Assortative mating after divorce: a test of two competing hypotheses using marginal models

• Published in: Social science research 2004-09, Vol.33 (3), p.361-384
• Main Author: Gelissen, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Comparative analysis; Divorce; Educational Attainment; Gender relations; Homogamy; Male-female relationships; Marriage; Mate Selection; Remarriage; Research methods; Sex; Social Class; Social sciences
• ISSN: 0049-089X; 1096-0317
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2003.06.003

We analyze data from 927 remarried men and women to examine the association between spouses' educational attainment, social class, and age in their first and current union. Applying marginal homogeneity models, we test two competing hypotheses: current unions of remarried people are more homogamous than their first unions (the learning-hypothesis) and remarried people's current unions are less homogamous than their first unions (the marriage market hypothesis). With respect to education, the evidence supports the learning-hypothesis for remarried men, but not for remarried women. With respect to social class, the evidence supports neither the learning-hypothesis nor the marriage market hypothesis. Finally, with respect to age, we find, for both men and women, support for the marriage market hypothesis. We conclude that the remarriage market may have become more beneficial to remarrying men to find a more educationally homogamous partner than their first partner. Moreover, greater age heterogeneity of available spouses in the remarriage market appears to be an important determinant of weaker age homogamy in remarriage.