print

Correlational findings

Study Stutzer & Frey (2006): study XZ Germany West 1984

Public
15+ aged, general public West Germany, 1984-2000
Sample
Respondents
N = 15268
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Yearly

Correlate

Authors's Label
Years before and after marriage
Our Classification
Remarks
Only Ss who got married in this 17 year period. N = 1.991, number of observations 21.809.
Related specification variables
Operationalization
Number of years before and after year of marriage.
Follow-up over 17 years.

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - Reverted-U shaped pattern; happiness rises in the 10 years before marriage and drops in the 10 years after.

Years before/after  Mean
-10  7.50
-9  7.57
-8  7.54
-7  7.43
-6  7.57  
-5  7.58
-4  7.61
-3  7.59
-2  7.67
-1  7.78
+1   7.83
+2  7.65
+3  7.56
+4  7.61
+5  7.63
+6  7.56
+7  7.47
+8  7.41
+9  7.43
+10 7.37

* -4,-3,-2,-1, +1,+2 years mean happiness are higher than the reference group. T(p)= 2.06(0.04), 1.96(0.05), 3(0.00), 4.38(0.00), 4,75(0.00), 2.47(0.01)

The reference person captured in -7 years is a person with mean age, mean household income, mean years of education, mean household size, employed, head of household or spouse, has no children, lives in Western Germany and is national. O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - The reversed-U shape pattern is partly produced by Ss who also got divorced in this 17 year period. When steadily marrieds and divorcees are considered separately the shape is flatter, but still exists in both categories. O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - The reverted-U pattern is somewhat more pronounced among Ss who differ in wage rate. O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - The reverted-U pattern exists both among Ss who differ much in education with their spouce and Ss who do not. O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - The reverted-U pattern is hardly affected by devision of labor between spouces.

Ma's controled for:
- age
- education
- parenthood
- household income
- household size
- position in household
- employment
- place of residence
- citizenship O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DMa = - The reverted-U pattern does not exist in marriages without children and without labor specialization between spouces. People in these marriages stayed about equally happy in the 10 years after marriage.

The reverted-U pattern is most pronounced in marriages with children and labor specialization between spouces (indicative of traditional marriage)

Ss in marriages with children and without specialisation are less happy in te 10 years after marriage, especially in the first 5 years.

Ma's controled for:
- age
- education
- household income
- household size
- position in household
- employment
- place of residence
- citizenship