Couple disagreements and partnership stability in 10 European countries: Could differences in gender equality explain cross-national variations?

Abstract

This article focuses on the association between couple disagreement and partnership stability. In particular, we explore the mediating role of macrostructural gender inequality on the effect of couple disagreements on partnership stability in a cross-national comparative perspective. We analyzed data from two waves of the Gender and Generations Survey (fielded between 2004 and 2011) to explore the varied effects of couple disagreements on thoughts about breaking up and on the dissolution of cohabiting unions. As we expected, the effect of disagreements on thoughts about dissolution was present in all of the countries, but its strength varied significantly. Surprisingly, only moderate effects were found on dissolution itself. The second step of our analysis showed that the strength of the link between disagreement and stability does not decrease systematically with the level of gender inequality in a given country. This means that an egalitarian environment does not play a mitigating role in the process of transforming conflict into a decision to divorce. Our findings support the argument of gender revolution theory that the unfinished and stalled transformation of gender roles increases rather than relieves the tensions in intimate lives.