Who Remains Unpartnered by Mid-Life in Norway? Differentials by Gender and Education

Abstract

Using data on men and women born 1927 to 1968 from the Norwegian Gender and Generations Survey (N = 8,813), we examine differentials in remaining without experience from a marital or non-marital union by age 40. We are particularly interested in differentials by gender and education, as well as changes across birth cohorts. 6.5% of the respondents (7.8% of the men and 5.2% of the women) had no union experience by age 40. Multivariate results confirmed that the odds of remaining unpartnered by age 40 decreased across the birth cohorts studied here, particularly among women. Separate models for men and women confirmed that primary educated men had the highest odds of remaining unpartnered. Among women, on the other hand, those with a university education had significantly higher odds of not having had union experience by age 40 compared with their lower educated counterparts. Results from interaction models confirmed that higher educated men have become increasingly likely to remain unpartnered. Among women, we found no evidence for a changing importance of education for remaining unpartnered by age 40.

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