Paper Critique

Article Critique
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Problem statement and Research Intent
Currently, more than 50% of marriage unions in the United States end up in divorce. Many of those who divorce remarry later. The aim of the research in question is to determine whether there are any differences between the first and the second marriages. This paper aims to discuss the factors that influence the nature of the first and the second unions. It aims to determine whether the currently available models are sufficient at explaining both the formation of first and second marriages.
Paper Review
The paper recognizes the role of social economic status in marriages. First-time marriages have a primary role in improving individual’s social economic status. The two individuals pool their resources and work together to broaden their horizon and therefore amerce wealth much faster. In many studies, single-parent families are shown to be poorer which supports the argument that married people have a large aptitude to wealth generation (Shafer & James, 2013). This paper argues that during the first marriage, social economic status is not very important. Most of the partners are at equal positions. Other factors such as cultural tendencies, beliefs, styles, tastes and other factors are essential. The authors of this paper liken marriage to an employment vacancy where the employer never ceases to seek an employee until he or she finds one that fits or exceeds the required standards.

Despite the enormous contribution of cultural perspectives to marriage, this article finds that social economic status is easily used as a benchmark for this quality. The financial status of a person influences their tasters, attitudes and styles. Individuals within a similar economic bracket are therefore likely to consume the same products and view life similarly. The more people are culturally alike, the more they are likely to form stronger bonds and therefore the longer their marriages are anticipated to take (Shafer & James, 2013).
The second step for the paper is to analyze trends in second marriages formation. According to the writers, there are three main characteristics that are essential to investigate in second marriages which are gender, social economic status and the interaction of these characteristics. The research finds that in the first marriage, there is no difference between the men and the women who marry. When controlled for all the other factors such as race and religion, the number of men that marry end up being similar to the number of women that marry by the age of 40 (Shafer & James, 2013). The median age for men to marry is 2 years older than women’s median age; women = 26, men = 28 (Shafer & James, 2013). However, for the second marriage, the authors find that gender affects the possibility of marriage significantly. Primarily, men are privileged by the willingness of women to marry older men regardless of their earlier status. Men, however, prefer to marry women who have never been married before. Consequently, there are very few older married men to marry women from divorces. The index of men who remarry is therefore much higher than that of women who remarry. Social economic conditions also impact on this condition. The end of first marriage is deemed to result in a higher social economic status for the man. Due to the woman’s position as a carer, she is most likely to have stayed at home while the man advanced his career in both experiences and job level. By the end of a first marriage, there is, therefore, a substantial gap between the man and the woman. This case also establishes that an individual’s likely financial trajectory for his future is already clearly visible by the end of the first marriage. From this, men with a high social economic status are more likely to remarry than their counterparts in the lower segment. Women are likely to view divorces men of a higher social economic status are an easier way to attaining the desires economic status and therefore more willing to get married to them. These factors are the opposite in women. Women of lower social economic status are more likely to remarry than their counterparts with a higher social economic status. In most cases, the earlier cohort is afflicted by financial distress and therefore more likely to settle for remarriage while the upper cohort is comfortable to live independent of marriage. Social economic status affects both men and women. However, women from a low social economic status have a more likelihood to marriage than their male counterparts.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis of the paper is that social economic status plays a significant role in the formation of both first and second marriages.
Methodology
This research used observational methods of research. This is a method in which a sample that is a representative of the entire population is observed without attempting to vary the results. The sample that was used for this research was collected from an NLSY79 cohort. Individuals who were born between 1957 and 1965 were studied annually from 1979 through to 1994. They were then studied after two years until 1998 (Shafer & James, 2013). Individuals who had marriage before 1979 were eliminated from the research so as to enable the researchers to observe the marriage patterns of the group freely. To complete the study successfully, marriages through cohabitation were eliminated from the search also so as to uniformly study those who went into marriage for the first time and the age at which they did so. The research also excluded individuals who dissolved their second marriages within the research. Ultimately, a sample of 12686 individuals was available for the study. Of this, 6286 were men and 5945 were women for the first marriage. For the second marriages, there were 3695 individuals of which 1702 were men and 1993 were women (Shafer & James, 2013). Similar to other longitudinal analyses, the carry-over method was used to fill in the missing data for years where data was missing. The dependent variables for the research were the age at first marriage, the age of second marriage and an index of comparison for the two marriages. Duration and social economic status were the other dependent variable. Control variables that were incorporated included the children in a marriage, gender roles, cohabitation and social demographic characteristics. To identify qualitative variables such as gender role’s significances, the Likert scale was used to convert the data into more easily consumable statistical data.
Analysis
The analysis FO the results was done using two strategies. First of all, discrete-time event history models were used to investigate the individuals marrying for the first time. It allowed the researchers to identify individuals that were marrying and the exact time they did so. This method is useful because it does not have excessively restrictive assumptions. It thus allows the researcher to censor and measure the risk associated to a particular event. The next model to be used is the heterogeneous choice model (HCM) for binary options. This model was developed by Allison in 1999 and improved by William in 2009 as a tool for making inter-gender comparisons within marriages (Shafer & James, 2013). The model provides for the relations presented in the equation below:

Conclusions and Implications
This research is valid and reliable. First of all, the research uses a very large sample that makes it easy to extrapolate to the entire population. The data is selected without bias since it is a study of all individuals born within a particular time. Restricting the research to that particular time controls for other parameters that affect marriage formation and remarriage such as prevalent cultural tendencies. The data collection methods ensure that all the viable individuals are incorporated within the study. Control variables are used so are to minimize the biases within the research. These methods are conducted in an ethical manner. All the participants of the research are anonymous and there is no suggestion of unethical practice. Any information that is sourced from secondary sources is properly credited to the rightful owners. This research is therefore consumable for academic purposes and also for the formation of social tendencies. Ultimately, the goal of the research is met. The research is able to prove the hypothesis that social economic status has a significant role to play in the formation of marriages. The research indicated that the available models for the explanation of marriage unions are only valid in the definition of first marriage entries but not the second. For this reason, there is need to define models of second marriages entry to better understand demographical tendencies.

References
Shafer, K., & James, S. (2013). Gender and Socioeconomic Status Differences in First and Second Marriage Formation. Journal Of Marriage And Family, 75(3), 544-564. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12024