Contrasting Scenarios: Non-residential Family Formation Patterns in the Caribbean and Europe

TLDR: In this article, the authors compare the various forms assumed by non-residential conjugal arrangements in different socio-historic and cultural contexts, and analyze their implications for family life.

Abstract: Introduction2 On the basis of available studies on the Caribbean and Europe,3 this paper compares patterns of forming conjugal, non-residential unions in both societies. Visiting unions in the Caribbean and European, non-residential, conjugal arrangements ( living apart together/chacu n chez soi) constitute two forms of non-legalized union in which spouses share a sexual and affective, but nonresidential sphere. This is a pattern of family formation that is far removed from the normative model ( legal marriage) and cohabitation.4 Our interest is twofold: to compare the various forms assumed by non-residential conjugal arrangements in different socio-historic and cultural contexts, and to analyze their implications for family life. The role of non-residential arrangements in the formation of families with female headship, the birth of children out of wedlock, the relationship between fathers and children and gender relations have constituted a signiŽ cant sphere of debate and research in Caribbean societies for a number of decades. We examine the extent to which there is a con uence between these issues and those present in analyses of family life in European countries. Finally, to encourage a broader sphere of re ection, we refer to the various theoretical positions that have sought to explain recent changes in patterns of couple formation in European countries, and the persistence of nonresidential conjugal arrangements in the Caribbean for several centuries.