Trust in United States families: Its effects on the formation and dynamics of families

By combining a network approach with a game-theoretic model, this study will examine how different levels of trust, characterized by different network patterns of the couples, affect U.S. families, from formation to family dynamics to effects such as sexually transmitted diseases. Specifically, it will focus on three empirical puzzles in U.S. families today: (1) racial/ethnic differences in marriage rates: why are African Americans much less likely to marry? (2) gender inequality in the household division of labor: why do women perform most of the housework even when they are employed? and (3) the racial/ethnic difference in sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection rates: why are African Americans much more likely to be infected with certain STDs? Each chapter is empirically tested by using two different data sets: the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) and the Chicago Health and Social Life Survey (CHSLS).