A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Separation risk over union duration: An immediate itch?




AuthorsJalovaara Marika, Kulu Hill

PublisherOxford University Press

Publication year2018

JournalEuropean Sociological Review

Volume34

Issue5

First page 486

Last page500

Number of pages15

ISSN0266-7215

eISSN1468-2672

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcy017

Web address https://academic.oup.com/esr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/esr/jcy017/5049597

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/34738305


Abstract

This study examines the risk of separation over union duration. Previous research reports a rising-falling pattern of divorce risk over marriage duration consistent with psychological notions of ‘honeymoon’ and ‘seven-year itch’. Little is known about the variation of the separation risk over cohabitation duration or over marriage duration when the length of partnership is measured from the beginning of coresidence. We include data on non-marital and marital unions and propose a novel way of treating cohabitation and marriage as episodes of the same union. We use Finnish large-scale register data and control for individuals’ observed and unobserved characteristics. Our results show that in cohabitations, the separation rate is highest at the beginning of union. Entry into marriage is followed by a significant drop in separation levels and a modest rising-falling pattern, which is independent of the length of pre-marital cohabitation. Marriage entails permanence, with a short ‘honeymoon’ effect and a long-term ‘effect’, much of which probably reflects self-selection of committed and satisfied cohabiters to marriage.


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