of the SDS, however, those with higher numbers of sexual partners, or those described as being involved in short-term/casual relationships in the past rather than long-term/committed relationships, were evaluated less favorably, and participants reported less desire to engage sexually or romantically with them. Some evidence for the Reverse-SDS emerged such that target men were evaluated more negatively and desired less than women despite having engaged in the same sexual behavior.
Looks and Longevity: Do Prettier People Live Longer?
Connor Sheehan & Daniel Hamermesh
Social Science & Medicine, forthcoming
Abstract:
Social scientists have given relatively scant attention to the association between attractiveness and longevity. But attractiveness may convey underlying health, and it systematically structures critical social stratification processes. We evaluated these issues using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS, N=8,386), a survey of Wisconsin high school graduates from 1957 which provided large samples of women and men observed until their death (or through their early 80s). In doing so, we utilized a meticulously constructed measure of facial attractiveness based on the independent ratings of high-school yearbook photographs. We used linked death information from the National Death Index-plus through 2022 and Cox proportional hazard models as well as standard life-table techniques. We found that the least attractive rated sextile of the sample had significantly higher hazards of mortality (HR: 1.168, p <0.01) compared to the middle rated four sextiles of attractiveness. This finding remained robust to the inclusion of covariates describing high-school achievement, intelligence, family background, earnings as adults, as well as mental and physical health in middle adulthood. We also found that different specifications of the attractiveness measure consistently indicated no significant differences in the mortality hazard between highly attractive and average-looking people. Using life-table techniques, we next illustrated that among women in the least attractive sextile, at age 20 their life expectancy was nearly 2 years less than others’; among men in the least attractive sextile, it was nearly 1 year less at age 20.
Mate value moderates the influence of perceived sex ratio on mental health outcomes
Naomi Rosenbach & Craig Johnson
Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
Mate value (MV) and the availability of potential mates have been found to influence mate attraction strategies and relationship-related attitudes, yet there is a dearth of evidence assessing how these factors influence well-being. This study examined whether perceived mate availability influenced several mental health outcomes in the young adult, single population. The main sample consisted of 647 participants residing in the United States, who responded to an online survey with items measuring MV, perceived sex ratio (PSR), depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. PSR impacted males more than females. For males, the perception of lower mate availability was associated with decreased life satisfaction and decreased positive affect. MV was found to moderate the relationship between PSR and anxiety, depression, and negative affect for both males and females. For those low in MV, perceived decreased opposite-sex availability was associated with an increase in anxiety, depression, and negative affect. This pattern reversed for those high in MV, where perceived increased opposite-sex availability was associated with increased depression, anxiety, and negative affect. These results suggest that there may be psychological costs for those both high and low in MV when there is an imbalance in the sex ratio. The findings can help those in the clinical and counseling field better understand how perceived mate availability influences well-being.
Helpful or Harmful? The Gendered Effect of Virginity Pacts on Later Sexual Victimization
Nicole McKenna et al.
Crime & Delinquency, forthcoming
Abstract:
Several factors contribute to sexual victimization, including cultural practices and gendered expectations. The current study considered one aspect of purity culture, adolescent virginity pacts, and their potential effect on sexual victimization in adolescence and adulthood. Using data from all five waves of the Add Health, longitudinal mixed gender and gender-specific analyses were conducted. The results indicated a gendered association between virginity pacts and sexual victimization. Virginity pacts were associated with lower odds of sexual victimization for women, while men who took a virginity pact had higher odds of sexual victimization compared to their counterparts who did not take a virginity pact. Theoretical explanations and practical implications are presented, highlighting the potential importance of gendered socialization in preventing gender-based violence.
Getting In: Status Stratification and the Pursuit of the Good College Party
Ashley Mears & Heather Mooney
Qualitative Sociology, June 2024, Pages 221–247
Abstract:
How do social hierarchies emerge from symbolic boundaries? Based on an ethnography of a college party scene, we consider “Who parties with whom” as a way to trace the micro-interactional bases of status stratification. Based on field observations and 60 interviews with college women and men in Boston, USA, we identify two main modes of partying: “crawling” and “climbing.” Crawling is the search for a low-status house party to attend, often leading to subpar experiences in poorly-maintained frat houses. Climbing, in contrast, describes the aspirational movement into superior parties at elite institutions, an experience potentially marked with feelings of shame. Regardless of their frequently bad experiences, students continue to go out with the goal of “getting in,” which we analyze as an exchange of capitals -- bodily, cultural, and social -- for access to exclusive spaces. The pursuit of college parties, we discovered, forces students to position themselves in hierarchies of desirability, and through this process, they learn to connect wealth, status, and campus affiliation.