Educational heterogamy and the division of paid labour in the family: a comparison of present-day Belgium and Sweden

Building on the growing importance of partner effects in stratification research, this study adopts a couple perspective on the division of paid labour in the family. It considers the role of educational heterogamy, and takes account of the family life cycle by means of the presence of (young) children. The importance of these two factors for women’s relative labour market participation is compared between Belgium and Sweden – two European countries that share socio-economic features but differ regarding labour market and social policies. Multinomial logistic Diagonal Reference Models are used to analyse the pooled cross-sectional data of the EU-SILC 2004-2008. Our results show that women’s relative labour market participation is less education-driven in Sweden than in Belgium, and it is more related to the couple effect of educational heterogamy and the life cycle effect of the presence of (young) children, confirming more egalitarianism and family friendliness in Scandinavia than in continental Europe

Educational heterogamy and marital quality: a new look at the old question(s)

The detrimental effect of heterogamy on relationship quality and stability is well established in sociological theory. However, empirical research has failed to provide unequivocal support for this view. An important reason for this appears to be at a conceptual level. Focusing on educational heterogamy, two types of effects have been commonly examined under the banner of heterogamy effects: 1. the effect of the educational difference between the partners, and 2. the interaction effect between the levels of education of the partners. Despite representing two conceptually different views on heterogamy effects, previous research has failed to distinguish between them. This paper presents the theoretical distinction between both heterogamy effects, and empirically analyses them. This is done using Diagonal Reference Models – a technique from social mobility research that is particularly useful for analyzing heterogamy effects. Based on data concerning 643 couples from the survey Child-rearing and family in the Netherlands, it is shown that the effect of the educational difference is felt by both men and women as both report the highest marital satisfaction in marriages where the educational difference is to the advantage of the husband. In addition, men, but not women, are subject to the interaction effect, as the importance of his level of education in determining his own degree of marital satisfaction is accentuated, the more the educational balance in the couple is to his advantage. These results illustrate how conceptual clarification, in combination with the appropriate analysis technique may advance the field of heterogamy research

Educational heterogamy: does it equal cultural differences in child-rearing?

Heterogamy is commonly considered detrimental to relationships because of its hypothesized link with cultural differences and social disapproval. Focusing on the link with cultural differences, this explanation lacks solid empirical support. The scarce studies encounter problems related to the choice and measurement of cultural differences, while psychology oriented studies have generally not confirmed this link. In addition, the wide theoretical base that supports this link, is challenged by a number of empirical considerations that cast doubt on the cultural similarity of homogamous couples (e.g. gender differences in values and behaviors), and the quasi-mechanical effect that is assumed to lead to cultural differences for heterogamous couples (e.g. selection on values and behaviors). Progressing from the inconclusive findings of previous studies, this study examines the theoretically founded link between educational heterogamy, as heterogamy in achieved characteristics is asserted most important for cultural differences, and cultural differences concerning child-rearing. In addition, Diagonal Reference Models are used to analyze the individually measured values and behaviors of both partners, as couples data from the Netherlands are used (survey Child-rearing and family in the Netherlands). Results indicate that education shows the expected positive association with the child-rearing behaviours of support, and the expected negative association with the child-rearing behaviours of negative control and the child-rearing values of adaptation. However, for educational heterogamy, the situation appears more complex, as results show that homogamous couples are not free of cultural differences either (e.g. gender differences in negative control), while the degree of cultural differences is affected by other important factors as well (e.g. processes of selection). Nevertheless, a positive link between educational heterogamy and cultural differences was found for support and adaptation. For negative control, a different mechanism appeared to be at work with increased negative control for both partners in heterogamous couples. While this does not support the hypothesis of increased cultural differences for heterogamous couples, it does fit with the idea of heterogamy leading to problems in heterogamous families

The role of ethnic school segregation for adolescents’ religious salience

Public concerns over the possible effects of school segregation on immigrant and ethnic majority religiosity have been on the rise over the last few years. In this paper we focus on (1) the association between ethnic school composition and religious salience, (2) intergenerational differences in religious salience and (3) the role of ethnic school composition for intergenerational differences in religious salience. We perform analyses on religious salience, one five-point Likert scale item measuring religious salience among 3,612 16-years old pupils in Belgian secondary schools. National origin was used as a proxy for ethnicity. Ethnic minorities in schools with a higher share of ethnic minorities tend to be more religious. This relation holds for Muslim as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. Ethnic school composition also moderates the relationship between migrant generation and religious salience: second generation migrants tend to be more religious in ethnic minority dominated schools. For ethnic Belgians the association is moderated by their religious affiliation: Catholics tend to be more religious while non-affiliated ethnic Belgians are less religious in schools with a higher share of ethnic minority pupils