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Currently cohabiting: relationship attitudes and intentions in the BHPS.

Currently cohabiting: relationship attitudes and intentions in the BHPS. Ernestina Coast. Cohabitation. Fuzzy Heterogeneous, includes: Post-marriage (pre- and post-divorce) Pre-marriage Post widowhood Evolving “a moving target” 1980s “alternative lifestyle”.

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Currently cohabiting: relationship attitudes and intentions in the BHPS.

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  1. Currently cohabiting: relationship attitudes and intentions in the BHPS. Ernestina Coast

  2. Cohabitation • Fuzzy • Heterogeneous, includes: • Post-marriage (pre- and post-divorce) • Pre-marriage • Post widowhood • Evolving • “a moving target” • 1980s “alternative lifestyle”

  3. Relationship pathways, all women, BHPS (2005)

  4. Good large-scale descriptive data on incidence and trends • Representative attitudinal surveys • Empirical gap: cohabitees • US research • emerging qualitative research • survey data relationship intentions and attitudes • longitudinal data – collected while subjective state exists • systematic empirical investigation of social change

  5. Normative attitudes • Changing social norms around marriage • Deinstitutionalisation of marriage • (Cherlin, 1994) • Démariage • (Thery, 1994), • Disestablishment of marriage • (Coontz, 2004, quoting Cott).

  6. BHPS normative attitudes • “Living together outside of marriage is always wrong” • 1992, 1994, 1996 • “It is alright for people to live together even if they have no interest in considering marriage” • 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004

  7. Percentage distribution of youths aged 11-15 years response to the question statement “Living together outside of marriage is always wrong”, BHPS 1994-2005

  8. Social acceptance of cohabitation well-established • Moved from deviant to normative behaviour • Acceptance likely to increase • Cohort replacement • Socialisation • Social diffusion

  9. British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) • Annual since 1991 • Approx. 5,000 households • Full interview with new partners

  10. Questions • “We are interested in why you and your partner have chosen to live together rather than being married. Do you think there are any (dis)advantages in living as a couple, rather than being married?” If “Yes” • “What do you think are the (dis)advantages of living as a couple?”

  11. Question: Future intentions • “Obviously you cannot say for certain what will happen, but could you please look at this card and read out the number of the statement which you feel applies most closely to your current relationship? • 1 Planning to marry • 2 Probably get married at some point • 3 Probably just keep living together without marrying • 4 Have not really thought about the future • 5 Other (specify) • 6 Don’t know

  12. Supplementary Question • “Even though you have no plans to marry at the moment, can you please look at this card and tell me how likely it is that you will ever get married to anyone in the future?” • 1 Very likely • 2 Likely • 3 Unlikely • 4 Very unlikely • 5 Don’t know

  13. Interrogating the questions • Grounded in reality • Take account of circumstances rather than an expression of abstract desire • Supplementary question on marriage expectation moves from current relationship to any future hypothetical relationship • Phrased relative to marriage

  14. Percentage distribution of reported advantages of cohabitation relative to marriage, currently cohabiting respondents, 1998 and 2003. Parenthood status is significant: Non-parents = trial marriage. Parents = personal independence + absence of legal ties

  15. Percentage distribution of reported disadvantages of cohabitation relative to marriage, currently cohabiting respondents, 1998 and 2003.

  16. Percentage distribution of responses to the statement “How likely it is that you will ever get married to anyone in the future?”, by currently cohabiting, never married respondents with no plans to marry their current partner, by sex, 1998 and 2003.

  17. Percentage distribution of future relationship expectations, by duration of current cohabiting relationship (n=1,015 respondents), 2003

  18. % distribution of union expectations, by prior live-in relationship, 1998 and 2003

  19. Do individuals achieve their relationship expectations? Never-married childless couples interviewed in 1998 – subsequent birth of a child is sig. associated with continuation of cohabitation compared to entry to marriage

  20. Couple concordance / discordance • Use only couples with full responses to questions • Potential bias for homogeneity of response • Only first-ever live-in relationships • Interview effect? • 1998 58% of individual interviews record 3rd party • 89% coded as no influence exerted by the third party

  21. % distribution couple expectations, 1998 and 2003, first unions only

  22. Percentage distribution of relationship outcomes by 1998 relationship expectations, cohabiting couples.

  23. Discussion • Analyses at the relationship level • Living apart together (LAT) • Assumption of rational choice • Vague or underspecified goals • Qualitative insights • Cohabitation versus marriage or LAT?

  24. Mid-career research training fellowship • “Multiplier” effect • Research and training skills • Longitudinal data in the developing world • Qualitative longitudinal research • Other datasets • New avenues of research: The Household

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