1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This chapter describes, assesses, and reflects on the role of unmarried cohabitation in contemporary family structure, and its attendant implications, in Canada and the United-States.» (p. 53)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Although cohabitation is certainly not the only recent challenge to marriage, as the most ‘marriage-like’ family form, we argue, it is the most proximate challenge.» (p. 53)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données documentaires diverses

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

In this chapter a major theme «is that cohabitation challenges static conceptions of family structure as well as its legal and social bases, which have hitherto been defined largely by marriage. First, we briefly review the trends and basic features of cohabitation in Canada and the United States. Second, we evaluate the role of cohabitation in family structure, concluding that cohabitation increases and reinforces the dynamism of the life course in terms of family events. The third section discusses how the role of cohabitation varies across population subgroups; we focus on cultural and social class variation» (p. 53). «We focus especially on Quebec in our discussion of culture because it departs substantially from the rest of Canada in terms of the role of cohabitation in family life» (p. 61) Fourth, we present evidence that cohabitation itself has been changing substantially over time, and outline the implications of these changes for gauging cohabitation’s role in family structure. Fifth, we consider the question of whether, and in what ways, cohabitation is similar to marriage, arguing that the boundaries between the two many be becoming more blurred than assumed. Finally, we consider the extent to which cohabitation has become ‘institutionalized’ in the United States and Canada, an area in which the two countries now depart substantially.» (p. 54)