Editorial for Special Collection on New Relationships from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

BACKGROUND This special collection is the result of a collaboration between a group of family scholars from Europe and the United States. It initially developed from the observation that in many Western countries new types of couple relationships have emerged alongside marriage (i.e., cohabitation and living-apart-together [LAT] relationships). Although the trend seems universal, it is likely that the prevalence of different relationship types, and their outcomes in particular, vary across countries. Countries differ in how they institutionalize and confer meaning on new relationship types. Such differences may have important implications for how couples behave and organize their daily lives, in turn affecting the well-being of family members. The articles in this special collection aim to understand the organization and relationship outcomes of cohabitation, marriage, and LAT relationships across countries.CONTRIBUTION Although there has been an upsurge in cross-national research on new relationship types, most studies focus on cohabitation and less so on LAT relationships. In addition, most studies examine how new relationship types differ from marriage in demographic aspects (e.g., childbearing, union stability) or in terms of family members' well-being. Little cross-national evidence exists about differences with regard to how couples negotiate and give form to their relationship in their daily lives, or about dimensions that go beyond the relationship itself, such as people's relationships with their larger family. This special collection contributes to the existing body of knowledge by studying new relationships from a comparative perspective, looking at LAT relationships as well as cohabitation, and examining how couples differ from each other on relationship dimensions that have been relatively understudied.