Table 1:
Descriptive statistics, by living arrangements and marital status
| Variable | Total | Unmarried, living alone | Unmarried, living with others | Married |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean/proportion | Mean/proportion | Mean/proportion | Mean/proportion | |
| Happiness (range 1–5) | 3.87 (0.95) | 3.47 (0.97) | 3.61 (0.96) | 4.11 (0.86) |
| Self-rated health (range 1–5) | 3.77 (1.07) | 3.71 (1.10) | 3.76 (1.08) | 3.79 (1.07) |
| Age (range 20–39) | 30.60 (5.62) | 28.53 (5.52) | 27.30 (5.41) | 33.19 (4.29) |
| Sex* | ||||
| Male | 0.46 | 0.62 | 0.50 | 0.41 |
| Female | 0.54 | 0.38 | 0.50 | 0.59 |
| Educational Attainment* | ||||
| High school or less | 0.49 | 0.33 | 0.45 | 0.54 |
| Junior college/vocational school | 0.21 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.22 |
| University | 0.30 | 0.51 | 0.35 | 0.24 |
| Subjective social status (range 1–10) | 5.16 (1.63) | 5.13 (1.82) | 4.97 (1.69) | 5.30 (1.54) |
| Comparative financial well-being (range 1–5) | 2.67 (0.81) | 2.58 (0.87) | 2.61 (0.84) | 2.72 (0.77) |
| Employment Status* | ||||
| Not working | 0.23 | 0.13 | 0.18 | 0.28 |
| Regular employment | 0.52 | 0.68 | 0.55 | 0.48 |
| Non-standard employment | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.22 | 0.17 |
| Self-employment | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.07 |
| Missing employment status | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Frequency of getting together with friends* | ||||
| Less than once a month | 0.38 | 0.22 | 0.24 | 0.50 |
| Once a month or more | 0.62 | 0.78 | 0.76 | 0.50 |
| Membership in any social organizations* | ||||
| No | 0.74 | 0.69 | 0.74 | 0.74 |
| Yes | 0.26 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.26 |
| N | 6,045 | 487 | 2,272 | 3,286 |
| Proportion of total N | 1.00 | 0.08 | 0.38 | 0.54 |
Notes:
- (a) Standard deviation of continuous variables shown in parentheses
- (b) Bold font indicates that mean is significantly different from that of unmarried living alone at p < .05
- (c) *indicates that variable is not independent of living arrangements (at p < .05)