The Effect of Time Spent Together on Marital Happiness and Marital Dissolution by Immigration Status

Seung Yong Han, Arizona State Uiversity

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of time spent together between spouses on the marital happiness and marital dissolution by immigration status. Two main hypotheses are tested by NSFH data. The first is that for non-immigrant couples, the longer couples spend time, the merrier the marriage life, and the less likely the marital dissolution. The second is that for immigrants, the time spent together increase the marital happiness of spouses, but it is not associated with marital dissolution considering their low socioeconomic status. The major finding is that there is a significant positive effect of time together on the marital happiness of husband and wife, and that the effect does not vary by immigration status. In addition, the longer spouses spend time together, the merrier the husband is, and this decreases the likelihood of marital dissolution. However, this is not the case for a wife.