Stuck in Place, Feeling Bad? Unrealized Moving Desires, Spatial Immobility, and Subjective Well-Being within Couples

Elias Hofmann , Federal Institute for Population Research

Despite growing interest in the subjective well-being consequences of spatial mobility, little is known about how immobility affects life satisfaction (LS). While prior research suggests that involuntary staying is linked to lower LS, the role of partners’ mobility desires in shaping these outcomes remains largely unexplored. This gap is particularly salient given the central tenet in family migration research that spatial mobility decisions are typically made at the household rather than the individual level. This study develops two competing expectations regarding LS outcomes of immobility within couples, based on different conceptualizations of the immobility process. The ‘Constraint Hypothesis’ proposes that when partner’s staying preference restricts an individual’s desire to move, immobility will be associated with similar or even greater LS declines as when both partners wish to move. In contrast, the ‘Consensus Hypothesis’ argues that immobility emerges as the outcome of consensual decision-making within couples, with involuntary stayers compensated in other domains—emotional or practical—resulting in weaker LS losses. Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS, 1991–2023), which provides detailed yearly information on both partners’ mobility desires, behaviours, and LS, the study first compares well-being changes among involuntary stayers with those who realized their mobility desire. It then examines how this association varies by partners’ mobility preference. By integrating household dynamics into analyses of spatial immobility, this study advances the understanding of how relational contexts shape subjective well-being within the context of unrealized mobility desires, providing insights into the way immobility is negotiated within couple households.

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 Presented in Session 62. Social and Wellbeing Implications of Mobility