(Un)Health from parental intervention: Does the marriage formation pathway influence married people's health?

Abstract

The relationship between marriage and its health consequences has been well documented. Yet, little is known about whether health disparities still exist among married people due to different marriage formation pathways. Using data from a special module of the Chinese General Social Survey, this study examines the health effects of parental intervention in children's marriage formation. Results show that parental intervention in marriage formation is negatively associated with married people's self-rated health, but the association disappears after the selection effect is controlled for. These results suggest that the selection effect largely explains the association between parent-intervened marriage and its negative health outcomes among married people. That is to say, people with poorer health are more likely to rely on their parents for marriage formation. The findings are found in both husbands and wives and hold robust in multiple robustness tests. This study extends marriage-health research from the comparison between married and single people to the comparison within the married group.

Keywords: Filial piety culture; Health; Instrumental variable; Marriage; Parental intervention.