PRICEY WEDDINGS WERE TIED TO 3.5X DIVORCE RISK FOR WOMEN
Wedding spending over $20,000 came with a 3.5 times higher divorce hazard for women than spending $5,000 to $10,000, a study found.
The findings come from “‘A Diamond is Forever’ and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration,” a paper by Andrew Francis-Tan and Hugo M. Mialon. The Social Science Research Network lists the study with a September 15, 2014 date.
The researchers evaluated the link between wedding spending and marriage duration using a survey of more than 3,000 ever-married people in the United States. Data collection took place in July and August 2014.
In the sample of women, spending more than $20,000 on a wedding was associated with a 3.5 times higher divorce hazard than spending $5,000 to $10,000. The paper’s comparison covers women in the study, not all couples.
“Controlling for a number of demographic and relationship characteristics, we find evidence that marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony,” the authors wrote in the abstract.
Association, not cause
The study describes its findings as associations. It does not establish that wedding spending causes divorce.
Nine quoted the study as saying: “Relatively low spending on the wedding is positively associated with duration among male and female respondents.”
PBS described the researchers as Emory University economics professors Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon. The network reported that the people surveyed had been married only once.
PBS also characterized the results as finding shorter marriages tied to higher spending across income levels.
Rings, income and other findings
The ring story was less straightforward. In the study’s bivariate results, spending $8,000 or more on an engagement ring was associated with a lower divorce hazard.
Nine offered one interpretation: very high ring spending could reflect people staying within a comfortable budget rather than stretching a limited one.
Other factors showed up too. Higher household income, regular religious-service attendance and having a child were associated with lower divorce rates.
Greater age and education differences between spouses were linked to a higher divorce hazard in the study’s full sample. So was reporting that a partner’s looks mattered in the decision to marry.
The survey asked about marriage status and duration, children, dating length, how people felt about the proposal, honeymoons, ring and wedding spending, guest counts and demographics. It covered U.S. residents, not Australian couples.
The study also reported that having a honeymoon, regardless of cost, was positively associated with marriage duration. High wedding attendance was generally positively associated with marriage duration as well.
