Informal Unions in Mexico and the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID2939231
AuthorsT B Heaton (0000-0001-7729-1641, Brigham Young University), Renata Forste (0000-0001-9529-9145, Brigham Young University)
Year2007
Volume38
Issue1
Pages55-70
Publication date2007-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/jcfs.38.1.55
OpenAlexW2599091337
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited27

The dramatic rise in cohabitation in the United States and other Western industrial societies signals a major shift in the way couples form sexual partnerships. In many Latin American countries, however, there is a long tradition of couples living in relationships without formal legal sanction. To address these differences, this study compares recent trends and patterns of sexual union formation in Mexico and the U.S. In contrast to marriage, cohabitation patterns in the U.S. and Mexico originate from different starting points. Informal or cohabiting unions in Mexico began with a history of informal, common law marriages. In contrast, in the U.S. cohabitation began in the late 60s and early 70s outside the mainstream of social behavior. Currently, cohabitation is more common in the U.S. than in Mexico, but age patterns of union formation are parallel. Also informal sexual unions are less stable relative to marriage in each country

Cohabitation · Demographic economics · Economics · Latin Americans · Mainstream · Political science · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Law