Cohabitation in Australia

David de Vaus
Keynote address Marriage & Relationship Education National Conference, Sept 25, 2003
Australian Institute of Family Studies

Issues
Levels and trends z What happens to cohabiting relationships? z What happens to marriages preceded by cohabitation? z Differences between cohabiting and marital relationships? z Who cohabits?
z
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Diversity among cohabiting couples

Convenient and temporary z Extension of steady, affectionate relationship z Trial marriage z Temporary alternative to marriage z Long term alternative to marriage
z

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Levels and trends

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Currently cohabiting
(% of couples)
z z z z

1986 1991 1996 2001

4.9% 6.7% 9.9% 12.4%

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Intact, step & blended families

(with children under 18)
Intact % Married Cohabiting 92.3 7.7 Blended % 61.5 38.5 Step % 47.0 53.0

Source: HILDA, 2001

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Ever cohabited
(% of ever partnered)
15-19 % Ever cohabited Only married 90.3 9.7 20-24 % 68.0 32.0 25-34 35-44 % % 38.7 61.3 26.0 74.0 45-54 % 15.2 84.8 55-64 % 8.1 91.9

Source: HILDA, 2001

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Premarital cohabitation (first marriages)

80 Per cent premarital cohabitation 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
1 00 -2 95 19 4 -9 90 19 9 -8 85 19 4 -8 80 19 9 -7 75 19 4 -7 70 19 9 -6 65 19 4 -6 60 19 e Pr
Source: HILDA, 2001

71 60 52 43 31 16 2 5 5

60 19

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Premarital cohabitation (Remarriages)

z z

1970s

1980s z 1990s
z

70.6% of 2nd marriages preceded by cohabitation 77.7% 72.3%

Rate for 1st marriages now just reaching remarriage level of 1970s
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What happens to cohabiting relationships?

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Average duration
(first cohabitations)
Year cohabitation began 1970-74 1975-79 1980-84 +0.4 years 1985-89 1990-94
Source: HILDA, 2001

Ends in marriage Ends in break-up (years) (years) 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 3.8 2.8 3.1 2.7 2.6 -1.2 years

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Survival after 5 years (females)

1990-94 19 30 Year cohab began 1985-89 15 29 1980-84 15 27 1975-79 14 22 1970-74 14 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 64 59 56 40 41

Breaking up more Leading to marriage less 56 (or taking longer)

Per cent Continuing

Source: HILDA, 2001

Married

Broken-up

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Long term cohabiting (women)

Cohabitation began in < 1970 1970-74 1975-79 1980-84 1985-89 1990-94
Source: HILDA, 2001

Still cohabiting in 2001 (%) 1.1 2.1 0.8 1.3 4.3 7.2

Converted to marriage by 2001(%) 81.3 72.3 67.4 63.0 61.1 46.3

Broken-up by 2001 (%) 17.6 25.5 31.8 35.6 34.5 46.5

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Premarital cohabitation & subsequent marriage stability

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The paradox
Expect that try before you buy should lead to greater marital stability z Living together first should filter out relationships that will not work z But these indirect marriages have had higher break up rates
z

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Break-up 5, 10, 15 & 20 years after marriage

% finally separated by 5 years (1990-95) 10 years
(1985-89)

Direct marriage (%) 10 16 26 30

Indirect marriage (%) 19 27 37 46

Gap (%) 9 11 11 16

15 years
(1980-84)

20 years
(1975-9)
Source: HILDA, 2001

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Why the gap?

z z z

Causal?

Cohabiting makes marriage less stable Duration of union Characteristics of cohabiting couples

Measurement method?

Selection?

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Break-up 5, 10, 15 & 20 years after UNION

% final Direct marriage separation after (%) 5 years (1990-95) 10 years
(1985-89)

Indirect marriage (%) 11 22 33 45

Gap (%) 1 (9) 6 (11) 7 (11) 15 (16)

10 16 26 30

15 years
(1980-84)

20 years
(1975-9)
Source: HILDA, 2001

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Remove selection effects

Country of birth z Education z Parental divorce z Religiousness z Age at which relationship began z Having child before marriage z NOT VALUES
z
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Probability of separation after 8 years of marriage (females)

Marriage cohort 1970-74 1980-84 1990-94
Source: HILDA, 2001

Direct marriage (%) 12.9 15.0 17.3

Indirect marriage (%) 23.9 20.0 16.6

Gap (%) 11.0* 5.0 -0.7

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Probability of separation after 8 years of union (females)

Marriage cohort 1970-74 1980-84 1990-94
Source: HILDA, 2001

Direct marriage (%) 12.2 14.3 16.6

Indirect marriage (%) 17.8 15.3 13.2

Gap (%) 5.6* (11.0) 1.0 (5.0) -3.4 (-0.7)

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Differences

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Breaking up
Marriage compared to cohabitation
(after 5 years) [Women]
1990-94 Year commenced 1985-89 1980-84 1975-79 1970-74 0
9 12 40 12 30

13

29

13

27

22

10

20 Per cent
Cohabiting

30

Cohabitations much more prone to ending More cohabitations breaking up within 40 50 5 years

Married

Source: HILDA, 2001

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Domestic violence
(from current male partner)
Form of violence Any violence last 12 months Emotional 12 months Any physical violence Threatened/attempted to hit Pushed, grabbed, shoved Choked Kicked, bit or punched
Source: Womens Safety Survey, 1996

Married (%) 3.6 4.1 7.7 3.9 5.2 0.6 1.4

Cohabiting(%) 11.2*** 7.9*** 11.4** 6.2* 9.7*** 3.2*** 2.7***

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Domestic violence (current male partner)

Cohabiting Cohabiting unemployed employed Form of violence male male Emotional abuse 12 months Physical assault Threatened/attempted physical assault Pushed, grabbed, shoved
Source: Womens Safety Survey, 1996

Married Married unemployed employed male male 14.4 11.9 6.8 5.9 9.4 8.1 4.5 5.9

22.2 22.2 16.7 7.7

8.3 8.6 5.6 7.7

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Mental Health
Probability of a disorder in last 12 months Married Cohabiting (actual) Cohabiting (adjusted for characteristics) Male (%) 11.2 22.5 12.7

Differences in mental health due to characteristics of cohabiting people not cohabiting itself Female(%) 13.8 25.8 10.4

Disorders included all mood, anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse disorders based on ICD-10 critieria Characteristics controlled: education, country of birth, age, employment, # of previous relationships, location, SES Source: National Survey of Well Being and Mental Health 1996

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Who cohabits?
2001

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Marital status
z

18 % of divorced or separated were cohabiting

z z

14.7% of never married 2.3% of widowed

Source: ABS 2001 Census

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Age
15-24 z 25-34 z 35-44 z 45-54 z 55+
z

7% of all individuals cohabiting 14.7% 8.4% 5.7% 1.9%

Source: ABS 2001 Census

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Religious affiliation (female)

z z z z z z z z z z

(% of partnered who cohabit) Catholic 10.4% Anglican 11.9% Baptist 6.3% Lutheran 10.6% Greek orthodox 3.1% Uniting 8.3% Fundamentalist groups 6.6% Islamic 2.5% Buddhist 9.0% No religion 24.1%
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Source: ABS 2001 Census

Occupation
(% of partnered who cohabit) Managers/admin Professional Associate Professional Trades Interm clerical/sales Labourer & related
Source: ABS 2001 Census

Men 9.3 12.7 13.0 17.0 15.7 19.3

Women 13.0 14.6 16.7 18.1 16.0 14.3

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Employment
(% of partnered who cohabit)
Works full time (%) Male Female 14.0 19.4 Works Not in labour part time Unemployed force (%) % % 17.4 10.9 25.3 21.8 14.0 10.8

Source: ABS 2001 Census

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Presence of children
(% in age group who have children in home)
100 90 80 70 Percent 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 25-29 30-34 35-39 Cohabiting 40-44 Married 45-49 50-54
34 56 50 51 78 64 89 90 81

63

60

34

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Summary (1)
Cohabitation increasing z Premarital cohabitation the norm z Long term cohabitation unusual z Cohabitation less stable than marriage
z

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Summary (2)
z

Marriages preceded by cohabitation higher separation rate. Due to:

way relationship duration is measured Characteristics of those who choose premarital cohabitation

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Summary (3)
z

Compared to marriages, cohabiting relationships display

Less stability More domestic violence

z

Only among unemployed cohabiting males Due to characteristics not cohabitation

Higher mental health disorders

z

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Concluding comments
Cohabitation not a single phenomenon z What does the rise of cohabitation mean?
z

Variation of pathways to marriage? Conditional relationships? Liquid love? Reflection of impermanence? Dealing with a risky society?
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