title: Personal traits, cohabitation, and marriage.
abstract: This study examines how personal traits affect the likelihood of entering into a cohabitating or marital relationship using a competing risk survival model with cohabitation and marriage as competing outcomes. The data are from Waves 1, 3, and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a rich dataset with a large sample of young adults (N=9835). A personal traits index is constructed from interviewer-assessed scores on the respondents' physical attractiveness, personality, and grooming. Having a higher score on the personal traits index is associated with a greater hazard of entering into a marital relationship for men and women, but the score does not have a significant influence on entering into a cohabitating relationship. Numerous sensitivity tests support the core findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Department of Economics, and Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, 5202 University Drive, Merrick Building, Room 121F, P.O. Box 248162, Coral Gables, FL 33124-2030, USA. Electronic address: mfrench@miami.edu.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy, Department of Sociobehavioral and Administrative Pharmacy, 3200 South University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328-2018, USA. Electronic address: Ioana.Popovici@nova.edu.
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Popovici
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Miami, Jenkins Building, 5250 University Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146-6550, USA. Electronic address: probins@miami.edu.
authors.forename: Philip K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Robins
authors.affiliation: Health Economics Research Group, Sociology Research Center, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Flipse Building, Room 104, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0719, USA. Electronic address: jennyhomer@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jenny F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Homer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D010551:Personality; D000067029:Physical Appearance, Body; D011336:Probability; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012928:Social Desirability; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cohabitation; Marriage; Personal traits