Non-marital Partners Research Articles

Lay Intuitions About Family Obligations: The Case of Alimony

Most people have a sense of obligation to family members that is more powerful than the law in compelling compliance with its demands. When families dissolve, however, the power of such nonlegal norms often dissolves as well. The question then becomes what the law should require in their stead. This Article is part of a larger series of studies that have examined this question by asking what citizens believe the law should demand, using surveys of persons called to jury service in Tucson, Arizona. Respondents are asked to imagine they are the judge charged with deciding a series of cases in which the facts are systematically varied so as to reveal the implicit principles that survey respondents employ in deciding them. Previously reported results in this project have examined studies of the amount of child support that people believe appropriate, and how they believe child custody disputes should be resolved. This study examines lay views about alimony. It finds considerable divergence between American law in practice and the views of American citizens as to what the law should be. Survey respondents were willing to award alimony considerably more often than the law now does. More clearly, in deciding whether to allow an alimony award, they care most of all about the claimant’s responsibility as primary caretaker of the couple’s minor children, to some extent (but noticeably less) about the partners’ marital status and their relational duration, and very little at all about the claimant’s history of having cared for the couple’s now-grown children. Moreover, the way these factors affect our respondents’ judgments about alimony are not very dependent on who they are. Our respondents did vary among themselves, of course, in the frequency with which they allowed alimony, but they varied relatively little in how factors such as marriage, relational duration, the presence of minor children or the history of care for now-grown children affected their judgments. The citizen consensus reflected by these patterns differs, however, from the prevailing legal rules, the views of many scholars, and the recommendations of the American Law Institute. This striking discrepancy is interesting although not always surprising. Our respondents’ willingness to award alimony to non-marital partners, for example, is consistent with the law of some other Western countries, even if not with American law, suggesting perhaps that it is American law, not our respondents, that is peculiar. Perhaps it is also understandable that our respondents seem more concerned with the welfare of the couple’s current minor children than with addressing perceived inequities in the current economic circumstances of the adult partners. In any event, the views of our respondents pose a challenge to policymakers. Given the dearth of theoretical justification for current American practice, its rejection by American citizens seems all the more telling.

Behavioural risk factors of men associated with transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Sri Lanka.

Unprotected sex is a major risk factor for transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We explored the behavioural risk factors for STIs among men who presented with STI-related symptoms. A systematic sample of 112 males presenting with STI symptoms at district sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic located in Kandy, Sri Lanka were enrolled during 2009. They were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Selected sexual behaviours were discussed with them in greater detail. The chi-square and difference-in-two-proportion tests were used for testing the statistical significance for quantitative data, and qualitative methods were used for the analysis of responses to open-ended questions and in-depth discussion. The median age of the respondents was 28 years. The majority of them (56%) had never been married. The median age at the first sexual intercourse was 22 years. The majority (87%) of respondents had their first intercourse before marriage; mostly with older females. Most (103, 92%) men reported having sexual intercourse during the past six months; of them, 40.8% had sex with multiple partners. Only 18.5% used condoms at the first premarital intercourse. The consistent use of condoms with non-marital partners during the past six months was only 13.7%. Common reasons for non-use of condoms were: belief that partner was faithful; poor knowledge about risk of unprotected sex; view that condoms reduce pleasure and negatively affect intimacy; and inhibition in accessing condoms in public. Sexual behaviours were found to be risky among men attending STD clinics in Sri Lanka. Strategies of sexual health promotion among vulnarable groups should be evaluated for planning proper interventions.

P-653 - Socio-demographic, clinical and criminological characteristics of female intimate partner homicide

A female spouse homicide occurs in France every two days, in majority of cases after an episode of physical violence against the woman. Our objective was to determine socio-demographic, clinical and criminological characteristics of the male authors of a spouse homicide. We have studied 210 records of psychiatric expertise of homicides perpetrated between 1995 and 2005 in West of France. We have analyzed the socio-demographic, clinical and criminological characteristics of the authors of a female intimate partner homicide (n = 30) and compared to the authors of a non female intimate partner homicide (n = 180). The authors of a female intimate partner homicide were older (38.4 years old (yo) versus 32.7 yo, p = .019) and had significantly more frequently a personal history of violence (50% versus 28%, p = .045) than the authors of a non-female intimate partner homicide. Compared to the non-female spouse homicides, female spouse homicides were not associated with other criminal behaviours (6.7% versus 21.7%, p = .055). A mental disorder was found in the minority of cases (13.3% versus 18,.3%, p = .506). Paranoid delusional disorder was the most frequent severe mental disorder in the authors of female intimate partner homicide (10%). Our results confirm the general and the specific risk factors of violence in female intimate-partner homicide. Legal and health care professionals should be aware that women are vulnerable to intimate partner violence and homicide from both nonmarital and former partners as well as from current husbands. The history of domestic violence should be researched by the clinicians.

Do Men and Women Report Their Sexual Partnerships Differently? Evidence from Kisumu, Kenya

It is generally believed that men and women misreport their sexual behaviors, which undermines the ability of researchers, program designers and health care providers to assess whether these behaviors compromise individuals' sexual and reproductive health. Data on 1,299 recent sexual partnerships were collected in a 2007 survey of 1,275 men and women aged 18-24 and living in Kisumu, Kenya. Chi-square and t tests were used to examine how sample selection bias and selective partnership reporting may result in gender differences in reported sexual behaviors. Correlation coefficients and kappa statistics were calculated in further analysis of a sample of 280 matched marital and nonmarital couples to assess agreement on reported behaviors. Even after adjustment for sample selection bias, men reported twice as many partnerships as women (0.5 vs. 0.2), as well as more casual partnerships. However, when selective reporting was controlled for, aggregate gender differences in sexual behaviors almost entirely disappeared. In the matched-couples sample, men and women exhibited moderate to substantial levels of agreement for most relationship characteristics and behaviors, including type of relationship, frequency of sex and condom use. Finally, men and women tended to agree about whether men had other nonmarital partners, but disagreed about women's nonmarital partners. Both sample selection bias and selective partnership reporting can influence the level of agreement between men's and women's reports of sexual behaviors. Although men report more casual partners than do women, accounts of sexual behavior within reported relationships are generally reliable.

Midlife Sexuality Among Thai Adults: Adjustment to Aging in the Thai Family Context

The objective of the study is to assess views of age related changes in sexual behavior among married Thai adults age 53 to 57. Results are viewed in the context of life course theory. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 Thai adults in Bangkok and the four regions of Thailand. Topics covered include changing sexual behavior with age, adjustment to this change, gender differences in behavior, attitudes toward commercial sex and other non-marital sexual partners, and condom use. Most respondents were aware of this change and saw a decrease in sexual activity and desire more often among women compared to men. At the same time, many respondents viewed sexuality as important to a marriage. Some respondents accepted the decrease in sexual activity and focused more on work, family and temple activities. Thai Buddhism was seen as an important resource for people who were dealing with changes due to aging. Other persons turned to other partners including both commercial and non-commercial partners. The influence of the HIV epidemic that began in the 1990s was seen in concerns about disease transmission with extramarital partners and consequent attitudes toward condom use. The acceptability of extramarital partners in the family and community ranged from acceptance to strong disapproval of extramarital relationships.

Soziale Integration und Lebenszufriedenheit kinderloser Frauen und Männer im mittleren und höheren Erwachsenenalter

Adult children are important members of the social network of older persons. Children are particularly important in facilitating the social integration of the aged. Against this backdrop, this paper explores possible effects of childlessness on the social integration and life satisfaction of middle and older aged women and men. The data used in this study are drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), an annual survey of private households in Germany. The analysis is restricted to respondents aged between 45 and 84 who live in a marital or nonmarital partnership. Multivariate models are used to examine the effect of childlessness on contacts with relatives and friends, civic, political, and religious participation, as well as life and family satisfaction. Cohabiting childless women and men in mid- and late life are only slightly less socially integrated than parents living in a partnership. Compared to parents, childless elders have fewer social contacts. However, childless men and women do not differ from empty nest parents in their civic, political and religious participation. Moreover, childless elders do not have a lower level of life satisfaction than mothers and fathers. Quite the contrary, childless men und women are happier than parents who coreside with their adult children. The results presented here revise the common assumption that childlessness negatively affects the social integration and life satisfaction of middle- and older-aged persons.

Assessing the Validity of Sexual Behaviour Reports in a Whole Population Survey in Rural Malawi

BackgroundSexual behaviour surveys are widely used, but under-reporting of particular risk behaviours is common, especially by women. Surveys in whole populations provide an unusual opportunity to understand the extent and nature of such under-reporting.MethodsAll consenting individuals aged between 15 and 59 within a demographic surveillance site in northern Malawi were interviewed about their sexual behaviour. Validity of responses was assessed by analysis of probing questions; by comparison of results with in-depth interviews and with Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) seropositivity; by comparing reports to same sex and opposite sex interviewers; and by quantifying the partnerships within the local community reported by men and by women, adjusted for response rates.Results6,796 women and 5,253 men (83% and 72% of those eligible) consented and took part in sexual behaviour interviews. Probing questions and HSV-2 antibody tests in those who denied sexual activity identified under-reporting for both men and women. Reports varied little by sex or age of the interviewer. The number of marital partnerships reported was comparable for men and women, but men reported about 4 times as many non-marital partnerships. The discrepancy in reporting of non-marital partnerships was most marked for married women (men reported about 7 times as many non-marital partnerships with married women as were reported by married women themselves), but was only apparent in younger married women.ConclusionsWe have shown that the under-reporting of non-marital partnerships by women was strongly age-dependent. The extent of under-reporting of sexual activity by young men was surprisingly high. The results emphasise the importance of triangulation, including biomarkers, and the advantages of considering a whole population.

O2-S3.02 Assessing the validity of sexual behaviour reports in a whole population survey in rural Malawi

BackgroundSexual behaviour surveys are widely used, but under-reporting of particular risk behaviours is common, especially by women. Surveys in whole populations provide an unusual opportunity to understand the extent and...

Partner caregiving in older cohabiting couples.

Despite the rapidly increasing prevalence of cohabitation among older adults, the caregiving literature has exclusively focused on formally married individuals. Extending prior work on intra-couple care, this study contrasts frail cohabitors' patterns of care receipt from a partner to that of frail spouses. Using nationally representative panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006), we estimate random effects cross-sectional times series models predicting frail cohabitors' likelihood of receiving partner care compared with their married counterparts'. Conditional on the receipt of intra-couple care, we also examine differences in marital and nonmarital partners' caregiving hours and caregiving involvement relative to other helpers. Net of sociodemographic, disability, and comorbidity factors, we find that cohabitors are less likely to receive partner care than married individuals. However, caregiving nonmarital partners provide as many hours of care as spouses while providing a substantially larger share of disabled respondents' care than marital partners. Cohabitation and marriage have distinct implications for older adults' patterns of partner care receipt. This study adds weight to a growing body of research emphasizing the importance of accounting for older adults' nontraditional union forms and of examining the ramifications of cohabitation for older adults' well-being.

Lay Intuitions About Family Obligations: The Case of Alimony

Most people have a sense of obligation to family members that is more powerful than the law in compelling compliance with its demands. When families dissolve, however, the power of such nonlegal norms often dissolves as well. The question then becomes what the law should require in their stead. This paper is part of a larger series of studies that have examined this question by asking what citizens believe the law should demand, using surveys of persons called to jury service in Tucson, Arizona. Respondents are asked to imagine they are the judge charged with deciding a series of cases in which the facts are systematically varied so as to reveal the implicit principles survey respondents employ in deciding them. Previously reported results in this project have examined studies of the amount of the child support people believe appropriate, and how they believe child custody disputes should be resolved. This study examines lay views about alimony. It finds considerable divergence between American law in practice, and the views of American citizens as to what the law should be.Survey respondents were willing to award alimony considerably more often than the law now does. More clearly, in deciding on whether to allow an alimony award, they care most of all about the claimant’s responsibility as primary caretaker of the couple’s minor children, some but noticeably less about the partner’s marital status and their relational duration, and very little at all about the claimant’s history of having cared for the couple’s now-grown children. Moreover, the way these factors affect our respondents’ judgments about alimony are not very dependent on who they are. Our respondents did vary among themselves, of course, in the frequency with which they allowed alimony, but they varied relatively little in how factors such as marriage, relational duration, the presence of minor children, or the history of care for now-grown children, affected their judgments.The citizen consensus reflected by these patterns differs, however, from the prevailing legal rules, the views of many scholars, and the recommendations of the American Law Institute. This striking discrepancy is interesting although not always surprising. Our respondents’ willingness to award alimony to non-marital partners, for example, is consistent with the law of some other western countries, even if not with American law, suggesting perhaps that it is American law, not our respondents, that is peculiar. Perhaps it is also understandable that our respondents seem more concerned with the welfare of the couple’s current minor children, than with addressing perceived inequities in the current economic circumstances of the adult partners. In any event, the views of our respondents pose a challenge to policymakers. Given the dearth of theoretical justification for current American practice, its rejection by American citizens seems all the more telling.

Dissolution of Primary Intimate Relationships During Incarceration and Associations With Post-Release STI/HIV Risk Behavior in a Southeastern City

Incarceration is associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It may contribute to STI/HIV by disrupting primary intimate relationships that protect against high-risk partnerships. In an urban sample of men (N = 229) and women (N = 144) in North Carolina, we assessed how often respondents experienced the dissolution of a primary intimate relationship at the time of their own (among men) or their partner's (among women) incarceration. We then measured the association between dissolution of relationships during incarceration and STI/HIV-related risk behaviors. Among men who had ever been incarcerated for 1 month or longer (N = 72), 43% (N = 31) had a marital or nonmarital primary partner at the time of the longest prior sentence. Among women, 22% (N = 31) had ever had a primary partner who had been incarcerated for 1 month or longer. Of men and women who were in a relationship at the time of a prior incarceration of 1 month or longer (N = 62), more than 40% of men and 30% of women reported that the relationship ended during the incarceration. In analyses adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and crack/cocaine use, loss of a partner during incarceration was associated with nearly 3 times the prevalence of having 2 or more new partners in the 4 weeks before the survey (prevalence ratio: 2.80, 95% confidence interval: 1.13-6.96). In this sample, incarceration disrupted substantial proportions of primary relationships and dissolution of those relationships was associated with subsequent STI/HIV risk. The results highlight the need for further research to investigate the effects of incarceration on relationships and health.

Prenatal development in rural South Africa: Relationship between birth weight and access to fathers and grandparents

Birth weight is an indicator of prenatal development associated with health in infancy and childhood, and may be affected by the family environment experienced by the mother during pregnancy. Using data from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, we explore the importance of the mother's access to the father and grandparents of the child during pregnancy. Controlling for household socio-economic indicators and maternal characteristics, the survival and residence of the biological father with the mother are positively associated with birth weight. The type of relationship seems to matter: married women have the heaviest newborns, but co-residence with a non-marital partner is also associated with higher birth weight. Access to the maternal grandmother may also be important: women whose mothers are alive have heavier newborns, but no additional benefit is observed from residing together. Co-residence with any grandparent is not associated with birth weight after controlling for the mother's partnership.

Beyond Sugar Daddies: Intergenerational Sex and AIDS in Urban Zimbabwe

In a survey of 1,313 men reporting on 2,465 partnerships recruited at beer halls in Harare, Zimbabwe, 2.5% met a definition of "sugar daddy": men with a non-marital partner at least 10 years younger and under 20years old, and exchanged cash or goods for sex. Men engaging in intergenerational sex with a teenage woman had similar HIV prevalence, incomes, and condom use as men in other partnerships. Most men (62.3%) had partners 5 or more years younger, with wider age gaps in longer-term relationships. Condom use was less common within married and steady partnerships compared to casual and more common with younger women. The most common form of intergenerational sex, with the widest age gap and lowest condom use, occurs within marriages and steady partnerships. Such "conventional" intergenerational sex may play the pivotal role in sustaining a generalized epidemic across generations and present the most difficult challenge to prevention.

Migrants’ Competing Commitments: Sexual Partners in Urban Africa and Remittances to the Rural Origin

Migrants form nonfamilial ties in urban destinations, which could compete with origin families for a share of remittances. A framework of competing commitment predicts that new relationships affect remittances depending on the extent to which they substitute for the benefits provided by origin families. Analyses of data from urban migrants in Kenya show that serious nonmarital sexual partners substitute for psychosocial support from the rural family and that material transfers migrants give to these partners significantly reduce remittances. The findings have implications for the ways scholars conceive of competition, the nature of exchange, and substitution of support across intimate relationships.

Study on the high risk behaviors related to AIDS among men who having sex with men in the floating population

To explore the risks on sexual behaviors related to AIDS among men who having sex with men (MSM) in floating population and to develop relevant interventions. Study objectives were recruited through target sampling and anonymous questionnaires were adopted. Male sexual behaviors were compared between floating population and permanent registered residents. Among those MSM, the average numbers of same-gender partners, oral sex, anal sex and sex with females during the past 6 months among floating population were 9.61, 8.61, 7.52 and 1.17 respectively. Numbers of partners on oral sex and anal sex during the past month were 2.89 and 3.69 respectively. Both figures were higher than those of the permanent registered residents (P<0.05 or P< 0.01). The rates of condom use among floating population when having anal sex with men or with non-marital female partners were 37.15% and 23.28% respectively. The figures were all higher than those of permanent registered residents' (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Among floating population, the percentages of men who had sex with male sex workers or who had sex with men acquainted through inter-net or with stable female sex partners were 17.89%, 12.56%, and 31.86% respectively. The rates of men who had group sex among gay men, who bled when having sex with men or who had sex with men from other areas during the past year were 22.13%, 31.38% and 32.36% respectively. The figures were all higher than those of permanent registered residents' (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Sex-related high risk behaviors were more ubiquitous among floating population than those of permanent registered residents because they were more likely to transmit HIV to people from/to other areas. More attention should be paid to the floating population with MSM in particular, when health interventions are carried out.

Influence of timing of sexual debut and first marriage on sexual behaviour in later life: findings from four survey rounds in the Kisesa cohort in northern Tanzania

Objectives:To evaluate quality of sexual debut and first marriage data, measure trends and study the association of risky sexual behaviour in youth with adult risk behaviour.Methods:Reports on age at first...

Sexual risk taking, sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevalence among four “high-risk” occupational groups of Indonesian men

Objectives: This article reports new surveillance data on the prevalence of sexual risk taking, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) among four occupational groups of Indonesian men thought to...

The Unintended Consequences of Intended Pregnancies: Youth, Condom Use, and HIV Transmission in Mozambique

Although unwanted pregnancies can cause social and economic problems for Sub-Saharan African youth, the consequences of intended adolescent pregnancies have gone unnoticed. Rarely do studies recognize that youth who desire a pregnancy are less likely to practice safe sex and, therefore, are at greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. This study uses data from the 2003 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey to explore youth fertility desires and condom use. In multivariate analyses, controlling for other factors associated with condom use, female youth who want to get pregnant soon are significantly less likely (odds ratio: 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.22-0.55) to use condoms with nonmarital partners than youth who want to delay childbearing. Programs for sexually active youth should recognize the importance of fertility desires as a potential moderator of condom use, even if the woman is at risk of HIV or STI. Recommendations are provided for HIV prevention counseling for youth who want to get pregnant and youth who are ambivalent about a future pregnancy.

Mate availability and unmarried parent relationships.

Theoretically, a shortage of males in a local marriage market may influence the formation, quality, and trajectory of unmarried parent relationships. To test these hypotheses, I combine city-level sex ratio data from the U.S. census with microdata on unmarried couples who recently had a child from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. A shortage of men in a marriage market is associated with lower relationship quality for unmarried parents. Male shortages are associated with lower rates of marriage following a nonmarital birth, in part because of the mediating influence of relationship quality. A shortage of men is not significantly related to the economic quality of male, nonmarital childbearing partners.

Wealth Status and Risky Sexual Behaviour in Ghana and Kenya

Emerging evidence seems to suggest that there is some association between individual socioeconomic status and sexual risk-taking behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa. A number of broad associations have emerged, among them, positive, neutral and negative relationships between wealth status and sexual risk-taking behaviour. Reduction in the number of sex partners as a behavioural change has been advocated as an important tool in HIV prevention, and affecting such a change requires an understanding of some of the factors that can influence social behaviour, interactions and activities of subpopulations. To further explore the determinants of sexual risk-taking behaviour (individuals having multiple sex partners), especially the effects that variations in household wealth status, gender and different subpopulation groups have on this behaviour. The relationship between wealth status and sexual risk-taking behaviour in the context of HIV/AIDS infection in Ghana and Kenya was assessed using raw data from the 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys of each country. Wealth quintiles were used as a proxy for economic status, while non-marital and non-cohabiting sexual partnerships were considered indicators for risky sexual behaviour. For females, there appears to be an increasing probability of sexual risk taking by wealth status in Kenya, while, in Ghana, an inverted J-shaped relationship is shown between wealth status and sexual risk taking. When controlled for other variables, the relationship between wealth status and sexual risk-taking behaviour disappears for females in the two countries. For males, there is no clearly discernable pattern between wealth status and sexual risk-taking behaviour in Ghana, while there is a general trend towards increasing sexual risk-taking behaviour by wealth status in Kenya. For Ghana, the highest probabilities are among the highest and the middle wealth quintiles; in Kenya, high probabilities were found for the two highest wealth quintiles. Controlling for the effects of other factors, the pattern for Ghana is further blurred (not statistically significant), but the relationship continues to show in the case of Kenya, and is significant for the highest quintile. In general, for both Ghana and Kenya, men in the highest wealth quintile were found to be more likely to have multiple sexual partners than the other groups. The changing phases of HIV infection indicate that it is no longer poverty that drives the epidemic. Rather, it is wealth and a number of other sociodemographic factors that explain sexual risk-taking behaviour that puts people at risk. Understanding local specific factors that predispose individuals towards sexual risk taking could help to expand the range of information and services needed to combat the HIV pandemic.