Study: Women prefer richer men
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How do women, careers and marriage mix? Not well, say social scientists.
Guys: A word of advice. Marry pretty women or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Blondes or brunettes. Just, whatever you do, don't marry a woman with a career.
Why? Because if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage. While everyone knows that marriage can be stressful, recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner.
Not a happy conclusion, especially given that many men, particularly successful men, are attracted to women with similar goals and aspirations. And why not? After all, your typical career girl is well-educated, ambitious, informed and engaged. All seemingly good things, right? Sure...at least until you get married. Then, to put it bluntly, the more successful she is the more likely she is to grow dissatisfied with you. Sound familiar?
Many factors contribute to a stable marriage, including the marital status of your spouse's parents (folks with divorced parents are significantly more likely to get divorced themselves), age at first marriage, race, religious beliefs and socio-economic status. And, of course, many working women are indeed happily and fruitfully married--it's just that they are less likely to be so than non-working women. And that, statistically speaking, is the rub.
To be clear, we're not talking about a high-school dropout minding a cash register. For our purposes, a "career girl" has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year.
If a host of studies are to be believed, marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003). They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Social Forces, 2006). You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001). You will be more likely to fall ill (American Journal of Sociology). Even your house will be dirtier (Institute for Social Research).
Why? Well, despite the fact that the link between work, women and divorce rates is complex and controversial, much of the reasoning is based on a lot of economic theory and a bit of common sense. In classic economics, a marriage is, at least in part, an exercise in labor specialization. Traditionally men have tended to do "market" or paid work outside the home and women have tended to do "non-market" or household work, including raising children. All of the work must get done by somebody, and this pairing, regardless of who is in the home and who is outside the home, accomplishes that goal. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker argued that when the labor specialization in a marriage decreases--if, for example, both spouses have careers--the overall value of the marriage is lower for both partners because less of the total needed work is getting done, making life harder for both partners and divorce more likely. And, indeed, empirical studies have concluded just that.
In 2004, John H. Johnson examined data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and concluded that gender has a significant influence on the relationship between work hours and increases in the probability of divorce. Women's work hours consistently increase divorce, whereas increases in men's work hours often have no statistical effect. "I also find that the incidence in divorce is far higher in couples where both spouses are working than in couples where only one spouse is employed," Johnson says. A few other studies, which have focused on employment (as opposed to working hours) have concluded that working outside the home actually increases marital stability, at least when the marriage is a happy one. But even in these studies, wives' employment does correlate positively to divorce rates, when the marriage is of "low marital quality."
The other reason a career can hurt a marriage will be obvious to anyone who has seen their mate run off with a co-worker: When your spouse works outside the home, chances increase they'll meet someone they like more than you. "The work environment provides a host of potential partners," researcher Adrian J. Blow reported in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, "and individuals frequently find themselves spending a great deal of time with these individuals."
There's more: According to a wide-ranging review of the published literature, highly educated people are more likely to have had extra-marital sex (those with graduate degrees are 1.75 more likely to have cheated than those with high school diplomas.) Additionally, individuals who earn more than $30,000 a year are more likely to cheat.
And if the cheating leads to divorce, you're really in trouble. Divorce has been positively correlated with higher rates of alcoholism, clinical depression and suicide. Other studies have associated divorce with increased rates of cancer, stroke, and sexually-transmitted disease. Plus divorce is financially devastating. According to one recent study on "Marriage and Divorce's Impact on Wealth," published in The Journal of Sociology, divorced people see their overall net worth drop an average of 77%.
So why not just stay single? Because, academically speaking, a solid marriage has a host of benefits beyond just individual "happiness." There are broader social and health implications as well. According to a 2004 paper entitled "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage?" marriage is positively associated with "better outcomes for children under most circumstances," higher earnings for adult men, and "being married and being in a satisfying marriage are positively associated with health and negatively associated with mortality." In other words, a good marriage is associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted kids.
A word of caution, though: As with any social scientific study, it's important not to confuse correlation with causation. In other words, just because married folks are healthier than single people, it doesn't mean that marriage is causing the health gains. It could just be that healthier people are more likely to be married.
How do women, careers and marriage mix? Not well, say social scientists.
Guys: A word of advice. Marry pretty women or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Blondes or brunettes. Just, whatever you do, don't marry a woman with a career.
Why? Because if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage. While everyone knows that marriage can be stressful, recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner.
Not a happy conclusion, especially given that many men, particularly successful men, are attracted to women with similar goals and aspirations. And why not? After all, your typical career girl is well-educated, ambitious, informed and engaged. All seemingly good things, right? Sure...at least until you get married. Then, to put it bluntly, the more successful she is the more likely she is to grow dissatisfied with you. Sound familiar?
Many factors contribute to a stable marriage, including the marital status of your spouse's parents (folks with divorced parents are significantly more likely to get divorced themselves), age at first marriage, race, religious beliefs and socio-economic status. And, of course, many working women are indeed happily and fruitfully married--it's just that they are less likely to be so than non-working women. And that, statistically speaking, is the rub.
To be clear, we're not talking about a high-school dropout minding a cash register. For our purposes, a "career girl" has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year.
If a host of studies are to be believed, marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003). They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Social Forces, 2006). You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001). You will be more likely to fall ill (American Journal of Sociology). Even your house will be dirtier (Institute for Social Research).
Why? Well, despite the fact that the link between work, women and divorce rates is complex and controversial, much of the reasoning is based on a lot of economic theory and a bit of common sense. In classic economics, a marriage is, at least in part, an exercise in labor specialization. Traditionally men have tended to do "market" or paid work outside the home and women have tended to do "non-market" or household work, including raising children. All of the work must get done by somebody, and this pairing, regardless of who is in the home and who is outside the home, accomplishes that goal. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker argued that when the labor specialization in a marriage decreases--if, for example, both spouses have careers--the overall value of the marriage is lower for both partners because less of the total needed work is getting done, making life harder for both partners and divorce more likely. And, indeed, empirical studies have concluded just that.
In 2004, John H. Johnson examined data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and concluded that gender has a significant influence on the relationship between work hours and increases in the probability of divorce. Women's work hours consistently increase divorce, whereas increases in men's work hours often have no statistical effect. "I also find that the incidence in divorce is far higher in couples where both spouses are working than in couples where only one spouse is employed," Johnson says. A few other studies, which have focused on employment (as opposed to working hours) have concluded that working outside the home actually increases marital stability, at least when the marriage is a happy one. But even in these studies, wives' employment does correlate positively to divorce rates, when the marriage is of "low marital quality."
The other reason a career can hurt a marriage will be obvious to anyone who has seen their mate run off with a co-worker: When your spouse works outside the home, chances increase they'll meet someone they like more than you. "The work environment provides a host of potential partners," researcher Adrian J. Blow reported in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, "and individuals frequently find themselves spending a great deal of time with these individuals."
There's more: According to a wide-ranging review of the published literature, highly educated people are more likely to have had extra-marital sex (those with graduate degrees are 1.75 more likely to have cheated than those with high school diplomas.) Additionally, individuals who earn more than $30,000 a year are more likely to cheat.
And if the cheating leads to divorce, you're really in trouble. Divorce has been positively correlated with higher rates of alcoholism, clinical depression and suicide. Other studies have associated divorce with increased rates of cancer, stroke, and sexually-transmitted disease. Plus divorce is financially devastating. According to one recent study on "Marriage and Divorce's Impact on Wealth," published in The Journal of Sociology, divorced people see their overall net worth drop an average of 77%.
So why not just stay single? Because, academically speaking, a solid marriage has a host of benefits beyond just individual "happiness." There are broader social and health implications as well. According to a 2004 paper entitled "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage?" marriage is positively associated with "better outcomes for children under most circumstances," higher earnings for adult men, and "being married and being in a satisfying marriage are positively associated with health and negatively associated with mortality." In other words, a good marriage is associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted kids.
A word of caution, though: As with any social scientific study, it's important not to confuse correlation with causation. In other words, just because married folks are healthier than single people, it doesn't mean that marriage is causing the health gains. It could just be that healthier people are more likely to be married.
That's it. I'm a hobbyist. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm better off with an MP or SP. Less hassle, and most likely in the long run more cost-effective. The savings on my sanity are motivation enough..
I was thinking the same thing.fantasiafan said:Women prefer richer men......you needed a "study" to tell you this?????
Maybe they'll come up with a study saying men prefer rich women especially if they're hot and have big tits.
Who bankrolls these studies?
I'm sure a few guys I know can come up with one of these thought provoking questions and if we can have someone roll the dollars out for a study, perfect.lol.
I'm sure a few guys I know can come up with one of these thought provoking questions and if we can have someone roll the dollars out for a study, perfect.lol.
We needed a study to figure out the obvious?
Isn't that a little like asking whether guys think about sex 24 hours a day...
Isn't that a little like asking whether guys think about sex 24 hours a day...
Here's a simple rule to live by.
"Women, other than your mother and maybe your sister, you can NOT trust them"
I have found this to be true.
"Women, other than your mother and maybe your sister, you can NOT trust them"
I have found this to be true.
healer677 said:
When you next shave, that guy staring at you, he's the poor sap that pays for those stupid "studies"
james t kirk said:
If you ever went toe to toe with my sister you would remove them from your possible list.
Do you have a link?
The word "rich" isn't used at all in this selection of paragraphs you have presented.
The point seems to be that the unpaid work in a marriage isnot getting done aw well when both have careers and since women end up doing most of that regardless of their income level they are more likely to resent it when their partner makes less money then they do.
The word "rich" isn't used at all in this selection of paragraphs you have presented.
The point seems to be that the unpaid work in a marriage isnot getting done aw well when both have careers and since women end up doing most of that regardless of their income level they are more likely to resent it when their partner makes less money then they do.
Or better yet........."All women are Ho's, except your mother. (But then again,don't ask Dad about HER).james t kirk said:
I had a friend who always used to say something similar:
"All women are whores except your mother and your sister - and that's just out of respect..."
Always used to laugh when he said it, but then thought to myself, could he be right?
"All women are whores except your mother and your sister - and that's just out of respect..."
Always used to laugh when he said it, but then thought to myself, could he be right?
I trusted my mother (she passed away a few years ago) with my life. There's nothing in the world that compares to a love that a mother has for her son and viceversa.
I also trust my sister to the end of the world as blood is thicker than water and I know that she would be there for me to help out if I needed her.
Deep down, I really don't trust other women frankly. Oh, I love women, I have women friends, but I don't trust them completely and without fear.
I have been fucked around by too many women over the years to ever trust them again. It's hard wired in them to be calculating, overly analytical, and manipulative. And a million more things on top of that.
Donald Sutherland in the the Italian job once said it beautifully, "I trust you, it's the devil inside you I don't trust."
No truer words have ever been spoken.
I also trust my sister to the end of the world as blood is thicker than water and I know that she would be there for me to help out if I needed her.
Deep down, I really don't trust other women frankly. Oh, I love women, I have women friends, but I don't trust them completely and without fear.
I have been fucked around by too many women over the years to ever trust them again. It's hard wired in them to be calculating, overly analytical, and manipulative. And a million more things on top of that.
Donald Sutherland in the the Italian job once said it beautifully, "I trust you, it's the devil inside you I don't trust."
No truer words have ever been spoken.
I'm kinda weird in that I want a stay-at-home wife. I'm not looking for a mommy or someone who slaves over me, but I'd just prefer a wife who takes care of the home front while I'm at work. And when kids enter the picture, I'd rather their mother take care of them than some daycare.
I know a lot of professional women, probably the vast majority of women I know. And I have no interest in marrying one. The last thing I want to hear when I come from work is all her work-related problems. I have my own to deal with. I'd rather hear about her home-related problems. And yes, I know I'll be hearing about some kind of problems regardless.
The really successful professional women I know... I pity their husbands. And their kids. Because both come second to their career. If the husband is like that too, imagine the disfunctionalism that will go on in that family.
No thanks. I'd rather have a smaller income and a more stable family life.
I know a lot of professional women, probably the vast majority of women I know. And I have no interest in marrying one. The last thing I want to hear when I come from work is all her work-related problems. I have my own to deal with. I'd rather hear about her home-related problems. And yes, I know I'll be hearing about some kind of problems regardless.
The really successful professional women I know... I pity their husbands. And their kids. Because both come second to their career. If the husband is like that too, imagine the disfunctionalism that will go on in that family.
No thanks. I'd rather have a smaller income and a more stable family life.
