‘Man’s best possession’: Period effects in the association between marriage and offending

Abstract

We assess to what extent the associations between marriage and offending differ for high-risk men marrying in two distinct periods: 1930–70 and 1971–2006. Between these two periods, power relations between the sexes, laws governing marriage and in general the role and expectations attached to marriage differed. Based on these differences, we argue that – following two explanations for the ‘marriage effect’, that is the control and the social capital explanation – a different effect of marriage is expected for the two marriage cohorts. Our results confirm these expectations and thus provide support for both explanations.