1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]his study examines two measures of the changing role of cohabitation in the family system—transitions out of first premarital cohabitation, and fertility within these unions—and whether educational differences in these two family behaviors have become larger across birth cohorts.» (p. 163)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The author uses «retrospective data from Canadians born between 1940 and 1979 from the 2011 General Social Survey [GSS.]» (p. 152) «The GSS includes a total sample of 22,435 respondents, but analyses are restricted to people born in Canada between 1940 and 1979 (n = 13,171) and are further restricted to respondents whose first union was a non-martial cohabiting union, resulting in a subsample of 4,874.» (p. 156)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show in particular that «[a]mong people in Québec, educational differences in the likelihood of transitioning to marriage are statistically significant for only the most recent birth cohort, born in the 1970s. This educational difference is due to the significant decline in the likelihood that people in Québec with a high school diploma or less or those with only some postsecondary education transition to marriage across cohorts. In other parts of Canada, the educational differences are driven by the declining likelihood that people with some postsecondary education will transition to marriage; the likelihood of marriage for those with a high school diploma or less and for those with a bachelor’s degree or more was stable over time.» (p. 161) Moreover, «[t]he results provide some support for the SDT [second demographic transition] in that recent cohorts of Canadians are increasingly less likely to transition to marriage than older cohorts and increasingly more likely to experience the birth of a child within cohabitation. This suggests that recent cohorts of Canadians are less likely to use cohabitation as an alternative to being single or as a short prelude to marriage, and are more likely to use cohabitation as an alternative to marriage, especially in Québec.» (p. 163)