Age-discrepant unions in Canada
Date
2000
Authors
Burch, Karli Halling
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Abstract
While there appears to be a trend toward age-homogamous unions in both Canada and the United States, research on age-discrepant unions remains important. Unfortunately, over the past 10 years or so, very little research on age-heterogamous unions has been conducted. This thesis is an attempt to address this lack of research. I test five hypotheses based upon the economic and sociological theories of marriage. Recognizing its growing importance in Canadian union life, I also include a consideration of cohabitation. The data for my analysis were drawn from the 1995 General Social Survey, and although I provide some descriptive statistics, my core analysis utilizes logit and multinomial logit modelling techniques. While most Canadian unions can be characterized as age-homogamous, I do find that cohabitors are more likely than their married counterparts to experience an age discrepant union. The risk of age-heterogamy also increases with age, and those born outside of Canada are generally also more likely to enter an age-discrepant union. Finally, age-heterogamous unions are more likely to occur with those born into the "1939 and earlier" cohort.