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The study identifies main characteristics of persons entering together into marriage in Slovakia in the period 1992 - 2018. We focus on the analysis of age, marital status, education and nationality of the engaged couple. The major question of the paper is whether the transformation of family and reproductive behavior in Slovakia is reflected in the patterns of assortative mating. The results of the analysis pointed to the fact that the Slovak marriage market and patterns of partner behavior still show a high degree of homogamy. Most partners entering the marriage have the same nationality, education and a similar age. However, we can identify features that clearly point to changes in the choice of partner and speak of its greater diversity. These are based on both structural (possibilities and opportunities to marry a particular person), social (social barriers between groups) and individual (preferences, values, etc.) factors, which undergo significant changes over the period. The wedding market is also "opening up" and modern patterns of partner behavior are gradually being added to the traditional patterns of assortative mating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Decisions about which contraceptives to use are a key component of a couple's "fertility work," and these decisions can be made in homogamous or heterogamous couple contexts. Relative resource theory and the strain perspective suggest that heterogamy may lead to differences in bargaining power or higher levels of discordance within couples, thereby affecting the distribution of fertility work and decisions about which contraceptives a couple will use. While heterogamy has been linked to less effective contraceptive use amongst teenagers, its role in the contraceptive behavior of married and cohabiting women has been less widely studied. This study examines the association between relationship context in terms of education, age, and race/ethnicity heterogamy and partnered women's use of contraceptives. We used data on partnered women aged 20–45 who were trying to avoid pregnancy from the 2006–2015 National Survey of Family Growth (n = 8097). We used multinomial logistic regressions to determine whether education, age, or race/ethnicity heterogamy was associated with the use of male or female sterilization, long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), other hormonal contraceptives, or other non-hormonal methods. We did not find consistent evidence that relative bargaining power due to higher education, more advanced age, or racial/ethnic privilege resulted in the use of methods requiring lower levels of fertility work. We found some evidence supporting the strain perspective. Younger women (20−34) who differed from their partners along two or more dimensions were less likely to use contraceptive methods requiring ongoing effort and coordination (i.e., LARCs, other hormonal methods, and non-hormonal methods). This association was not observed among women aged 35–45. Despite the more permanent nature of marriage/cohabitation, differences between partners in heterogamous relationships may factor into the contraceptive decision-making process, especially among younger adults at earlier stages of their relationships. • Couple composition shapes contraception work across the reproductive life cycle. • Among younger adults, education, age, and race/ethnicity heterogamy are associated with contraceptive decision-making. • Women (20-34) in couples differing along ≥2 dimensions were less likely to use contraceptives needing ongoing fertility work. • Research is needed to understand whether this association among younger women is due to increased relationship strain. • Contraceptive programs focusing on the couple context – among both adolescents and adult partnered women and men – are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement is the property of Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article tackles the issue of marital homogamy in the Czech Republic using paired-data gather in 2005 on a representative sample of people aged 20-40. The aim is to find an answer to the question whether homogamy or heterogamy has any practical meaning for people who live either in marriage or in cohabitation, to explore the differences in opinions with regard to marriage, childcare, gender roles and the reconciliation of family and paid work. We hypothesize that heterogamous couples will be more distant in their attitudes than homogamous couples. The results point out that the homogamy and partners' closeness in answers are not related. Few explanations are offered in the end as a possible answer to why the working hypothesis was rejected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]