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The authors assessed how the relative age of spouses affects whether men or women initiate a divorce, using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Ex-spouses' reports of who left generally agreed, but not always, so the analysis used a latent class model embedded in an event-history model with competing risks that the woman leaves the man or the man leaves the woman. Support was not found for the hypothesis that age heterogamy itself increases the odds of divorce: Even large age differences did not make men more likely to leave younger wives, and women's exits were as likely when the marriage is homogamous as when she was older. The main conclusion is that both men and women are more likely to leave if their spouse is older than they are. The effects were stronger for men, but the gender difference in effect size was not statistically significant.

Marriage research consistently shows that spousal religiosity is positively associated with higher marital quality and stability (for reviews, see Mahoney, 2010; Mahoney, Pargament, Tara- keshwar, & Swank, 2008; Waite & Lehrer, 2003). Yet, with few exceptions (e.g., Brown, Orbuch, & Bauermeister, 2008; Bulanda & Brown, 2007; Ellison, Burdette, & Wilcox, 2010; Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2007), the majority of studies linking religious commitment to marriage outcomes have ignored the potential moderating influence of race and ethnicity. This is a notable oversight, for two reasons. First, religious beliefs and practices often shape social life differently across racial and ethnic groups as a consequence of differential access to power and collective group exposure to stigma, discrimination, and socioeconomic deprivation (Taylor, Chatters, & Levin, 2004). Because religion may function differently according to racial and ethnic identity, it is reasonable to suspect that the link between religion and marriage outcomes may also vary according to racial and ethnic identity. Second, scholars have noted the paradoxical finding that whereas religious commitment is positively associated with marital quality, racial and ethnic minorities, who tend to be more religious than non-Hispanic Whites (Espinosa, Elizondo, M Taylor et al., 2004), consistently report lower marital quality relative to non-Hispanic Whites (Broman, 1993; Bulanda & Brown, 2007; Cherlin, 1998; Raley & Sweeney, 2009). This paradox also suggests that the religion-marriage link may differ across racial and ethnic groups.Among the few studies that have examined how race and ethnicity potentially moderate the association between religion and marriage outcomes the focus has either been limited to predicting marriage entry or its dissolution (Brown et al., 2008;Wilcox W Ellison, Trinitapoli, Anderson, & Johnson, 2007; Ellison et al., 2010). Drawing on insights from deprivation theory as well as recent research on religious intimacy, in the present study I shifted the focus to examine how perceived spousal religiosity (holding constant a respondent's own religious characteristics) may be associated with greater returns or benefits to marital quality for particular racial and ethnic groups. To accomplish this, I analyzed data on married Americans from the nationally representative 2006 Portraits of American Life Study (PALS; http://www.thearda.com/pals/). Before I describe the present study in detail, in the following sections I briefly survey what is known about the links among religion, race, ethnicity, and marriage outcomes. I draw on this research to generate expectations about the potential moderating effect of racial and ethnic identity on the relationship between perceived spousal religiosity and marital quality.Religion and Marital QualityWithin the enormous body of research on religion and marriage outcomes (see Mahoney, 2010; Mahoney et al., 2008), findings consistently underscore the importance of religious homogamy in predicting marital quality and stability. Spouses who are homogamous in terms of religious practice (Call & Heaton, 1997; Heaton, 1984; Myers, 2006; Shehan, Bock, & Lee, 1990), broad religious tradition or denominational affiliation (Heaton, 2002; Heaton & Pratt, 1990; Lehrer & Chiswick, 1993; Ortega, Whitt, & William, 1988; Wilson & Musick, 1996), and beliefs (Curtis & Ellison, 2002; Ellison et al., 2010; Lichter & Carmalt, 2009; Vaaler, Ellison, & Powers, 2009) are less likely to separate or divorce, and their marriages are more satisfying for both partners. Conversely, marriages in which there is a good deal of heterogamy in the areas of religious practice, identity, or belief tend to have lower marital quality and stability (Call & Heaton, 1997; Curtis & Ellison, 2002; Lehrer & Chiswick, 1993; Lichter & Carmalt, 2009; Perry, 2015a; Waite & Lehrer, 2003). …

When it comes to heterosexual relationships, choosing a slightly older man is the norm for women around the world, a partnering practice referred to as age hypergamy. In the United States, husbands marrying for the first time are, on average, 2 years older than their wives (Darroch, Landry, & Oslak, 1999; Vera, Berardo, & Berardo, 1985). Overall, nearly one third of all husbands in the United States are at least 4 years older than their wives, but the reverse (known as age hypogamy) is much less frequent. Indeed, census data suggest that only 7.7% of wives are at least 4 years older than their husband (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2012, Table FG3). Empirical work has shown that age hypergamy is not only quite common for marital unions but also for sexual relationships more broadly, that is, regardless of the commitment level in the relationship. For instance, Darroch et al. (1999) looked at the age gap between women and their main sex partner and found that 38% of women age 15-44 were in a sexual relationship with a man at least 3 years older than they; in comparison, only 10% of women were sleeping with a man at least 3 years their junior.Over the past decade, there has been an increasing number of media portrayals and discussions about "cougars"-the term often used to refer to middle-aged women engaging in age-hypogamous sexual relationships- suggesting that we are witnessing the rise of a new phenomenon. For instance, television shows such as Sex and the City (1998-2004) and Cougar Town (2009-present) or movies such as Prime (2005) and Adore (2013) portray middle-aged women having sexual relationships with younger men. There is also a growing consumer market for "cougars," with a proliferation of books advising women on how to find a younger male partner (e.g., Gibson, 2002), dating websites (e.g., https://cougarlife.com), parties, annual meetings, and boat cruises organized for women interested in younger men.The media portrayals of age hypogamy in heterosexual relationships often present "cougars" as White, affluent, and successful women. Furthermore, women's relationships with younger men are generally depicted as temporary flings that rarely culminate into a serious commitment (Kaklamanidou, 2012; Tally, 2006). Cultural representations of women engaging in age-hypogamous relationships are not always positive; indeed, scholars have shown that media depictions of "cougars" often hold these women up for ridicule or present them as somewhat dangerous (Barrett & Levin, 2014; Collard, 2012; Kaklamanidou, 2012). In many ways, the term "cougar" is culturally loaded, given that it includes these negative stereotypes (Montemurro & Siefken, 2014). To avoid such negative connotations, hereafter we refer to older woman-younger man relationships as age-hypogamous sexual relationships.At present, there is little academic research on the occurrence of age-hypogamous sexual relationships. This can be attributed in part to the fact that little scholarly attention has been directed at improving our understanding of middle-aged women's sexuality beyond health-related studies (Gannon, 1999; Montemurro & Siefken, 2014; Rostosky & Brown, 2000). The limited amount of scholarship that has addressed age heterogamy between heterosexual partners has tended to focus almost exclusively on married couples and has virtually ignored those involved in less committed relationships. As a consequence, our knowledge about the prevalence of age-hypogamous sexual relationships (regardless of the commitment level) is very limited. Furthermore, it is unclear who these women are and to what extent they conform to the media depictions of "cougars."With this study, we began to fill this gap in the literature by answering two primary research questions, using detailed data on sexual relationships drawn from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) 2002 (see http://www.cdc. gov/nchs/nsfg.htm). First, how prevalent are age-hypogamous sexual relationships in the United States? …

Substantial previous research indicates that married persons enjoy better mental and physical health than others. One prominent explanation for these patterns is that married persons practice better health behaviors, including lower levels of alcohol consumption, particularly heavy drinking. However, studies of marital status differences in health behaviors have ignored the role of religious homo/heterogamy and attendance, important potential confounding and moderating factors. Focusing on alcohol behavior, we analyze 1977–1994 General Social Survey data, finding that lower levels of drinking are especially pronounced among homogamous conservative couples, and to a lesser extent among mixed-faith unions with one conservative partner. Controlling for other background characteristics, nonconservatives married to nonconservatives do not consistently consume less alcohol than unmarried persons, suggesting that much of the apparent marital status effect on drinking is actually due to religious factors. Contrary to some prior theory and research, these patterns are broadly consistent for both men and women.

We use data from two national surveys of married individuals-one from 1980 and the other from 2000-to understand how three dimensions of marital quality changed during this period. Marital happiness and divorce proneness changed little between 1980 and 2000, but marital interaction declined significantly. A decomposition analysis suggested that offsetting trends affected marital quality. Increases in marital heterogamy, premarital cohabitation, wives' extended hours of employment, and wives' job demands were associated with declines in multiple dimensions of marital quality. In contrast, increases in economic resources, decision-making equality, nontraditional attitudes toward gender, and support for the norm of lifelong marriage were associated with improvements in multiple dimensions of marital quality. Increases in husbands' share of housework appeared to depress marital quality among husbands but to improve marital quality among wives. Key Words: decomposition analysis, family change, family demography, marital quality, marriage. The belief that the institution of marriage is in decline is widespread (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Glenn, 1996; Popenoe, 1993; Tipton, 1985; Zill & Nord, 1994). The growing popularity of nonmarital cohabitation, the increasing percentage of children born outside of marriage, the rising age at first marriage, the continuing high divorce rate, and the declining remarriage rate demonstrate that marriage is a less permanent part of adult life now than in the recent past. According to a marital decline perspective, people are turning away from marriage because it has become increasingly difficult to maintain happy and stable unions. Other observers view recent changes in marriage as being benign or even beneficial (Coontz, 1992; Scanzoni, 2001; Skolnick, 1991; Stacey, 1996). According to this view, although it is easier for people to leave unhappy marriages these days, the proportion of unhappy marriages in the population has not necessarily increased. Indeed, because divorce removes unhappy couples from the married population, existing marriages may be of higher quality now than in the past. Moreover, increases in married women's education, employment, and income have raised women's status and given wives greater decision-making power, thus increasing the potential for less patriarchal and more egalitarian marital relationships. With respect to marital instability, the divorce rate increased dramatically during the 1970s, peaked around 1980, then declined slightly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000, Table 77). Therefore, although divorce is common these days, relatively little change in marital instability occurred during the last two decades. Evidence about the quality of existing marriages, however, is sparse. Using merged data from the General Social Survey, Glenn (1991) found that the percentage of people reporting that their marriages were very happy declined between 1973 and 1988. Similarly, Rogers and Amato (2000) compared a sample of young adults married between 1981 and 1997 (and surveyed in 1997) with a sample of young adults married between 1964 and 1980 (and surveyed in 1980) and found that the more recent marriage cohort reported less interaction and more marital conflict. Although these studies suggest a decline in the aggregate level of marital quality in the population, the lack of research on this topic makes it difficult to reach conclusions with certainty. The present study uses two national, representative samples of married individuals in the United States-one interviewed in 1980 and the other interviewed in 2000-to provide new evidence on recent changes in the nature and quality of marriage. SOCIAL CHANGE 1980-2000 During the latter part of the 20th century, a variety of demographic, economic, social, and cultural changes in the U.S. population had the potential to affect people's marriages either positively or negatively. …

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue. Few studies, however, have examined the role of religion in IPV perpetration and victimization. This study analyzed the contribution of religious factors to IPV risk and prevalence among a sample of 1,440 married couples interviewed for the 1995 National Study of Couples. Results indicate that rates of IPV did not significantly differ by couple homogamy/heterogamy or type of denominational affiliation. Attendance at religious services at least weekly was associated with lower rates of IPV perpetration among men and with lower rates of IPV victimization among men and women. These findings were attenuated in the multivariate logistic regression analyses. Study findings suggest that religion does not have a strong or direct influence on the occurrence of IPV; alcohol-related problems, however, may be a mediating factor. Despite the null findings, religious institutions can play an important role in primary and secondary IPV prevention.

Objectives Homogamy, mating based on similarity, has been demonstrated for a great variety of traits such as age, education, religion, and physical and psychological traits. Recently, pro-fertile effects of religious as well as educational homogamy have been reported. We investigate whether ethnic homogamy also has a pro-fertile effect and whether ethnic and religious homogamy interact in their putative effects on reproduction (in terms of average number of offspring). Methods We analyzed the association between ethnic as well as religious homogamy and woman's average number of offspring based on census data from ten countries provided by IPUMS international, encompassing a total of 1,485,433 married women aged 46-60 years (who have thus completed or almost completed reproduction) and their spouses. Results We find a clear pro-fertile but nonadditive effect of both ethnic and religious homogamy, which is most pronounced in the case of double homogamy. Our results further indicate that homogamy for one trait may compensate for heterogamy of the other, albeit countries differ regarding which trait compensates for the other. Conclusions We suggest that the interaction between ethnic homogamy, religious homogamy, and reproduction provides an interesting example for gene-culture co-evolution.

Based on a national sample of Christian couples, interchurch respondents reported lower levels of religiosity than same-church respondents on a number of religious variables. Respondents in same-church marriages were similar in religiosity regardless of whether the relationship was initially interchurch or same-church. The study did not find evidence that interchurch respondents were more likely than same-church individuals to drift away from church practice. Strength of denominational identity at engagement was the strongest predictor of religious behavior among interchurch respondents, while church attendance at engagement was the strongest predictor among same-church respondents. Interchurch respondents and their spouses were less likely to emphasize religion in raising children than same-church respondents, and were more likely to differ as a couple on their emphasis on religion in raising children. Interchurch parents predominantly raise their children exclusively in one parent's church, although 12 percent reported raising their children in both churches.

This retrospective study compared reports of gay and heterosexual male college students about particular behaviors and feelings during childhood and adolescence. The results were interpreted as providing general support for Bell's heterogamy principle that regardless of a person's sexual orientation, his or her romantic attachments will be to people perceived different from themselves.