Social Class and Marital Attitudes and Behavior

Several studies demonstrate strong relationships between indices of social class and characteristics of marital attitudes and behavior. Two possible explanations for these relationships are described: one emphasizing the formative effects of occupations and work experiences and the second emphasizing the formative effects of educational attainment. Because most indices of social class are a function of both occupational and educational attainment, the results of previous research do not permit discrimination between the two explanations. Accordingly, national survey data were used to evaluate the validity of each theory. It was found that, net of education, neither female nor male occupational groups differed with respect to fourteen indices of marital attitudes and behavior. Instead education emerged as a major predictor of marital attitudes and behavior. The results of additional analyses of divorce rates provide further support for this conclusion.