Arranged cohabitation among Chinese Muslims.

While modern family-related ideas and behaviors have become more widely accepted in contemporary China, Chinese Muslim minorities continue to hold on to traditional religious practices. Surprisingly, data from our survey conducted in Gansu province in China's northwestern borderlands reveal that Muslims of the Hui and Dongxiang ethnicities reported much higher rates of cohabitation experience than the secular majority Han. Based on follow-up qualitative interviews, we found the answer to lie in the interplay between the highly interventionist Chinese state and the robust cultural resilience of local Islamic communities. While the state maintains a high minimum legal age of marriage, the early marriage norm remains strong in Chinese Muslim communities, where religion constitutes an alternative and often more powerful source of legitimacy-at least in the private sphere of life. Using the 2000 census data, we further show that women in almost all 10 Muslim ethnic groups have higher percentages of underage births and premarital births than Han women, both nationally and in the northwest where most Chinese Muslims live. As the once-outlawed behavior of cohabitation became more socially acceptable during the reform and opening-up era, young Muslim Chinese often found themselves in "arranged cohabitations" as de facto marriages formed at younger-than-legal ages. In doing so, Chinese Muslim communities have reinvented the meaning of cohabitation. Rather than liberal intimate relationship based on individual autonomy, cohabitation has served as a coping strategy by which Islamic patriarchs circumvent the Chinese state's aggressive regulations aimed at "modernizing" the Muslim family.

The impact of marriage equality campaigns on stress: Did a Swiss public vote get under the skin?

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) individuals encounter persistent structural inequalities and discrimination that can lead to detrimental psychological and physiological health outcomes. Amid evolving legal landscapes, little attention has been directed toward understanding the physiological health effects of societal shifts on these communities. This study aims to explore the impact of a national marriage equality vote and associated debates on psychological and biological stress among LGBTIQ+ individuals and cisgender, heterosexual, endosex individuals (termed cis-heterosexual) in Switzerland. We gathered longitudinal survey and biological data collected in hair samples among LGBTIQ+ and cis-heterosexual individuals before, during, and after the 2021 national vote (survey data: NT1T2 = 954; NT2T3 = 880; biological data: NT1T2 = 393; NT2T3 = 354). Preregistered analyses reveal a notable increase in biological stress levels (i.e., cortisol and cortisone levels), but not perceived stress, among both LGBTIQ+ as well as cis-heterosexual individuals who were close to them during the campaign. Results further point out the negative impacts of the campaign against marriage equality (i.e., no-campaign) on LGBTIQ+ individuals' biological stress levels as well as on those of their allies. These effects were, however, moderated by exposure to the campaign for marriage equality (i.e., yes-campaign), indicating the powerful buffering effects of the yes-campaign on the impact of discrimination on individuals' health. However, these positive effects appear to come at a cost, potentially impacting the well-being of individuals engaged in advocating for the yes-campaign. This research underscores the lasting impact of political campaigns on individuals' health.

Family ideals in an era of low fertility.

Taking stock of individuals' perceived family ideals is particularly important in the current moment given unprecedented fertility declines and the diversification of households in advanced industrial societies. Study participants in urban China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Norway were asked to evaluate vignettes describing families whose characteristics vary on ten dimensions. In contrast to previous studies that focused on a single dimension, such as fertility ideals or gender roles, this holistic vignette approach identifies the relative importance of each dimension. Multilevel regression analysis reveals both expected and unexpected findings. Parenthood remains a positive ideal, but the number of children does not matter once other family dimensions are considered, a potentially important finding in light of conventional wisdom regarding the two-children ideal. When evaluating families with at least one child, respondents tend to positively evaluate more traditional arrangements, including valuing marriage relative to cohabitation and, particularly, divorce. Also, in addition to financial resources, good communication between immediate and extended family members, as well as maintaining respect in the larger community, are highly salient attributes of an ideal family. Notwithstanding some important cross-national differences, egalitarian gender roles and avoiding work-family conflict are also valued positively. Overall, even as the study reveals some notable variations between societies, respondents across countries identify similar components of an ideal family.

Descent, marriage, and residence practices of a 3,800-year-old pastoral community in Central Eurasia.

Our understanding of prehistoric societal organization at the family level is still limited. Here, we generated genome data from 32 individuals from an approximately 3,800-y-old burial mound attributed to the Bronze Age Srubnaya-Alakul cultural tradition at the site of Nepluyevsky, located in the Southern Ural region of Central Eurasia. We found that life expectancy was generally very low, with adult males living on average 8 y longer than females. A total of 35 first-degree, 40 second-degree, and 48 third-degree biological relationships connected 23 of the studied individuals, allowing us to propose a family tree spanning three generations with six brothers at its center. The oldest of these brothers had eight children with two women and the most children overall, whereas the other relationships were monogamous. Notably, related female children above the age of five were completely absent from the site, and adult females were more genetically diverse than males. These results suggest that biological relationships between male siblings played a structural role in society and that descent group membership was based on patrilineality. Women originated from a larger mating network and moved to join the men, with whom they were buried. Finally, the oldest brother likely held a higher social position, which was expressed in terms of fertility.

Lifetime inclusive fitness effects of cooperative polygamy in the acorn woodpecker.

Although over 50 y have passed since W. D. Hamilton articulated kin selection and inclusive fitness as evolutionary explanations for altruistic behavior, quantifying inclusive fitness continues to be challenging. Here, using 30 y of data and two alternative methods, we outline an approach to measure lifetime inclusive fitness effects of cooperative polygamy (mate-sharing or cobreeding) in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus. For both sexes, the number of offspring (observed direct fitness) declined while the number of young parented by related cobreeders (observed indirect fitness effect) increased with cobreeding coalition size. Combining these two factors, the observed inclusive fitness effect of cobreeding was greater than breeding singly for males, while the pattern for females depended on whether fitness was age-weighted, as females breeding singly accrued greater fitness at younger ages than cobreeding females. Accounting for the fitness birds would have obtained by breeding singly, however, lifetime inclusive fitness effects declined with coalition size for males, but were greater for females breeding as duos compared to breeding singly, due largely to indirect fitness effects of kin. Our analyses provide a road map for, and demonstrate the importance of, quantifying indirect fitness as a powerful evolutionary force contributing to the costs and benefits of social behaviors.

Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals.

To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited degree of polygyny in the human societies that practice it, and to the importance of unequally held rival resources to women's fitness. The muted reproductive inequality observed in humans appears to be linked to several unusual characteristics of our species-including high levels of cooperation among males, high dependence on unequally held rival resources, complementarities between maternal and paternal investment, as well as social and legal institutions that enforce monogamous norms.

Lifetime years married held steady for men with a BA degree since 1960 but dropped to lowest level since 1880 for men without a BA.

Trends in life expectancy and marriage patterns work together to determine expected lifetime years married. In 1880, adult life expectancy was short and marriages were more likely to end by death than divorce. Since then, although there have been substantial life expectancy gains in adulthood, marriage has been increasingly delayed or forgone and cohabitation and divorce are far more prevalent. Whether adults today can expect to spend more or fewer years married than in the past depends on the relative magnitude of changes in mortality and marriage. We estimate trends in men's expected lifetime years married (and in other marital statuses) from 1880 to 2019 and by bachelor's degree (BA) status from 1960 to 2019. Our results show a rise in men's expected lifetime years married between 1880 and the Baby Boom era and a subsequent fall. There are large and growing differences by BA status. Men with a BA have had high and relatively stable expected lifetime years married since 1960. For men without a BA, expected lifetime years married has plummeted to lows not seen among men since 1880. Cohabitation accounts for a substantial fraction, although not all, of these declines. Our results demonstrate how increasing inequality in both life expectancy and marriage patterns combine to amplify educational differences in lifetime experiences of coresidential partnerships.

Neural synchronization predicts marital satisfaction.

Marital attachment plays an important role in maintaining intimate personal relationships and sustaining psychological well-being. Mate-selection theories suggest that people are more likely to marry someone with a similar personality and social status, yet evidence for the association between personality-based couple similarity measures and marital satisfaction has been inconsistent. A more direct and useful approach for understanding fundamental processes underlying marital satisfaction is to probe similarity of dynamic brain responses to maritally and socially relevant communicative cues, which may better reflect how married couples process information in real time and make sense of their mates and themselves. Here, we investigate shared neural representations based on intersubject synchronization (ISS) of brain responses during free viewing of marital life-related, and nonmarital, object-related movies. Compared to randomly selected pairs of couples, married couples showed significantly higher levels of ISS during viewing of marital movies and ISS between married couples predicted higher levels of marital satisfaction. ISS in the default mode network emerged as a strong predictor of marital satisfaction and canonical correlation analysis revealed a specific relation between ISS in this network and shared communication and egalitarian components of martial satisfaction. Our findings demonstrate that brain similarities that reflect real-time mental responses to subjective perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about interpersonal and social interactions are strong predictors of marital satisfaction, reflecting shared values and beliefs. Our study advances foundational knowledge of the neurobiological basis of human pair bonding.

Religious leaders can motivate men to cede power and reduce intimate partner violence: Experimental evidence from Uganda.

Violence committed by men against women in intimate relationships is a pervasive problem around the world. Patriarchal norms that place men as the head of household are often to blame. Previous research suggests that trusted authorities can shift perceptions of norms and create behavior change. In many settings, a compelling authority on behavior in relationships is religious leaders, who are influential sources of information about proper conduct in relationships and gatekeepers of marriage, but may also uphold traditional gender roles. One way leaders exert their influence is through premarital or couples counseling courses. In this study, we test whether, if given an opportunity to offer a more progressive religious interpretation of gender roles during these courses, religious leaders could motivate men to share power and thereby reduce violence. Building on existing faith networks of Christian religious leaders in western Uganda, we conducted a large pair-matched, randomized controlled trial among 1,680 heterosexual couples in which participants were randomized to attend a 12-session group counseling course or wait-listed. We find that the program shifted power from men to women and reduced intimate partner violence by five percentage points, comparable with more intensive secular programs. These improvements were largest among couples counseled by religious leaders who held the most progressive views at baseline and who critically engaged with the material. Our findings suggest that religious leaders can be effective agents of change for reducing violence.

Employment and workdays lost among spouses of cancer survivors: Intersection with gender across cancer treatment status.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients and survivors have high care needs, often provided by a spouse or partner. The purpose of this study was to elucidate how employment and work loss patterns differed across cancer history/treatment status and gender. METHODS: Using nationally representative data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2011, 2016, and 2017), the authors linked data across married participants and categorized them by spouses' cancer treatment status (no cancer history, on treatment for cancer, off treatment for cancer). Multivariable logistic and zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were used to assess the associations among cancer history/treatment status, gender, and employment outcomes (employment status and workdays lost to care for self or others). RESULTS: For men, employment did not differ significantly by cancer history/treatment status (on treatment: odds ratio [OR], 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33-1.02, off treatment: OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.62-1.14 vs. no cancer history). For women, employment was not significantly different when the spouse was on treatment for cancer compared to no cancer history (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.33-1.86]) but was significantly increased for women whose spouse was off treatment (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05-1.84). Among employed participants, women whose spouse was on cancer treatment were nine times more likely to take days off work to provide care (OR, 9.52; 95% CI, 3.94-23.03) and took more than three times as many days off to care for others (OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 2.07-4.97) as men whose spouse had no cancer history. CONCLUSIONS: Wives of cancer survivors are at increased risk of work loss, with implications for their financial and psychological well-being. Employers, policymakers, and clinicians have opportunities to support working caregivers.

Experienced Love: An Empirical Account.

This article presents new evidence on the prevalence, dynamics, and hedonic correlates of experienced love from data describing the emotion, well-being, and time use of a diverse sample of 3,867 U.S. adults every half hour for 10 days (N = 1.12 million) supplemented by a hedonic snapshot of an additional 7,255 adults. The findings allude to the seemingly functional and adaptive nature of love and to similarities across binary gender-men and women reported comparable degrees of (passionate) partner love overall, elevated partner love after prolonged same-day separations, substantially elevated well-being in love's presence, and reduced (but not extinguished) partner love in mature marital cohorts. The gender differences that were found-women reported more child love than men, and men exhibited a less pronounced reduction in partner love across cohorts-are also consistent with functional accounts of love that recognize the varying role of men and women in the formation and sustenance of relationships.

A tale of two marital stressors: Comparing proinflammatory responses to partner distress and marital conflict.

Marital quality shares ties to inflammatory conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. For decades, research has focused on marital conflict as a primary mechanism given its potential to trigger inflammatory responses. However, longitudinal evidence suggests that marital conflict declines over time, and little attention has been paid to the inflammatory aftermath of other types of marital exchanges. A spouse's emotional distress is an important but overlooked marital context, as partners are exposed to each other's upsetting emotions throughout adulthood. To directly compare reactivity in proinflammatory gene expression to these two marital stressors and to examine differences by age and marital satisfaction, 203 community adults ages 25-90 (N = 102 couples) provided blood samples and rated their negative mood before and after they 1) watched their partner relive an upsetting personal memory and, in a separate visit 1-2 weeks later, 2) discussed a conflictual topic in their relationship. Controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, alcohol use, smoking, and comorbidities, increases in proinflammatory gene expression were significantly larger after the partner's upsetting disclosure than after marital conflict (B = 0.073, SE = 0.031, p = .018). This pattern paralleled emotional reactivity to the tasks, wherein negative mood rose more in response to the partner's disclosure than to marital conflict (B = 4.305, SE = 1.468, p = .004). In sum, proinflammatory and mood reactivity to spousal distress exceeded reactivity to marital conflict, a well-established marital stressor. Findings reveal spousal distress as a novel mechanism that may link marriage to inflammation-related diseases, and even pose risks for both happy and unhappy couples across adulthood.

The Heritability of Psychopathology Symptoms in Early Adolescence: Moderation by Family Cultural Values in the ABCD Study.

Family cultural values that emphasize support, loyalty, and obligation to the family are associated with lower psychopathology in Hispanic/Latino/a youth, but there is a need to understand the implications of family cultural values for youth development in racially/ethnically heterogeneous samples. This study examined phenotypic associations between parent- and youth-reported family cultural values in late childhood on youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms in early adolescence, and whether family cultural values moderated genetic and environmental influences on psychopathology symptoms. The sample comprised 10,335 children (Mage=12.89 years; 47.9% female; 20.3% Hispanic/Latino/a, 15.0% Black, 2.1% Asian, 10.5% other) and their parents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, and biometric models were conducted in the twin subsample (n = 1,042 twin pairs; 43.3% monozygotic). Parents and youth reported on their family cultural values using the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale at youth age 11-12, and parents reported on youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist at youth ages 11-12 and 12-13. Greater parent- and youth-reported family cultural values predicted fewer youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Biometric models indicated that higher parent-reported family cultural values increased the nonshared environmental influences on externalizing symptoms whereas youth-reported family cultural values decreased the nonshared environmental influences on internalizing symptoms. This study highlights the need for behavior genetic research to consider a diverse range of cultural contexts to better understand the etiology of youth psychopathology.

Doing it all: Effects of Family Responsibilities and Marital Relationship Quality on Mothers' Ambulatory Blood Pressure.

BACKGROUND: The shared provider responsibility between married couples does not translate to equally shared division of childcare (CC) and household labor. While some marriages contain highly positive aspects, marriages may also simultaneously contain both positive and negative aspects. The negativity in these relationships can negate the positivity and could potentially lead to the detriment of mothers' health. PURPOSE: We examined mothers' ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) associated with their marital relationship quality and perceived equity with her spouse on CC and household tasks. METHODS: We investigate these associations using a mixed multilevel model analysis on a sample of 224 mothers in heterosexual marriages, all of whom had children under the age of 18 years currently living in the home. RESULTS: Mothers' perception of equity in the division of CC responsibilities contributed to lower ABP. Additionally, mothers in supportive marital relationships (low negativity and high positivity) had lower ABP than those in ambivalent relationships (both high negativity and positivity). There was a crossover interaction such that the effect of relationship quality on ABP was moderated by the perception of equity in the division of CC. For mothers who report doing all the CC, they had lower ABP if they had a supportive marital relationship compared with mothers in ambivalent relationships. Whereas mothers who report more equity in CC and have a supportive relationship have higher ABP compared with mothers in ambivalent relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This study has implications related to dynamics within marital relationships. These results demonstrate important relational influences on mothers' ABP.

Married mothers disproportionately shoulder the responsibilities of childcare (CC) and household labor. This inequity of the division of family responsibilities can negatively affect the relationship between husbands and wives with marital satisfaction being higher when the load is more equally shared between partners. Additionally, marital satisfaction is associated with numerous health benefits including lower blood pressure. We examined mothers' ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) associated with their marital relationship quality and perceived equity with her spouse on CC and household tasks on a sample of 224 mothers in heterosexual marriages. Mothers' perception of equity in the division of CC responsibilities contributed to lower ABP. Additionally, mothers in supportive marital relationships had lower ABP than those reporting less supportive relationships. There was an interaction between the perception of equity in the division of CC and the effect that relationship quality had on mothers' ABP. Mothers who reported doing all the CC had lower ABP if they had a supportive marital relationship compared with mothers in less supportive relationships. Whereas mothers who reported more equity in CC and had a supportive relationship had higher ABP compared with mothers in less supportive relationships.

Sexual Sanctification and Relationship Satisfaction in Black Heterosexual Couples.

This study examines dyadic data from 299 married and 242 cohabiting Black heterosexual couples in the United States (an understudied cross-section of the population) and assesses individual (actor) effects as well as couple (partner) effects of sexual sanctification and relationship satisfaction. Higher levels of sexual sanctification were associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction for women and men in the actor effects, but no significant associations were found in the partner effects for couples. Additionally, initial findings suggest that sexual sanctification may act as a relational protective factor for Black married and cohabiting couples. Implications for further research as well as practical applications for clergy, therapists, and practitioners working with Black heterosexual couples in sexual relationships are also discussed.

The impact of HIV/AIDS on marriage in the early years of the epidemic.

The advent of the HIV/AIDS crisis transformed the desirability of committed heterosexual relationships. This paper employs a difference-in-differences approach to investigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis on marriage rates. By using HIV/AIDS death rates as a proxy for HIV incidence, the study exploits county-level variations in HIV/AIDS mortality and finds that counties with higher HIV/AIDS death rates experienced larger gains in marriage rates in the early years of the epidemic. Estimates suggest that the virus increased marriage rates by approximately 0.9% in the early years of the virus (1981-1988).

Polygamous Interest in a Mononormative Nation: The Roles of Sex and Sociosexuality in Polygamous Interest in a Heterosexual Sample from the UK.

Polygamy is a form of "one-sided" consensually non-monogamous relationship where one person has multiple committed partners, each of whom is only involved with that one person. It was likely a reoccurring feature of ancestral mating that posed adaptive problems for our ancestors. Yet polygamy, and multi-partnering more generally, is understudied in Western cultures, raising questions about the existence of polygamous interest and whether this is calibrated adaptively to personal conditions. In two studies, we examined polygamous interest in two heterosexual online samples from the UK. In Study 1 (N = 393), modest interest was found for polygamous relationships overall. Men were six times more open to polygyny than women, but there was little sex difference in openness to polyandry. Further analysis revealed that all forms of multi-partnering were undesirable relative to singlehood and monogamy; however, consensual multi-partner relationships were less undesirable than non-consensual ones. Sex differences were largest for polygyny and arrangements where men had agreed access to a casual partner alongside a committed one, yet these were two of the most acceptable forms of multi-partnering when men and women's responses were combined. Sociosexuality positively predicted interest in most forms of multi-partnering. Study 2 (N = 735) focused on polygyny and added status-linked traits as predictors. The results of Study 1 were broadly replicated, though the status-linked traits did not predict polygynous interest specifically. Instead, sociosexuality and male intrasexual competitiveness uniquely predicted general interest in multi-partner relationships. Overall, interest in polygamy appears to emerge despite social discouragement and sex differences in interest track the relative costs and benefits associated with it. However, there is no strong evidence that polygamous interest is uniquely calibrated to personal conditions when compared to other forms of multi-partnering.

A Narrative Review of the Dichotomy Between the Social Views of Non-Monogamy and the Experiences of Consensual Non-Monogamous People.

Monogamy is deeply rooted in most Western societies, shaping how people construe and behave in romantic relationships. These normative views facilitate the emergence of negative perceptions and evaluations when people choose not to adhere to mononormativity. Even though people in consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationships are targets of stigmatization, research shows a dichotomy between these negative views and the relational experiences of CNM people. Indeed, people in CNM and monogamous relationships have comparable relationship functioning and quality and struggle with similar relationship problems. One of the differences is that CNM relationships afford people to explore their sexuality and fulfill their needs with multiple partners, without agreed-upon extradyadic behavior being perceived as infidelity or having deleterious consequences to relationship maintenance. These positive experiences notwithstanding, CNM people are continuously pressured by mononormativity and stigmatization, increasing the risk of internalized CNM negativity and worse personal and relational outcomes. One possible way to counteract CNM stigmatization and improve the lives of CNM people is by changing discourses surrounding non-monogamy and improving acceptance, not only in professional settings but also in the general population. Another strategy is to understand how the relationship beliefs and scripts of younger generations can help promote more inclusive and diverse societies.

The Association Between Sexual Initiation and Membership in Dyadic Profiles of Perceived Shared Power.

There is scarce empirical evidence examining whether sexual initiation and power are associated with each other. Utilizing latent profile analyses, we examined in a nationally representative sample of US newlywed heterosexual couples (N = 1,948 couples) whether wives' and husbands' sexual initiation patterns and satisfaction with these patterns were associated with membership in different profiles of wives' and husbands' perceptions of shared relational power while accounting for both partner's satisfaction with sexual frequency. We found four profiles of wives' and husbands' perceptions of power. The most common profile was when both wives and husbands perceived high levels of power compared to other profiles, but wives had significantly higher reports of perceived power than husbands (High Power, Wife Higher; 40.8%). Husbands' sexual initiation patterns were not associated with profile membership. Wives who reported equal sexual initiation patterns had a higher probability of being in the High Power, Wife Higher profile compared to the Wife Low Power, Husband Moderate Power profile. Both wives' and husbands' satisfaction with sexual initiation patterns were associated with profile membership. Wives and husbands that were satisfied with sexual initiation patterns had a higher probability of being in the High Power, Wife Higher profile compared to the profile where both wives and husbands had high perceptions of shared relational power compared to other profiles, but their scores were not significantly different from each other (High Power, Equal).