Non-marital Unions Research Articles

Changes in Chlamydia trachomatis risk before and after union formation and separation among women of reproductive age.

Not having an established relationship is associated with an elevated risk of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection, but this might reflect selection into and out of unions. Although union formation and union separation are common events in reproductive age, little is known about changes in CT risk before and after these transitions. We linked Finnish Population Register data to the National Register of Infectious Diseases and used fixed-effects linear probability models that account for all time-invariant confounders to examine changes in women's 6-month CT risk 3 years before and 3 years after entry into first cohabitation (n = 293554), non-marital separation (n = 201647) or marital separation (n = 92232) during 2005-14. From 3 years to 1 year before first union formation, the 6-month risk of CT increased slightly, peaking at 1.27% immediately prior to union formation (95% confidence interval 1.22-1.31). It declined sharply following union formation, being only 0.40% (0.34-0.46) 6-12 months after union formation with little changes thereafter. Among women separating from non-marital unions, the risk increased from 0.50% (0.42-0.57) to 1.45% (1.40-1.49) around the time of separation and decreased following separation. The pattern of findings was relatively similar for marital separation, although the observed risks and changes were smaller in magnitude. Our results based on longitudinal data and individual fixed-effects models indicate that the period immediately after separation may be causally associated with an elevated risk of CT. This suggests that recently separated women should be identified as a high-risk group for CT.

Comparative Analysis of Property Rights of Non-Marital Partners in North Macedonia and Selected European Union Countries

Abstract In recent years in North Macedonia, there has been a noticeable and steady rise in the prevalence of non-marital unions or domestic partnerships, alongside a decline in the number of marriages and an increase in divorces. This trend mirrors developments seen across Europe, signaling significant shifts in the perception, function, and role of the institution of marriage and family over recent decades. Across European nations, various models of legal frameworks govern non-marital unions. These differences encompass conditions for existence and legal recognition, the legal consequences of domestic partnership, and procedures for its dissolution. While some countries require registration and fulfillment of specific criteria for legal recognition and effects of non-marital unions, others, like North Macedonia, do not impose such prerequisites. In certain jurisdictions, the legal ramifications of non-marital unions closely resemble those of marriage, encompassing both personal and property rights between non-marital partners. However, in the Republic of North Macedonia, the law predominantly focuses on regulating property relations between such partners, granting them certain rights—a focal point of this research paper. The legal framework governing the property relations of non-marital partners holds significant importance, particularly in safeguarding the financial security of economically vulnerable partners and ensuring the protection of any shared children. The methods employed in this research include theoretical analysis and the comparative method, drawing upon the legal frameworks and practices of Croatia, France, and Italy alongside North Macedonia. Through these analytical approaches, we aim to elucidate the intricate dynamics of domestic partnerships and their implications for individuals and families in contemporary society.

A matter of time: Bateman's principles and mating success as count and duration across social strata in contemporary Finland.

Bateman's principles heavily influence the understanding of human reproductive behaviour. Yet, few rigorous studies on Bateman's principles in contemporary industrialized populations exist. Most studies use small samples, exclude non-marital unions, and disregard recent insights on within-population heterogeneity in mating strategies. We assess mating success and reproductive success using population-wide Finnish register data on marital and non-marital cohabitations and fertility. We examine variability across social strata in the Bateman principles and analyse the mate count, the cumulated duration with a mate, and the association with reproductive success. Results support Bateman's first and second principles. Regarding Bateman's third principle, the number of mates is more positively associated with reproductive success for men than women, but this association is driven by ever having a mate. Having more than one mate is on average associated with lower reproductive success. However, for men in the lowest income quartile, having more than one mate positively predicts reproductive success. Longer union duration is associated with higher reproductive success, and more so for men. We note that sex differences in the relationship between mating success and reproductive success differ by social strata, and argue that mate duration may be an important component of mating success alongside mate count.

Life and Society in the Early Spanish Caribbean: The Greater Antilles, 1493–1550 by Ida Altman

<i>Life and Society in the Early Spanish Caribbean: The Greater Antilles, 1493–1550</i> by Ida Altman

Victorian Women Writers and the Other Germany: Cross-Cultural Freedoms and Female Opportunity

Victorian Women Writers and the Other Germany: Cross-Cultural Freedoms and Female Opportunity

Migration, Marriage, and Cohabitation among Hispanic Immigrant Women in the United States.

Prior research shows links between the timing of migration and family formation, particularly childbearing, among Hispanic immigrants in the United States, with implications for women's socioeconomic well-being. However, temporal connections between migration and union formation, particularly non-marital cohabiting unions, remain underexplored. As cohabiting unions have long coexisted with marriage in parts of Latin America, this omission may be particularly misrepresentative of the family formation strategies of Hispanic immigrants. Drawing on data from the National Survey of Family Growth (2011-2017), I examined the association between the timing of migration and entry into first marital or non-marital (cohabiting) union, treating marriage and cohabitation as competing events for first union type. Among women whose first union was non-marital, I also examined the relationship between migration and the likelihood of transitioning out of the non-marital union, either through marriage or union dissolution. Results showed that marriage formation was high the year of migration, and increased again only after 6 years post-migration, whereas cohabitation was high the year of migration and continued to increase with each period following migration. Furthermore, non-marital unions formed prior to migration were likely to transition to marriage or dissolve, while those formed after migration were likely to remain non-marital. These findings point to distinctions in the types of partnerships formed before and after migration and to the salience of non-marital unions for women who migrate unpartnered, demonstrating the need for further research on the socioeconomic integration and well-being of unmarried or cohabiting immigrant women, and the dynamic connections between migration, gender, and family.

Ostvarivanje i zaštita prava na porodičnu penziju vanbračnog partnera, ili šta NAM sve zakonodavac nije rekao?

The amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, enacted at the end of 2019, envisage that the right to a family pension can also be exercised by the surviving extramarital partner. Thus, extramarital partners have been equated (for the first time) with spouses in matrimonial relations. In order to be entitled to a survivor's pension, both spouses and extramarital partners must inter alia spend at least three years in marriage or extramarital union, or have a child together. The existence of an extramarital union is determined in a non-litigious proceeding. Although this statutory specification of the constitutional norm on the equality of marriage and extramarital union is praiseworthy, the authors point out that the new legal provision raises a number of issues. The situation is indisputable if a man and a woman were in an exclusive extramarital relationship that lasted for a long time, and particularly if they have at least one child together. However, in the event that one of them was in a parallel extramarital union with another person, or if the condition of gender differentiation does not exist or has ceased to exist, it raises the question how the existence of an extramarital union will be proven in non-litigious proceedings. The authors examine whether the existing legal framework provides for achieving the goal of the provision envisaged in the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, and how possible abuses of this right can be prevented in order to protect the conscientious (bona fides) users acting in good faith. Although the Serbian legislator finally decided to fully equalize marital and nonmarital unions in terms of exercising the right to a family pension, we believe that the existing solution needs to be improved in order to avoid confusion in practice and prevent possible abuses. Only the nominal introduction of the provision on the equality of married and non-marital partners with reference to the non-litigation procedure has already opened a number of questions in practice. In this paper, we point to some issues concerning the method of determining the quality of an extramarital union and the competition between two extramarital unions. An innovative solution, which would represent not only a concretization of the constitutional provision but also a qualitative contribution to the pension and disability insurance system, calls for amending the existing solution in the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, detailed regulation of the procedure for determining the existence of extramarital union as a named procedure in the Non-litigation Procedure Act, and the introspection what the legislator actually wants for and from an extramarital partner. Although it sounds like a serious task, the importance of an institution such as extramarital union certainly deserves not such an approach.

Three Different Legal Attitudes Towards Non-Marital Cohabitation in Europe

The rising number of people “just living together”, people who are neither married nor in registered partnerships, clearly demonstrates that non-marital unions can no longer be ignored. To obtain an accurate picture of the situation of non-marital partners it was essential to conduct comparative research of multiple legal orders. This analysis threw a new light (at least from the Polish standpoint) on possible solutions to the problem of the regulation of legal aspects of “living together”. It appears that three different legal attitudes towards non-marital cohabitation may be distinguished in Europe. Firstly, there are legal orders in which by virtue of an explicit reference by the legislator – the regulations on marriage are applied to cohabitation (quasi-marriage cohabitation). Secondly, there also exist countries in which a law was adopted regulating selected aspects of actual cohabitation (implied model of cohabitation). And thirdly, there are legal orders in which any cohabitant-oriented legal regime exists.

"Thank U, Next"? Repartnering and the Household Division of Labor.

Drawing on life course and gender theories, this study tests competing hypotheses about the effect of repartnering on women's and men's levels and shares of housework. Amidst increasing cohabitation rates and union instability, women and men are likely to form and dissolve multiple marital and non-marital unions with different partners over the life course. However, most of our knowledge about the role of past relationships are based on cross-sectional studies comparing first- and higher-order union. This study investigates whether people change their housework arrangements upon repartnering and whether women and men experience similar patterns of change in heterosexual relationships. The analysis draws on 40 years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a sample of 1,897 women and men who were observed in two sequential heterosexual unions. The author used fixed-effects models to estimate change in housework behavior upon repartnering. Overall, the results show stability in housework behavior upon repartnering once controlling for other life course changes that concur with repartnering. Women continued doing the majority of housework upon repartnering. The results suggest that forming a new heterosexual union evokes gender scripts which overall maintains the gendered housework behavior. Although housework is dynamic over the life course, the gender dynamics that shape housework is stable amid union instability.

The ageing of parent carers: classed and gendered care-giving patterns at higher ages

AbstractIncreasing longevity has led to a rising number of adult children who are at higher ages when they provide care for their parents. Drawing on the lifecourse approach and exchange theory, the paper addresses similarities and differences in parent care between late middle-aged and older adult children. The study uses the UK Household Longitudinal Study, restricting the analysis sample to individuals aged 50 and older with a living parent or parent-in-law. It presents multivariate models to examine differences between late middle-aged (aged 50–64) and older (aged 65+) children in being a parent carer, providing intensive care, the duration of parent care and providing selected types of help to parents. The involvement in parent care increases among women up to the end of their seventh decade of life and for men up to their eighth decade of life. At higher ages, the proportion of parent carers decreases more strongly for women than men. Older carers have shorter care-giving episodes than younger carers, but there is no significant difference in the type of care provided. Even past retirement age, parent care remains classed and gendered, with women from lower social classes having the highest likelihood of providing intensive parent care in old age. Having dependent children or living in a non-marital union depress the likelihood of caring for a parent even past retirement age.

Legal Development of Non-Marital Union in Croatia

Legal development of non-marital union in Croatia went through different phases – from modest family law effects (property rights and the right to maintenance) in late seventies of the twentieth century to equating non-marital union with marriage nowadays, except the establishment of fatherhood and gaining common family name.&#x0D; In the Family Act (2015) non-marital union refers to a life union between an unmarried woman and an unmarried man that has lasted for at least three years or for a shorter duration if a common child has been born therein or has been continued by entering a marriage.&#x0D; The author underlines the problem of legal uncertainty that arises from the fact that non-marital union is informal and that preconditions for non-marital union effects are different in different legal branches. Overall, legal regulation of non-marital union in Croatia is inconsistent due to particular legal solutions.

Simulating Family Life Courses: An Application for Italy, Great Britain, and Scandinavia

Family patterns in Western countries have substantially changed across the 1940 to 1990 birth cohorts. Adults born more recently enter more often unmarried cohabitations and marry later, if at all. They have children later and fewer of them; births take place in a non-marital union more often and, due to the declining stability of couple relationships, in more than one partnership. These changes have led to an increasing diversity in family life courses. In this paper, we present a microsimulation model of family life trajectories, which models the changing family patterns taking into account the complex interrelationships between childbearing and partnership processes. The microsimulation model is parameterized to retrospective data for women born since 1940 in Italy, Great Britain and two Nordic countries (Norway and Sweden), representing three significantly different cultural and institutional contexts of partnering and childbearing in Europe. Validation of the simulated family life courses against their real-world equivalents shows that the simulations not only closely replicate observed childbearing and partnership processes, but also give good predictions when compared to more recent fertility indicators. We conclude that the presented microsimulation model is suitable for exploring changing family dynamics and outline potential research questions and further applications.

Men’s First Partnership Formation in Four Former State-socialist Countries during the Transition Period

Non-marital cohabitation has become increasingly common in advanced societies, although somewhat less so in Central-Eastern Europe in the period immediately following the fall of state socialism. In this paper we focus on changes in men’s first partnership patterns in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania between the 1980s and early 2000s, specifically addressing gender differences with respect to the effects of educational attainment. Data on men and women extracted from the first round of Generations and Gender Programme in these countries are analysed, relying on proportional hazards event history models with piecewise constant baseline intensity for entering a first union (cohabitation or direct marriage – as competing risks). We find a positive educational gradient for marriage formation among men in all countries analysed, but only in Hungary for women. No such gradient is seen for cohabitation among men with the exception of Poland. The popularity of cohabitation increased over time while the trend for marriage entry declined, resulting in non-marital unions replacing marriage as the main form of first partnerships by the late 1990s-early 2000s, except for Romania. Declining marriage trends paralleled by women’s growing educational advantage are likely to be related to the limited (and decreasing) supply of highly educated men as most attractive marriage partners in the region. The main contribution of this study is to fill the knowledge gap on changes in family formation patterns with emphasis on men’s first co-residential unions in Central-Eastern Europe in the period of major societal transition. The results point to the importance of gendered effects of educational attainment with respect to the type of first union formed.

Dawn of a new era for permanent life partners: from Volks v Robinson to Bwanya v Master of the High Court

SUMMARY The laws in South Africa pertaining to marital affairs have for a long time developed from a conservative form to a non-conservative one. This can be denoted from the passing of legislation such as the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998, affording women in customary marriages the same protection as those in civil marriages as well as the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, allowing same-sex partners to formalise their union. Since the advent of the Constitution it can therefore be concluded that the courts and legislature have worked relentlessly to ensure the equal enjoyment of rights to all South African people. Regardless of the immense efforts to develop this area of law, certain groups still remain unprotected and often rely on piece-meal protection often derived from court decisions. Such groups include heterosexual parties to a permanent life partnership. Although such permanent life partnerships are acknowledged in South Africa, there is no legislative protection with regards to maintenance or inheritance at the dissolution of the union. This is different to formalised unions such as marriage and civil unions with extensive legislation concerning the aftermath of such unions. A plethora of cases suggests that, this position has been challenged many times to no avail. In 2005, the Constitutional Court in Volks v Robinson, held that the distinction between married and unmarried couples could not be held to be unfair as a marriage encompassed legal reciprocal duties which were not present in a non-marital union. Effectively, permanent life partners could not claim maintenance or inheritance from the estate of their deceased partner. In a recent welcomed decision by the High Court, a heterosexual permanent life partner was permitted to inherit from the estate of her deceased partner. This article discusses the Constitutional Court case and the recent High Court case to elicit that South Africa is headed towards positive development with regard to marital unions and those akin to such unions.

One hundred and twenty years of widowhood protection (1900-2020)

Desde los inicios de su proteccion especifica, las situaciones de necesidad derivadas de muerte y supervivencia, fueron protegidas de forma diversificada, quizas porque en lugar de atender a su causa inmediata se reparaban las causas mediatas, apareciendo asi un regimen protector extremadamente pluralista, asistematico e incoherente que en algunas ocasiones ofrecia prestaciones superpuestas. Y ello puesto que las situaciones de necesidad a reparar se protegian en atencion a una pluralidad de riesgos, accidente de trabajo, enfermedad profesional, perdida de la salud, muerte, cargas familiares, etcetera. Es decir, no hubo en los inicios de la proteccion un seguro social especifico de muerte y supervivencia. Por ello, el estudio de la proteccion a la viudedad que aqui se realiza, comienza con un analisis de su configuracion, a traves de las distintas medidas recogidas en la legislacion protectora de riesgos profesionales, seguida luego de su ordenacion en los diversos seguros sociales protectores de riesgos comunes. Este periodo se inicia en 1900 con la Ley de Accidentes de Trabajo y termina en 1966 cuando esta proximo a entrar en vigor nuestro actual sistema de Seguridad Social. La segunda parte se inicia con una analisis de la configuracion inicial de la proteccion en el sistema de Seguridad Social en 1967, su mejora y perfeccionamiento en 1972 y las continuas reformas que desde 1981 se han venido produciendo y han conducido a la situacion actual, en la que se puede contemplar como se han recuperado requisitos y modalidades protectoras que habian desparecido con la reforma de 1972 y por otro lado, como se ha ido ampliando el ambito de subjetivo de la proteccion permitiendo que en situaciones de crisis matrimoniales o de uniones no matrimoniales puedan lucrar la proteccion. En esta segunda parte, se hace una especial referencia a la toma en consideracion de las situaciones de violencia contra la mujer y su incidencia en la proteccion. Finalmente, hay una tercera parte en la que se hacen algunas consideraciones sobre el porvenir de la proteccion a la viudedad

From an Alternative to a Precarious Family Form? The Changing Role of Education in Nonmarital Childbearing in Germany

AbstractThis paper examines the association of education and family forms based on data of the German microcensus 1996–2012. The investigation shows that highly educated women in western Germany had a higher probability of living in a nonmarital instead of a marital union. With an increase in the share of nonmarital births, the association has reversed. Likewise, the highly educated couples were initially the vanguards of living in nonmarital unions with children, but they are nowadays the least likely to do so. Patterns differ between eastern and western Germany, though.

Introduction to the Special Collection on Separation, Divorce, Repartnering, and Remarriage around the World

Background: This is an introduction to a special collection of articles that, in earlier versions, were presented at the International Seminar on Union Breakdown and Repartnering around the World, in Montreal, Canada, in 2015, sponsored by the Panel on Nuptiality of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. Methods: This introduction synthesizes the contributions of the articles in the special collection and in the research literature. Results: The rate of formal divorce is negatively correlated worldwide with indicators of social class such as education, as William J. Goode (1963, 1993) predicted. But the stable high-divorce societies he noted have disappeared, and stable low-divorce societies are rare. Rates of formal divorce have leveled off and even declined in nations that used to have some of the highest levels. However, the increase in the number of dissolutions of cohabiting unions and the increase in the formation of higher-order cohabiting unions means that total rates of union dissolution and repartnering, including both marital and nonmarital unions, have probably not declined over time and may even be increasing. Moreover, the negative correlation between education and divorce is not apparent for the dissolution of cohabiting unions. Conclusions: In terms of formal divorce, we may be seeing a partial convergence internationally to levels below the highest rates ever observed but still relatively high. The rise of cohabitation, however, means that total rates of dissolution and repartnering remain high. Contribution: This special collection provides a broad international overview of trends in union dissolution and repartnering.

La no maternidad en México. El rol del género y la desigualdad socioeconómica

La no maternidad en México se perfila como un complejo fenómeno que se sugiere distinto al de las sociedades industrializadas y altamente urbanizadas en las que ha sido mayormente estudiada. Las desiguales condiciones en que se lleva a cabo, aluden a una diversidad de experiencias que requieren ser documentadas. Este estudio busca contribuir al conocimiento de la no maternidad en México, explorando, a partir de fuentes secundarias y análisis descriptivos, sus aspectos sociales y económicos más relevantes. Se ratificó que la no maternidad ocurre bajo diferentes contextos socioeconómicos que llegan a ser incluso antagónicos. La no unión conyugal se presentó como un aspecto importante de la no maternidad, apuntando que las mujeres que no son madres, tampoco son esposas, situación que demuestra, por una parte, una doble transgresión al modelo hegemónico del ser mujer desde diferentes contextos mexicanos, y por otra, revela una realidad hasta ahora poco visible de las mujeres no madres y no esposas: la de las mujeres con limitaciones físicas para trabajar.

Marriages and Other Unions in Private International Law – Separate but Equal?

Many legal systems not only know the concept of marriage but also the one of non-marital registered unions, even though the requirements concerning who can conclude the one or the other union differ, especially regarding the sex of the partners. At the conflict of laws level, most countries show the same approach, i.e. providing two different rules for the validity of each institution. Using the examples of Belgian and the German law, both having very different substantive rules but very similar private international law rules, we show that this distinction itself leads to problems for international couples – even within the European Union – and contradicts the general approach which private international law has regarding the characterization of unknown foreign concepts. Inspired by the 1978 Hague Marriage Convention and several national approaches, we propose one broad conflict of laws rule for marital and non-marital unions, leaving substantive values to the public policy exception.

Differences in perinatal health between immigrant and native-origin children: Evidence from differentials in birth weight in Spain

1. The relevance of birth weight, and its determinants in the Spanish contextBirth weight has been the object of extensive research in various fields of scientific enquiry, from medicine to social epidemiology, sociology, and demography. The study of the adverse consequences of unhealthy weights at birth (4,000/4,500 grams) has mainly focused on health and educational outcomes. Because of the huge amount of evidence linking Low Birth Weight (LBW) to adverse health and cognitive outcomes, social epidemiology has tried extensively to assess the prevalence of LBW in different settings and different subsamples of the population (see, for instance, Reichman 2005, Teitler et al. 2007, Buekens et al. 2013). Although scholars have traditionally privileged the study of Low Birth Weight (LBW), research on High Birth Weight (HBW) is gaining momentum. In this review we briefly summarize both the determinants and consequences of deviation from healthy weights.On the one hand, the World Health Organisation defines LBW as less than 2,500 grams, irrespective of the gestational age of the infant. In the specialized literature it is interpreted as one of the most straightforward indicators of perinatal health and of infant health more generally. According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, LBW has different origins, ranging from the most obvious - those associated with genetic factors (foetal chromosomal abnormalities), the mother's health (high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease), and the mother's lifestyle (incorrect nutrition during gestation, smoking, and the consumption of other substances) - to problems with the development of the placenta (intra-amniotic infection, placental abruption, and placental insufficiency).LBW correlates with infant morbidity and mortality. Smaller babies are more likely to experience severe health risks after birth, and the effects of this early disadvantage are long-lasting: they are more prone to report general worse health later in life (Johnson and Schoeni 2007) and to suffer from a higher incidence of specific conditions such as diabetes, asthma, coronary disease, metabolic syndrome, and high blood pressure (Barker 1995, Johnson and Schoeni 2011). The negative impact of LBW on cognitive development and educational outcomes (Hack et al. 1995) has been shown to be similarly enduring. These children show poorer school readiness (Reichman 2005), evidence of increased school difficulties and hyperactivity until the age of 18 (McCormick et al. 1990), lower chances of completing high school at the standard age, lower educational attainment (Conley and Bennet 2000), and even lower earnings as adults (Black et al. 2007).However, socio-economic factors tend to mediate these relationships. Large differences in the incidence of LBW have consistently been reported across socio-economic groups in different countries (Kramer et al. 2000). Whereas more maternal resources . whether a higher educational level (Boardman et al. 2002), social class (Pattenden et al. 1999), or a supportive social and emotional climate (Hohmann-Marriott 2009) . all tend to improve birth outcomes, pregnancy later in life (Luke and Brown 2007) and non-marital birth (Castro-Martin 2010) are associated with an increased risk of LBW. Interestingly, according to the literature, in a number of affluent countries immigrant women tend to experience better birth outcomes than native women (see Guendelman et al. 1999), a result that will be discussed in the next section.Spain is no exception in this general picture. There are significant traces of inequality in perinatal health according to social background. Castro-Martin (2010) showed that the children of unmarried mothers suffer a higher risk of low birth weight, suggesting that the health disadvantage of children of non-marital couples is significant, even though recent social acceptance of non-marital unions and the selection of couples into this new form of cohabitation have helped to reduce it over time. …