Just How Do I Love Thee?: Marital Relations in Urban China

Abstract

ࡗ Just How Do I Love Thee?: Marital Relations in Urban ChinaMarriage quality is much studied, but mostly in the West. This study applies such research to a large, representative sample of couples from urban China using a multidimensional measure of marriage quality. Characteristics unique to Chinese families-the importance of parental approval of mates and the importance of marriage typecontinue to exert a strong influence on the pattern of marriage quality. However, results also support Western feminist arguments that egalitarian behaviors-division of chores and decision making-and attitudes strongly impact marriage quality, but in sometimes unique ways for each gender. As in the West, children are associated with lower marriage quality, partly through increasing domestic inequality, but only in certain types of marriages.Marriage is one of the most intense human relationships. The quality of this relationship is continually redefined by spouses and is potentially crucial to their overall experience of family life. Although a substantial literature on marriage quality exists, most research focuses on Western families, with less understanding of other societies. Can a common set of assumptions about the marital relationship be applied to different societies? This paper expands the existing marriage quality

The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education

“…This would undoubtedly fall on women"s shoulder (Zhan and Montgomery 2003). Although nowadays parents seldom exert absolute control over their children"s marriage, they continue to play a big role in their children"s mate choices (Pimentel 2000;Riley 1994). It may be in the best interest of parents who have their sons to marry a woman who can take on the familial responsibilities or who have their daughters to find a husband with the best possible socioeconomic status.…”

Fathers have lower salivary testosterone levels than unmarried men and married non-fathers in Beijing, China

“…Legally, men may marry at age 22 and are restricted to one wife (Xia & Zhou 2003). Marriage in urban and rural China recognizes the role of companionship, emotional satisfaction and romantic attachment (Jankowiak 1995;Pimentel 2000). However, increases in mistresses and prostitutes in larger cities mean that some pair-bonded men are not sexually exclusive (Suiming 2004).…”

Division of Household Labor and Marital Satisfaction in China, Japan, and Korea

“…Although traditional gender norms still persist, the division of labor has become more equal and people now have more egalitarian gender attitudes than in the past (Lynne, 2002;Pimentel, 2000Pimentel, , 2006Zuo & Bian, 2001). Unfortunately, most previous research was based on data collected before 2000.…”