Distant Horizons: Marital expectations may be dampened by economic circumstances

Many cohabitors desire to marry someday, though actual expectations for marriage, particularly for when one expects to marry, may change over time. Cohabitors' expectations could be shaped by the characteristics of their relationship and their current socioeconomic circumstances. However, expectations to be wed within a certain time frame could also encourage behaviors to make marriage more attainable, such as by taking steps to increase financial security or improve the relationship. The present study drew on marital horizon theory and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Child and Young Adult Cohort and used autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models to examine reciprocal associations between cohabiting individuals' marital expectations, defined as years until they expected to marry, and relationship and socioeconomic characteristics. Cohabitors with greater education subsequently expected to marry sooner, and those who expected to marry later were subsequently more highly educated. Cohabitors with better educated partners also expected to marry sooner, as did cohabitors who were themselves employed full-time. Overall, results strengthened previous arguments for the importance of economic security for marriage, and extended these findings to suggest that even expectations for marriage may be hampered by poor socioeconomic status.