Table 1.
Variable Descriptions and Descriptive Statistics (N = 914 Married Women)
| Variable Name | Description | M | SD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wives’ characteristics | |||
| Divorce | 0 = still married to partner, 1 = divorced from partner, measured at Wave 4 (W4) |
.27 | .45 |
| Time to divorce | Number of months between Wave 3 (W3) interview date and divorce date among 250 divorced women. |
37.64 | 23.51 |
| Age | R’s age, in years, at time of W3 survey | 22.46 | 1.61 |
| White | 0 = non-White, 1 = White | .78 | .42 |
| Black | 0 = non-Black, 1 = Black | .07 | .26 |
| Hispanic | 0 = Non-Hispanic, 1 = Hispanic | .12 | .33 |
| Other race | 0 = White, Black, or Hispanic, 1 = other race | .03 | .17 |
| Religiosity | R’s frequency of religious attendance in 12 months prior to survey. Range: 0 = a few times or less to 3 = once a week or more. |
1.61 | 1.09 |
| Prior cohabitation | 0 = no cohabitation prior to current marriage, 1 = any cohabitation prior to current marriage |
.15 | .36 |
| Heavy Drinking Scale | R’s level of heavy drinking based on 3 items (α = .84): how many days R drank alcohol, how many days R drank 5 or more drinks in a row, how many days R was drunk or very high on alcohol, during 12 months prior to survey. Range: 0 = none to 6 = every day or almost every day. |
0.80 | 0.93 |
| Parental physical abuse | 0 = no parental physical abuse, 1 = at least some parental physical abuse |
.25 | .44 |
| Parental education | Education of resident parent with highest level of education. 0 = less than a college degree, 1 = college degree or more. |
.27 | .45 |
| Parental separation | Family status measured from Wave 1. 0 = both biological parents in household, 1 = biological mother or father missing from household. |
.42 | .50 |
| Victimization | Self-reported sum of 3 dichotomous items: (a) partner threatened with violence, pushed, shoved or threw something at R that could hurt; (b) partner slapped, hit or kicked R; and (c) R had an injury, such as a sprain, bruise, or cut because of a fight with partner, 12 months prior to survey. Range: 0 = none to 3 = all forms of violence. |
0.35 | 0.80 |
| Proportional earnings | Proportion of total household income accounted for by respondent’s reported earnings (earnings divided by household income), ranges from 0-1. |
.39 | .32 |
| Education (W4) | R’s education, measured at W4. 0 = Less than a college degree, 1 = college degree or more |
.22 | .42 |
| Full-time employment | Employment status at W3. 0 = unemployed or part time, 1 = employed full time |
.49 | .51 |
| Husbands’ characteristics | |||
| Age | Spouse’s age, in years, at time of W3 survey | 25.39 | 4.16 |
| White | 0 = non-White, 1 = White | .75 | .44 |
| Black | 0 = non-Black, 1 = Black | .08 | .27 |
| Hispanic | 0 = non-Hispanic, 1 = Hispanic | .13 | .34 |
| Other race | 0 = White, Black, or Hispanic, 1 = other race | .04 | .21 |
| Education | Partner’s education, measured at W3. 0 = less than a college degree, 1 = college degree or more. |
.14 | .35 |
| Victimization | Self-reported sum of 3 dichotomous items: (a) threatened partner with violence, pushed, shoved or threw something at partner that could hurt; (b) slapped, hit, or kicked partner; and (c) gave partner an injury because of a fight, 12 months prior to survey. Range: 0 = none to 3 = all forms. |
0.46 | 0.83 |
| Couple characteristics | |||
| Child in marriage | 0 = no children, 1 = at least one child | .60 | .50 |
| Marital duration at W3 | Duration of marriage (in years) at W3 | 2.01 | 1.66 |
| Total household income |
Self-reported income from all sources in the past calendar year (including respondent report of spouse income, in tens of thousands, range: 0 – 40). |
3.17 | 2.18 |
| Relationship dissatisfaction |
Standardized summed scale of 2 items at W3: (a) how much respondent loves partner and (b) how much partner loves respondent (reverse coded). |
−0.11 | 1.69 |
Note: All values are population weighted.