Does Cohabitation Lead to Weaker Intergenerational Bonds Than Marriage? A Comparison Between Italy and the United Kingdom

Bibliographic Data

ID2235609
AuthorsTiziana Nazio (0000-0001-5277-1390, University of Turin, corresponding author), Chiara Saraceno (0000-0001-7392-2127, Collegio Carlo Alberto)
Year2013
Volume29
Issue3
Pages549-564
Publication date2013-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-7215 • E-ISSN: 1468-2672
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/esr/jcr103
OpenAlexW2329974944
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited26

In the literature, cohabitation rather than marriage is presented as an indicator of weakening intergenerational ties—either as a cause or as an effect. In this article, we compare two countries (Italy and the United Kingdom) with very different incidences of cohabitation as an alternative or as a prelude to marriage, the frequency of face-to-face and telephone contacts between parents and their married or cohabiting unmarried children. Our analysis of empirical evidence, based on a multilevel, ordered category response model, does not support previous findings that cohabitation instead of marriage weakens intergenerational ties. No differences in parent–adult child contact between cohabiting and married individuals were found in the United Kingdom and only to a very limited extent in Italy. In the latter country, some support for the hypothesis that cohabiting individuals are (still) a selected group of people has been found.

Biology · Cohabitation · Demographic economics · Economics · Face (sociological concept) · Kingdom · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Law