Cohabitation, Gender, and Happiness

Abstract

Research commonly finds married people to be slightly happier than unmarried cohabitors—the phenomenon referred to as the cohabitation gap. In this article, we examine several relationships. First, we consider whether there are gender differences in the cohabitation gap; second, whether these gender differences are the same in different countries; and third, whether national differences in the gender role norms and gender equity in economic empowerment can explain these cross-national variations. Relying on the psychological theories of social norms, we differentiate between societal and personal gender role norms. We found that in societies with more liberal societal gender role norms, the cohabitation gap for women but not for men is substantially reduced. This effect was independent from women’s personal gender role norms as well as a country’s gender equity in economic empowerment. The findings are discussed in relation to the theories of social norms and gender conformity.