Abstract
In this study we examined a new construct—the Drive to Marry (DTM). Young single men and women (149 men and 246 women) rated their desire to get married and completed measures of their valuing of marital, parental, and occupational roles; concern about others' views of them; and feminist attitudes. We found that women had a higher DTM than did men. In both genders, DTM was predicted by the value of parental role and by concern about others' views of them. In women, DTM was also predicted by traditional attitudes toward gender roles, and there was a trend for women who valued the occupational role to have a lower DTM. Conservative women, women who valued the parental role, and women with a higher DTM were also more likely to want to use the title “Mrs.” and to adopt their husband's surname.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amatea, E. S., Cross, E. G., Clark, J. E., & Bobby, C. L. (1986). Assessing the work and family role expectations of career-oriented men and women: The Life Role Salience Scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 831–838.
Atkinson, D. L. (1987). Names and titles: Maiden name retention and the use of Ms. Journal of the Atlantic Provinces Linguistic Association, 9, 56–83.
Botkin, D. R., Weeks, M. O. N., & Morris, J. E. (2000). Changing marriage role expectations: 1961–1996. Sex Roles, 42, 933–942.
Bridges, J. S. (1987). College females' perceptions of adult roles and occupational fields for women. Sex Roles, 16, 591–604.
Brightman, J. (1994). Why Hillary chooses Rodham Clinton. American Demographics, 16, 9–11.
Chasteen, A. L. (1994). “The world around me”: The environment and single women. Sex Roles, 31, 309–328.
Duggan, D. A., Cota, A. A., & Dion, K. L. (1993). Taking thy husband's name: What might it mean? Names, 41, 87–102.
Etaugh, C., & Birdoes, L. N. (1991). Effects of age, sex, and marital status on person perception. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 72, 491–497.
Etaugh, C., & Hoehn, S. (1995). Perceiving women: Effects of marital, parental, and occupational sex-typing variables. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 320–322.
Etaugh, C., & Stern, J. (1984). Person perception: Effects of sex, marital status, and sex-typed occupation. Sex Roles, 11, 413–424.
Fenigstein, A., Scheier, M. F., & Buss, A. H. (1975). Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 522–527.
Ferguson, G. (1976). Statistical analysis in psychology and education. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Foss, K. A., & Edson, B. A. (1989). What's in a name? Accounts of married women's name choices. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53, 356–373.
Fowler, R. I., & Fuehrer, A. (1997). Women's marital names: An interpretive study of name retainers' concepts of marriage. Feminism and Psychology, 7, 315–320.
Ganong, L. H., Coleman, M., & Mapes, D. (1990). A meta-analytic review of family structure stereotypes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 287–297.
Hoffnung, M. (2004). Wanting it all: Career, marriage, and motherhood during college-educated women's 20s. Sex Roles, 50, 711–723.
Huddy, L., Neely, F., & Lafay, M. R. (2000). The polls—Trends: Support for the women's movement. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64, 309–350.
Intons-Peterson, M. J., & Crawford, J. (1985). The meanings of marital surnames. Sex Roles, 12, 1163–1171.
Kaslow, F. W. (1992). Thirty-plus and not married. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 77–94). New York: Springer.
Kerpelman, J. L., & Schvaneveldt, P. L. (1999). Young adults' anticipated identity importance of career, marital, and parental roles: Comparisons of men and women with different role balance orientations. Sex Roles, 41, 189–217.
Kline, S. L., Stafford, L., & Miklosovic, J. C. (1996). Women's surnames: Decisions, interpretations and associations with relational qualities. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 13, 593–617.
Kreider, R. M., & Simmons, T. (2003). Marital status: 2000. Retrieved March 15, 2005, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
Lawton, C. A., Blakemore, J. E. O., & Vartanian, L. R. (2003). The new meaning of Ms.: Single, but too old for Miss. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 215.
Lewis, K. G., & Moon, S. (1997). Always single and single again women: A qualitative study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 23, 115–134.
Mennino, S. F., & Brayfield, A. (2002). Job–family trade-offs: The multidimensional effects of gender. Work and Occupations, 29, 226–256.
Murrell, A. J., Frieze, I. H., & Frost, J. L. (1991). Aspiring to careers in male- and female-dominated professions: A study of Black and White college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 103–126.
Nilsen, A. P. (1977). Sexism in the language of marriage. In A. P. Nilsen, H. Bosmajian, H. L. Gershuny, & J. P. Stanley (Eds.), Sexism and language (pp. 131–140). Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Novack, L. L., & Novack, D. R. (1996). Being female in the eighties and nineties: Conflicts between new opportunities and traditional expectations among White, middle class, heterosexual college women. Sex Roles, 35, 57–78.
Pauwels, A. (2001). Spreading the feminist word: The case of the new courtesy title Ms. in Australian English. In M. Hellinger & H. Bussmann (Eds.), Gender across languages: The linguistic representation of women and men, Vol. 1: Impact, studies in language and society (pp. 137–151). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Peake, A., & Harris, K. L. (2002). Young adults' attitudes toward multiple role planning: The influence of gender, career traditionality and marriage plans. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 405–421.
Reynolds, J., & Wetherell, M. (2003). The discursive climate of singleness: The consequences for women's negotiation of a single identity. Feminism and Psychology, 13, 489–510.
Russell, J. E., & Rush, M. C. (1987). The effects of sex and marital/parental status on performance evaluations and attributions. Sex Roles, 17, 221–236.
Sandfield, A., & Percy, C. (2003). Accounting for single status: Heterosexism and ageism in heterosexual women's talk about marriage. Feminism and Psychology, 13, 475–488.
Spence, J. T., & Helmreich, R. L. (1978). Masculinity and femininity: Their psychological dimensions, correlates, and antecedents. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Stone, L., & McKee, N. P. (2000). Gendered futures: Student visions of career and family on a college campus. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 31, 67–89.
Twenge, J. M. (1997). “Mrs. His Name”: Women's preferences for married names. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 417–429.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association in May 2004.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blakemore, J.E.O., Lawton, C.A. & Vartanian, L.R. I Can't Wait to Get Married: Gender Differences in Drive to Marry. Sex Roles 53, 327–335 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-6756-1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-6756-1