currently cohabiting: relationship attitudes and intentions dr ernestina coast

Currently cohabiting:Relationship attitudes and

intentions

Dr Ernestina Coast

Cohabitation Fuzzy

Timing

Heterogeneous Post-marriage (pre- and post-divorce) Pre-marriage Post widowhood

Evolving

Good large-scale descriptive data on incidence and trends

Representative attitudinal surveys

Empirical gap: cohabitees emerging qualitative research survey data relationship intentions and attitudes

longitudinal data – collected while subjective state exists systematic empirical investigation of social change

British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)

Annual since 1991

Approx. 5,000 households

Full interview with new partners

1991

: W

ave

1

1992

: W

ave

2 F

ull

mar

riag

e &

co

hab

itat

ion

his

tory

An

nu

al s

tatu

s u

pd

ates

1998

: W

ave

8

Rel

atio

nsh

ip q

ues

tion

s

An

nu

al s

tatu

s u

pd

ates

2003

: W

ave

13

Rel

atio

nsh

ip q

ues

tion

s re

pea

t

An

nu

al s

tatu

s u

pd

ates

2006 Wave 16

?

Cohabitation converted to marriage?

Cohabitation persisted?

Cohabitation ceased?

Child born?

Relationship:

attitudes

intentions

1998

Couples = 398

2003

Couples = 333

Analysis

Wave 13 (2003)

Treat as cross-sectional

Never-married aged under 35

Individuals and linked couples

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Never marriedNot in relationship

CohabNon-cohabrelationship

Married

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 advantages in living as a couple, rather than being married?”

If “Yes”

“What do you think are the advantages of living as a couple?”

Questions “Do you think there are any disadvantages in

living as a couple, rather than being married?”

If “Yes”

“What do you think are the disadvantages of living as a couple?”

Interview influence

BHPS reports presence of others during interview

Analysis shows no significant effect of other’s presence on responses.

Cohabitation an advantage over marriage

Men 32% Women 35%

Parent 28% Childless 37%

Sig p<0.05 for both men and women

Majority no positive advantage

Why an advantage?

Parent Childless

Men Women Men Women

Trial marriage

30 26 33 40

No legal ties

21 26 32 17

Personal independence

15 8 2 8

Financial advantage

12 29 18 22

Other 22 11 15 13

Cohabitation a disadvantage over marriage

Men 18% Women 22%

Parent 22% Childless 20%

Majority no definite disadvantage

Why a disadvantage?

Parent Childless

Men Women Men Women

Financial insecurity

36 5 38 30

No legal status

18 35 18 33

Effect on children

14 12 7 4

Lack of commitment

5 9 7 14

Social stigma

18 26 11 4

Comparing couples

Man

Woman

Advantage No advantage

Advantage 18 15

No advantage 22 45

Comparing couples

Man

Woman

Disadvantage No disadvantage

Disadvantage 6 10

No disadvantage

17 67

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?

Showcard 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

Marriage expectations

Men Women

Planning to/ probably will marry

71 73

Continue to live together

17 18

DK/ No thought to future / Other

12 9

Marriage expectations: couplesWomen

Men

Planning to/ will marry

Cohabit DK/No thought to

future

Planning to/ will marry

60 9 3

Cohabit 5 10 5

DK/ No thought to

future

4 2 2

Marriage expectations: women

Mother Childless

Planning to/ probably will marry

60 73

Continue to live together

29 16

DK/ No thought to future / Other

11 11

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?”

Showcard

1 Very likely 2 Likely 3 Unlikely 4 Very unlikely 5 Don’t know

Marriage expectations: women

Mother Childless

Very likely 0 8

Likely 26 33

Unlikely 48 33

Very unlikely 22 15

Do not know 4 11

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

Interrogating the answers

Intentions uncertain and subject to change

Question understanding

Companionship response Childless mention children

Cohabitation Which couples achieve their relationship

intentions? How persistent are relationship intentions?

Non-resident partnerships

Future directions