Ukraine: On the border between old and new in uncertain times

This chapter provides an overview of the demographic situation in Ukraine, including explanations for the decline to very low fertility and changes in family policy. Drawing on official statistics, survey data, and focus group interviews, the analysis shows that the country’s decline to lowest-low fertility is primarily due to the postponement of or the reduction in second births, as opposed to the postponement of first births. The chapter includes a discussion on the link between low fertility and changing marriage patterns, contraceptive prevalence, and abortion. The author then reviews the evidence for the leading explanations of fertility decline in Ukraine, including economic uncertainty, social anomie, the Second Demographic Transition, and unequal gender relations. In addition, the author proposes unexplored factors that may lead to fertility limitation, such as the increasing difficulty of combining work and childrearing, insufficient housing, changes in intergenerational support, and the deterioration of health lifestyles and marital relations.childbearing, fertility, Ukraine

The reciprocal relationship between the state and union formation across Western Europe: policy dimensions and theoretical considerations

Although cohabitation and childbearing within cohabitation has increased dramatically in Europe over the past decades, the variation across Europe remains remarkable. Most studies on changing union formation have not explicitly addressed how state policies may be facilitating cohabitation or, alternatively, stalling the increase of cohabitation by privileging marriage. Indeed, the relationship between policies and union formation is complicated, as states may have passed legislation in response to increasing cohabitation. As a first step to understanding this reciprocal relationship, we provide here an overview of the policies that may impact union formation. Drawing on secondary sources and legal documents, we describe the policy dimensions that regulate the relationship between couples, and between couples and their children. We also discuss theoretical issues and explore examples from across Western Europe. As a whole, this overview raises questions about the changing “institution” of marriage, as well as the increasing “institutionalization” of cohabitation.Europe, cohabitation

Harmonized histories: manual for the preparation of comparative fertility and union histories

This document describes the standardization process of the Harmonized Histories. The Harmonized Histories is a comparative database of rich reproductive and union histories from surveys conducted in a number of countries in Europe. Given that birth and union data has been collected in a number of ways in different surveys, it has been very difficult to conduct cross-national analyses of recent union and fertility behavior over time. A team of researchers called the Nonmarital Childbearing Network has cleaned and standardized the surveys according to guidelines set out in this manual. Currently, the database includes data from the Generations and Gender Surveys (GGSs) in Italy, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Russia; the 2003 Dutch Fertility and Family Survey; and the British Household Panel Survey.Europe, family formation, fertility, surveys

Re-evaluating the link between marriage and mental well-being: how do early life conditions attenuate differences between cohabitation and marriage?

The decline in marriage and increase in cohabitation raises questions about whether marriage still provides benefits to well-being. Here we use the British Cohort Study 1970 (N=7203), a prospective survey following respondents to age 42, to examine whether partnerships in general, and marriage in particular, provide benefits to mental well-being in mid-life. We use propensity score matching to investigate whether childhood characteristics are a sufficient source of selection to eliminate differences in well-being between different partnership types. We find that matching on childhood characteristics does not eliminate advantages to living with a partner. However, the type of partnership does not matter; among those less likely to marry, marriage provides no benefits to wellbeing beyond cohabitation. The sources of childhood selection seem to differ by gender: matching on educational plans and scores tends to eliminate differences for women, while adolescent mental well-being eliminates many differences between cohabitation and marriage for men

Spatial aspects of the rise of nonmarital fertility across Europe since 1960: the role of states and regions in shaping patterns of change

This article investigates the role of states and regions in shaping spatial patterns of nonmarital fertility in Europe since 1960 using a dataset of 497 European subnational regions and smaller countries. Almost all regions registered substantial nonmarital fertility increases over the last 50 years. Prior research has shown that in the first half of the twentieth century states played a dominant role in drawing the demographic map of Europe (Watkins, From provinces into nations: demographic integration in Western Europe 1870–1960. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1991). As a result, subnational regional variation decreased, while differences between countries increased. In this article, we investigate whether states continue to play such a dominant role in delineating patterns of nonmarital fertility between 1960 and 2007. We find that variation in nonmarital fertility levels increased as a whole across Europe, and states continued to be important for determining these patterns. However, the role of states relative to regions declined in the latest period examined (1990 and 2007). Possible explanations for the changes include increased supranational integration, for example, within the European Union, and decentralisation within states leading to increases in variation in subnational contextual conditions.RésuméCet article étudie le rôle des États et des régions dans l’élaboration des modèles spatiaux de fécondité hors mariage en Europe depuis 1960 à l’aide d’un ensemble de données de 497 régions infranationales et petits pays européens. Presque toutes les régions ont enregistré de substantielles augmentations de fécondité hors mariage au cours des 50 dernières années. Une précédente recherche a montré qu’au cours de la première moitié du 20ème siècle, les États ont joué un rôle prédominant dans l’établissement de la carte démographique de l’Europe (Watkins, From provinces into nations: demographic integration in Western Europe 1870–1960. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1991). En conséquence, la variation infranationale régionale a diminué tandis que les différences entre les pays ont augmenté. Dans cet artiche, nous examinons dans quelle mesure les États continuent à jouer ce rôle prédominant dans la définition des modèles de fécondité hors mariage entre 1960 et 2007. Nous constatons que les niveaux de fécondité hors mariage ont augmenté dans l’ensemble de l’Europe et que les États continuent à jouer un rôle important dans la détermination de ces modèles. Toutefois, le rôle des États par rapport aux régions a diminué au cours de la dernière période étudiée (1990 et 2007). Les explications possibles des changements incluent la croissance de l’intégration supranationale, par exemple au sein de l’Union Européenne, et la décentralisation au sein des États, engendrant une augmentation de la variabilité des conditions contextuelles infranationales

Partnership patterns in the United States and across Europe: the role of education and country context

Patterns of partnership formation and dissolution are changing dramatically across the Western world. Some scholars have argued that women's trajectories of union formation and dissolution are diverging by education, with the higher educated postponing but eventually marrying and the lower educated more likely to cohabit or divorce if they do marry. At the same time, the variation in partnership behavior has also increased across countries, suggesting that country context plays an important role. Here, we use latent class growth models to compare the educational gradient of partnership trajectories in the United States and 14 countries in Europe and investigate the role of education and country context. Our results indicate a consistent positive educational gradient for partnership patterns showing the postponement of marriage, regardless of whether marriage was preceded by cohabitation, but a less consistent gradient for patterns reflecting long-term cohabitation and union dissolution. Although the US results show evidence of an educational divergence in marriage and union dissolution, the evidence from the other countries is weak. In addition, country context explains more of the variation in class membership than education, with context becoming more important over time. The divergence in behaviors across country contexts suggests that social, cultural, political, and economic developments are essential for understanding changes in partnership formation and dissolution

Is there a link between the divorce revolution and the cohabitation boom?

Over the past decades, divorce and cohabitation have increased dramatically throughout Europe. Divorce has fundamentally altered the institution of marriage from a life-long union to one that may dissolve. Cohabitation allows couples to live together without undertaking the vows of marriage, but also allows couples to avoid the potentially higher costs of divorce. Thus, divorce and cohabitation seem to be intrinsically linked. Here we theorize how the increase in divorce may be linked to the increase in cohabitation on the macro-, meso-, and micro- levels. Using focus group data from 8 countries, we explore how divorce may have changed attitudes and beliefs concerning marriage and cohabitation. We then investigate whether survey data and official statistics in 16 countries provide evidence consistent with a link. While exogenous factors have been important for the increase in cohabitation, we argue that the divorce revolution has been a catalyst for the cohabitation boom

The increase in fertility in cohabitation across Europe: examining the intersection between union status and childbearing

-Europe, cohabitation, family formation

Towards a deeper understanding of cohabitation: insights from focus group research across Europe and Australia

BACKGROUND Across the industrialized world, more people are living together without marrying. Although researchers have compared cohabitation cross-nationally using quantitative data, few have compared union formation using qualitative data.OBJECTIVE We use focus group research to compare social norms of cohabitation and marriage in Australia and nine countries in Europe. We explore questions such as: what is the meaning of cohabitation? Is cohabitation indistinguishable from marriage, a prelude to marriage, or an alternative to being single? Are the meanings of cohabitation similar across countries? METHODS Collaborators conducted 7-8 focus groups in each country using a standardized guideline. They analysed the discussions by performing bottom-up coding within each thematic area. They then presented the data in a standardized report. The first and second authors systematically coded and analysed the reports, with direct input from collaborators.RESULTS The results from each country describe a specific picture of union formation. However, three themes emerge repeatedly in all focus groups: commitment, testing, and freedom. The pervasiveness of these concepts suggests that marriage and cohabitation have distinct meanings, with marriage representing a stronger level of commitment. Cohabitation is a way to test the relationship and represents freedom. Nonetheless, other discourses emerged in the focus groups suggesting that cohabitation has multiple meanings.CONCLUSIONS This study illuminates how context shapes partnership formation, but also presents underlying reasons for the development of cohabitation. We find that the increase in cohabitation has not devalued the concept of marriage, but has become a way to preserve marriage as an ideal for long-term commitment. ?<br/

Exploring social norms around cohabitation: the lifecourse, individualization, and culture

BACKGROUND Explanations for the increase in cohabitation often rely on the concept of ideational change and shifting social norms. While researchers have investigated cohabitation and the role of social norms from a quantitative perspective, few studies have examined how people discuss the normative context of cohabitation, especially in cross-national comparison. OBJECTIVE This article introduces a Special Collection that uses focus group research to compare social norms relating to cohabitation and marriage in 8 countries in Europe. The Introduction explicates the concept of social norms, describes the focus group project, reflects on the method's advantages and limitations, and summarizes the theoretical and methodological contributions of the project. METHODS Collaborators conducted 7-8 focus groups in each country using a standardized questionnaire. They coded each discussion, analysed the results, and produced a country-specific chapter on a particular theme. They also collaborated on an overview paper that synthesized the overall findings of the project. RESULTS The articles provide insights into the meanings of partnership formation in each country. In addition, their findings contribute to three main theoretical themes: 1) lifecourses, sequencing, and intersections; 2) individualization, freedom and commitment; and 3) culture, religion, and the persistence of the past. CONCLUSIONS This Special Collection contributes to and challenges current explanations for family change by pointing out how social norms shape partnership behavior. The project informs quantitative research by emphasizing the need for nuances in interpretation. We urge researchers to recognize the multiple meanings of cohabitation within each context and across countries